List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves

Foreign-exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) are, in a strict sense, only the foreign-currency deposits held by national central banks and monetary authorities (See List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves (excluding gold)). However, in popular usage and in the list below, it also includes gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve position because this total figure, which is usually more accurately termed as official reserves or international reserves or official international reserves, is more readily available and also arguably more meaningful.

For reserves excluding gold, see List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves (excluding gold).

These foreign-currency deposits are the financial assets of the central banks and monetary authorities that are held in different reserve currencies (e.g. the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the Pound sterling) and which are used to back its liabilities (e.g. the local currency issued and the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank by the government or financial institutions). Before the end of the gold standard, gold was the preferred reserve currency. Some nations are converting foreign-exchange reserves into sovereign wealth funds, which can rival foreign-exchange reserves in size.

The list below is mostly based on the latest available IMF data, and while most nations report in U.S. dollars, a few nations in Eastern Europe report solely in Euros. And since all the figures below are in U.S. dollar equivalents, exchange rate fluctuations can have a significant impact on these figures.

Foreign exchange reserves
Rank
[lower-alpha 1]
Country or regionForeign exchange
reserves
(millions of US$)		Figures as ofChange from previous data(millions of US$) weekly/monthly
1  China[lower-alpha 2]3,101,692May 2020[1] 10,241
2  Japan1,378,239May 2020[2] 9,672
3   Switzerland848,398[lower-alpha 3]May 2020[3][4] 15,911
4  Russia567,80019 June 2020[5] 3000
5  India505,56619 June 2020[6][lower-alpha 4] 2,078
6  Taiwan[lower-alpha 5]484,520May 2020[7] 2,738
7  Saudi Arabia448,150[lower-alpha 6]April 2020[8] 24,717
8  Hong Kong442,300May 2020[9] 1,100
9  South Korea407,300May 2020[10] 3,300
10  Brazil345,706May 2020[11] 6,389
11  Singapore301,773April 2020[12] 22,631
12  Germany245,055April 2020[13] 10,628
13  France237,831April 2020[14] 40,565
14  Thailand237,246May 2020 [15] 1,537
15  Mexico196,146April 2020[16] 6,366
16  Italy190,217April 2020[17] 8,823
17  United Kingdom179,225May 2020[18] 849
18  Czech Republic146,804March 2020[19] 183
19  Israel142,510May 2020[20] 8,971
20  Indonesia130,544May 2020[21] 3,336
21  United States[lower-alpha 7]129,264March 2020[22] 1,739
22  Poland112,943March 2020[23] 458
23  United Arab Emirates106,463March 2020[24] 3,092
24  Malaysia102,484April 2020[25] 781
25  Philippines88,996March 2020[26] 809
26  Canada87,322May 2020[27] 1,222
27  Turkey86,343April 2020[28] 5,802
28  Iran[lower-alpha 8]86,000February 2020[29]N/A
29  Vietnam81,145January 2020[30] 3,191
- Europe (ECB)[lower-alpha 9]79,240April 2020[31] 3,900
30  Spain74,037March 2020[32] 420
31  Libya[lower-alpha 10]71,629September 2017[33]N/A
32 +2  Norway69,139March 2020[34][35] 4,931
33  Peru68,150March 2020[36][37] 1,933
34   -3  Algeria62,000February 2020[38] 10,600
35 +2  Australia55,922March 2020[39] 1,383
36 +4  Colombia55,000May 2020[40] 2,430
37  Sweden54,648March 2020[41] 1,455
38   -3  Denmark54,251March 2020[42] 8,313
39 Lebanon53,10031 December 2017[29]
40  South Africa53,003April 2020[43] 576
41 Azerbaijan47,500April 2019[44]
42 Iraq47,02031 December 2017[29]
43  Netherlands44,859March 2020[45] 80
44  Romania42,654March 2020[46] 1,910
45  Kuwait40,600February 2020[47] 203
46  Argentina39,189February 2020[48] 317
47  Qatar37,729February 2020[49][50] 430
48  Bulgaria36,991March 2020[51] 300
49  Chile36,777March 2020[52] 1,879
50  Nigeria36,563June 2020[53][lower-alpha 11] 2,673
51  Egypt36,254April 2020[54] 3,039
52  Bangladesh35,09024 June 2020[55] 760
53  Kazakhstan29,967March 2020[51] 76
54  Belgium29,676March 2020[51] 46
55  Hungary28,209March 2020[51] 988
56  Portugal27,053March 2020[51] 1,671
57  Austria26,443March 2020[51] 557
58  Ukraine25,400June 2020[51] 300
59  Morocco24,644February 2020[51] 326
60 +3  New Zealand23,897March 2020[51] 4,959
61  Macau, China22,430April 2020[56] 391
