According to the Bank for International Settlements' 2022 Triennial Survey, global foreign exchange markets turn over $7.5 trillion every trading day — the world's largest financial market. The UK accounts for 38% of global turnover, the largest single centre. EUR/USD represents 22% of all FX volume. Between 70% and 80% of retail CFD accounts lose money, per ESMA disclosure requirements.
How Large Is the Global Forex Market? What the BIS Triennial Survey Shows
According to the Bank for International Settlements' 2022 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and OTC Derivatives Markets — the most authoritative source for global FX data, published every three years — average daily turnover in global FX markets reached USD 7.5 trillion. This makes the foreign exchange market the largest financial market in the world by traded volume. The 2022 figure represents a 14% increase from the USD 6.6 trillion recorded in the 2019 BIS Triennial Survey.
According to the 2022 BIS Triennial Survey, spot FX accounted for USD 2.1 trillion of daily turnover; FX swaps (the dominant instrument by volume) contributed USD 3.8 trillion per day. EUR/USD remained the most-traded currency pair, representing approximately 22% of total global FX volume. According to the same survey, the USD was involved in 88% of all FX transactions — counted on both sides of the trade, totalling 200% across all pairs. The JPY, EUR and GBP are the second, third and fourth most-traded currencies respectively.
Why Is the UK the World's Largest Forex Centre?
According to the BIS 2022 Triennial Survey, the United Kingdom accounted for 38% of global FX turnover — the single largest national share, ahead of the United States (19%), Singapore (9%), Hong Kong SAR (7%) and Japan (4%). London's position as the primary global FX hub reflects its time-zone advantage in bridging the Asian and US session overlaps, the depth of the City's interbank market, and the concentration of global bank dealing desks in London. According to the Bank of England's semi-annual FX turnover survey, average daily spot FX turnover in the London market consistently exceeds USD 1 trillion.
The FCA regulates the UK FX market under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and applies MiFID II-equivalent retail-protection rules — including the ESMA 30:1 leverage cap and negative balance protection — to UK-facing CFD and forex brokers. The UK FX market is primarily institutional and wholesale in character; retail CFD trading, while growing, represents a small fraction of total UK FX volume. According to the FCA's own data on retail CFD activity, the number of UK retail CFD accounts has grown significantly since 2018 but the market remains dominated by professional and institutional flows.
What Percentage of Retail Forex Traders Lose Money? What ESMA Disclosures Show
ESMA's product-intervention rules require every CFD and forex broker serving EU or UK retail clients to display a standardised risk warning stating the percentage of that firm's retail accounts that lost money over a defined measurement period. According to aggregate analysis of these mandatory disclosures across FCA-regulated brokers — including IG Markets, CMC Markets, Pepperstone, IC Markets and others — the figure typically falls between 70% and 80% of retail accounts losing money over the measured period. Individual broker disclosures vary; the firm-specific figure is displayed on each UK broker's marketing material as required by FCA rules.
ESMA cited this empirical loss-rate data as justification for the 2018 retail CFD product-intervention measures — the leverage cap, bonus ban and negative balance protection requirement. According to the FCA's 2019 CFD market study, the regulator found retail CFD client returns were negative on average, with losses concentrated in clients who used higher leverage and held positions for longer. According to published academic research reviewed by both the FCA and BaFin, the 70-80% retail loss rate persists across markets and regulatory regimes; the ESMA measures reduced the scale of individual losses but did not eliminate the statistical pattern.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the global forex market turn over each day?
According to the Bank for International Settlements' 2022 Triennial Central Bank Survey, global FX markets average USD 7.5 trillion in daily turnover. This is split across spot FX (USD 2.1 trillion), FX swaps (USD 3.8 trillion) and other instruments. The figure represents a 14% increase from the USD 6.6 trillion recorded in the 2019 BIS Triennial Survey.
What percentage of retail forex traders make money?
According to mandatory ESMA disclosures aggregated across FCA-regulated brokers, between 70% and 80% of retail CFD accounts lose money over the measured period — meaning roughly 20-30% are profitable. The firm-specific figure varies and is displayed on every UK broker's marketing material as required by FCA rules. The FCA's 2019 CFD market study found negative average returns across the retail client base.
Why is the UK the world's largest global forex centre?
According to the BIS 2022 Triennial Survey, the UK accounts for 38% of global FX daily turnover — the largest share of any country. London's dominance reflects its time-zone position bridging Asian and US market overlaps, the concentration of global bank dealing desks in the City, and deep interbank liquidity. The US is second at 19%, followed by Singapore (9%) and Hong Kong SAR (7%).
Sources & further reading
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