In 2022, global FX turnover hit $7.5 trillion per day and the USD still sits inside 88% of all trades, even as spot FX makes up 50% of the total. The numbers get more specific from there, with USD JPY at 13.5% of volume and retail traders facing loss rates like ESMA’s 71% who end up down. If you have ever wondered whether markets are driven by institutions or retail momentum, the break down of who trades what and how they perform will likely surprise you.
Key Takeaways
- USD/JPY second most traded 13.5%
- GBP/USD trades 9.6% of global volume
- AUD/USD 5.1% turnover share
- The global Forex market turnover reached $7.5 trillion per day in 2022 according to the BIS Triennial Survey
- Forex trading volume averages over $6.6 trillion daily as per 2019 BIS data
- Spot FX transactions account for 50% of total Forex turnover in 2022
- Hedge funds manage $3.8T in Forex positions
- Banks execute 50% of institutional Forex volume
- Top 10 dealers handle 80% interbank Forex
- 80% of retail Forex traders are from Asia-Pacific
- Average retail Forex trader age is 35-44 years
- 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money per ESMA
- Leverage caps EU 1:30 majors, 1:20 minors
- 74-89% retail CFD/Forex accounts lose money
- ASIC reports 72% loss rate Australia
With $7.5 trillion daily in 2022, the US dollar dominates while retail traders often lose despite tight leverage rules.
Related reading
01 · Category
Currency Pair Specifics28 stats
01
USD/JPY second most traded 13.5%
02
GBP/USD trades 9.6% of global volume
03
AUD/USD 5.1% turnover share
04
USD/CAD 4.3% of Forex trades
05
USD/CHF 3.8% daily volume
06
EUR/JPY 3.1%
07
EUR/GBP 2.1% turnover
08
NZD/USD 1.6%
09
EUR/USD volatility averages 0.7% daily
10
GBP/JPY highest volatility pair at 1.2% daily
11
USD/JPY carry trade favorite, avg spread 0.2 pips
12
Exotic pairs like USD/TRY volatility 2%+
13
Cross pairs turnover 35% of total FX
14
CNY pairs turnover $345B daily, up 45%
15
MXN turnover doubled to $98B daily
16
KRW FX volume $73B daily
17
BRL trades $45B daily
18
EUR/USD pip value $10per lot standard
19
Gold/USD correlation with EUR/USD -0.8
20
Oil prices impact CAD pairs 70% correlation
21
Yen safe-haven, rises 60% in risk-off events
22
Aussie dollar commodity currency, 80% tied to exports
23
90% of USD/CNY trades offshore
24
Volatility smile in FX options for majors
25
Average daily range EUR/USD 70 pips
26
65% trades in top 10 pairs
27
CHF pairs volatility spiked 5x in 2015 crisis
28
75% of retail positions long EUR/USD typically
Interpretation
Currency Pair Specifics Interpretation
From a Currency Pair Specifics perspective, USD/JPY leads with 13.5% of activity, followed by GBP/USD at 9.6% and AUD/USD at 5.1%, showing how a small set of major pairs dominates overall forex flow.
02 · Category
Market Size & Volume30 stats
01
The global Forex market turnover reached $7.5 trillion per day in 2022 according to the BIS Triennial Survey
02
Forex trading volume averages over $6.6 trillion daily as per 2019 BIS data
03
Spot FX transactions account for 50% of total Forex turnover in 2022
04
The US Dollar is involved in 88% of all Forex trades
05
Forex market is the largest financial market with $1.93quadrillion annual turnover equivalent
06
Daily Forex volume exceeds NYSE equity trading by 46 times
07
In 2022, FX swaps turnover hit $3.8 trillion daily
08
Emerging market currencies turnover grew 14% from 2019 to 2022
09
London handles 38% of global Forex turnover
10
New York accounts for 19% of Forex trading volume
11
Singapore's Forex turnover rose to $647 billion daily in 2022
12
Tokyo's share is 9% of global Forex volume
13
Hong Kong Forex turnover at $424 billion daily
14
Forex options turnover increased 24% to $244 billion daily
15
Total Forex turnover up 14% from 2019 to 2022
16
Retail Forex trading represents about 5-10% of total volume
17
Institutional trading dominates 90%+ of Forex volume
18
Algorithmic trading accounts for 80% of Forex volume
19
High-frequency trading in Forex is 50% of volume
20
Forex market operates 24/5 with peak hours 8am-12pm EST
21
70% of Forex trades occur in London-New York overlap
22
EUR/USD pair alone trades $1.1 trillion daily
23
Forex leverage averages 1:50 for retail globally
24
Mobile Forex trading apps used by 70% of retail traders
25
Crypto-Forex crossover volume $100B+ monthly
26
Forex market liquidity peaks at $2T/hour during overlaps
27
95% of Forex price moves are within 1% daily range
28
Global Forex brokers number over 1000
29
Annual Forex broker revenue $10B+
30
Forex trading platforms downloads exceed 100M on app stores
Interpretation
Market Size & Volume Interpretation
With global Forex turnover at about $7.5 trillion per day in 2022 and spot FX making up roughly half of it, the market remains far more active than other trading venues, underscoring how dominant and high-volume the currency market is within the Market Size & Volume category.
03 · Category
Professional/institutional Trading23 stats
01
Hedge funds manage $3.8T in Forex positions
02
Banks execute 50% of institutional Forex volume
03
Top 10 dealers handle 80% interbank Forex
04
Prime brokers facilitate $2T+ daily institutional flow
05
Algo trading by institutions 92% of volume
06
Institutional average return 5-10% annually
07
Pension funds allocate 2-5% to Forex
08
Central banks intervene $100B+ yearly in Forex
09
Multinationals hedge 20% revenue via Forex
10
ECNs handle 30% institutional spot FX
11
Dark pool Forex trading 10% of volume
12
Institutional leverage averages 1:10-20
13
Prop trading firms profit $5B+ annually from Forex
14
Market makers provide 70% retail liquidity via institutions
15
Sovereign wealth funds trade $500B Forex yearly
16
CTA funds average 8% Forex return 2022
17
FX options institutional volume $200B daily
18
Non-bank financials turnover up 30% to $3.4T daily
19
Corporates FX hedging turnover $117B daily
20
85% institutional trades electronic
21
Average institutional trade size $10M+
22
Voice trading down to 5% institutional volume
23
Multi-dealer platforms used by 60% institutions
Interpretation
Professional/institutional Trading Interpretation
In professional and institutional Forex trading, the dominance of big players is striking, with hedge funds managing $3.8T and prime brokers moving $2T or more in daily flow while institutions also drive 92% of volume through algorithmic trading.
More related reading
04 · Category
Retail Trader Stats25 stats
01
80% of retail Forex traders are from Asia-Pacific
02
Average retail Forex trader age is 35-44 years
03
71% of retail CFD accounts lose money per ESMA
04
Only 10-20% of retail Forex traders are profitable long-term
05
Average retail trader holds positions 1-3 days
06
60% of retail traders use technical analysis only
07
Women make up 20% of retail Forex traders
08
US retail Forex traders number 200,000+
09
EU retail Forex accounts 1.5M active
10
Average retail account size $5,000-$10,000
11
40% of retail traders quit within first year
12
Mobile trading by retail up 50% post-COVID
13
75% retail traders trade EUR/USD primarily
14
Average daily trades per retail trader: 5-10
15
55% retail traders use stop-loss orders consistently
16
Part-time retail traders 70%, full-time 30%
17
Education level: 60% college-educated retail traders
18
Average monthly deposit by retail $500
19
Social trading followers 50M+ accounts
20
Copy trading used by 30% retail
21
Demo accounts converted to live at 20% rate
22
Weekend gap trading attempted by 15% retail
23
News trading strategy used by 25% retail
24
Scalping preferred by 35% retail day traders
25
Average retail win rate 45-55%
Interpretation
Retail Trader Stats Interpretation
Retail Forex traders, especially those in Asia-Pacific, are overwhelmingly short term, with 71% of retail CFD accounts losing money per ESMA and only 10 to 20% managing to stay profitable long term.
05 · Category
Risk & Regulation20 stats
01
Leverage caps EU 1:30 majors, 1:20 minors
02
74-89% retail CFD/Forex accounts lose money
03
ASIC reports 72% loss rate Australia
04
FCA negative balance protection mandatory
05
US max leverage 1:50 majors per CFTC
06
Forex scams cost $1B+ yearly globally
07
Margin calls hit 30% accounts quarterly
08
Slippage averages 0.5 pips in volatile markets
09
Black swan events like COVID caused 10% drawdowns
10
Regulatory brokers 200+ in EU
11
Offshore brokers 70% of retail volume
12
Best execution rules cut spreads 20%
13
KYC failures lead to 15% account closures
14
Volatility risk premium 2-3% annualized
15
Correlation risk in pairs up to 0.9
16
Overnight swap fees average -0.5 pips/day majors
17
Broker insolvency rare post-2015, 1%
18
Segregated accounts protect 95% client funds
19
Leverage bans in retail boosted prop firms 50%
20
Risk disclosure read by 20% traders
Interpretation
Risk & Regulation Interpretation
Risk & Regulation is tightening globally as regulators limit leverage to 1:30 for EU majors and 1:50 in the US and still see that 74 to 89 percent of retail traders lose money, underscoring how high leverage and weak protections can drive losses despite stricter rules.
report visual · Breakdown
Most-traded FX pairs share of global volume
A handful of pairs dominate trading activity by turnover share.
5.1%
AUD/USD 5.1% turnover share
95%
95% of Forex price moves are within 1% daily range
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Lars Eriksen. (2026, February 13). Forex Trading Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/forex-trading-statistics
MLA
Lars Eriksen. "Forex Trading Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/forex-trading-statistics.
Chicago
Lars Eriksen. 2026. "Forex Trading Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/forex-trading-statistics.
Sources & references
36 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level