62  Croatia21,304February 2020[51] 430
63  Turkmenistan20,600December 2017[29]N/A
64  Jordan17,267March 2020[51] 129
65  Angola17,012June 2019[57][58][lower-alpha 12]
66  Uzbekistan16,00031 December 2017[29]N/A
67  Oman15,867February 2020[51] 469
68 +3  Uruguay15,340April 2020[59] 1,100
69 Guatemala14,511September 2019[51]
70 Serbia14,515September 2019[lower-alpha 13]
71 Cambodia13,8862018[60]
72 Cuba12,80031 December 2017[29]
73 Kenya12,766January 2020[60]
74  Finland10,750April 2020[61] 394
75  Pakistan9,96119 June 2020 [62] 146
76 Greece9,798April 2020[63] 670
77 +4  Paraguay8,541April 2020[64] 800
78   -1    Nepal8,180April 2020[65] 490
79 North Korea8,000November 2013[66]
80 Belarus7,883April 2020[61] 1311
81 Afghanistan7,80030 March 2019[67]
82 Dominican Republic7,591September 2019[61]
83 Ghana7,55531 December 2017[29]
84 Sri Lanka7,52524 April 2020[68]
85 Slovakia7,524April 2020[61]
86 Costa Rica7,482September 2019[61]
87 Botswana7,47631 December 2017[29]
88 Mauritius7,217September 2019[61]
89 Trinidad and Tobago7,103October 2019[69]
90 Iceland6,776October 2019[61]
91 -12  Bolivia6,467January 2020[70] 2,000
92 -14  Venezuela6,330May 2020[71] 2,200
93 Ireland5,644October 2019[61]
94 Tunisia5,540October 2019[61]
95 +5  Ecuador5,377April 2020[72] 431
96 Bosnia and Herzegovina5,37031 December 2017[29]
97 Myanmar5,03231 December 2017[29][lower-alpha 14]
98 Honduras5,005July 2019[61]
99 El Salvador4,735September 2019[61]
100 Ivory Coast4,68831 December 2017[29]
101 Latvia4,498September 2019[61]
102 Lithuania4,481October 2019[61]
103 Tanzania4,17431 December 2017[29]
104 Mongolia3,986September 2019[61]
105 Panama3,88831 December 2017[29]
106 Albania3,724October 2019[61]
107 Jamaica3,605March 2019[61]
108 North Macedonia3,420September 2019[61]
109 Bahrain3,41529 February 2020
110 Brunei3,4072018[60]
111 Georgia3,387October 2019[61]
112 Ethiopia3,14731 December 2017[29]
113 Uganda3,04531 December 2017[29]
114 Moldova2,942September 2019[61]
115 Armenia2,840December 2019[73]
116 Zambia2,42631 December 2017[29]
117 Cameroon2,35731 December 2017[29]
118 Kyrgyzstan2,203September 2019[61]
119 Nicaragua2,201August 2019[61]
120 Mozambique2,19331 December 2017[29]
121 Haiti2,04431 December 2017[29]
122 Namibia1,94931 December 2017[29]
123 Papua New Guinea1,80031 December 2017[29]
124 Madagascar1,7402018[60]
125 Bahamas1,4142017[60]
126 Estonia1,352October 2019[61]
127 Tajikistan1,2842018[60]
128 Montenegro1,2612018[60]
129 Guinea1,2252018[60]
130 Luxembourg1,070October 2019[61]
131 Curaçao1,05531 October 2019[74][lower-alpha 15]
132 Niger1,0392015[60]
133 Cyprus1,034October 2019[61]
134 Rwanda1,02631 December 2017[29]
135 Slovenia1,022October 2019[61]
136 Laos99031 December 2017[29]
137 Aruba9802018[60]
138 Bhutan9872018[60]
139 Lesotho98331 December 2017[29]
140 Fiji96731 December 2017[29]
141 Mauritania9342018[60]
142 Malta890October 2019[61]
143 Kosovo8812018[60]
144 Gabon83531 December 2017[29]
145 Republic of the Congo81331 December 2017[29]
146 Malawi7602018[60]
147 Maldives7222018[60]
148 Timor-Leste6742018[60]
149 Palestine632August 2019[61][lower-alpha 16]
150 Mali6242015[60]
151 Solomon Islands6172018[60]
152 Cape Verde6062018[60]
153 Seychelles535September 2019[61]
154 Guyana5182018[60]
155 Sierra Leone5032018[60]
156 Suriname5812018[60]
157 Liberia4752017[60]
158 Djibouti4542018[60]
159 Democratic Republic of the Congo44531 December 2017[29]
160 Eswatini4412018[60]
161 Vanuatu4212018[60]
162 Equatorial Guinea41631 December 2017[29]
163 Syria40731 December 2017[29]
164 Antigua and Barbuda3892018[60]
165 Saint Kitts and Nevis3632018[60]
166 Central African Republic3622018[60]
167 San Marino3392018[60]
168 Guinea-Bissau3322015[60]
169 Belize2942018[60]
170 Saint Lucia2862018[60]
171 Tonga2772018[60]
172 Eritrea23731 December 2017[29]
173 Grenada2342018[60]
174 Togo21531 December 2017[29]
175 Barbados20531 December 2017[29]
176 Yemen24531 December 2017[29]
177 Sudan1782017[60]
178 Federated States of Micronesia2042017[60]
179 Comoros1992018[60]
180 Gambia1922018[60]
181 Dominica1912018[60]
182 Samoa1702018[60]
183 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1702018[60]
184 Senegal15231 December 2017[29]
185 Chad1482018[60]
186 Zimbabwe872018[60]
187 South Sudan682016[60]
188 Burundi682018[60]
189 Benin6031 December 2017[29]
190 Montserrat4931 December 2017[29]
191 Burkina Faso4531 December 2017[29]
192 São Tomé and Príncipe472018[60]
193 Somalia3230 December 2017[29]
194 Kiribati731 December 2017[29]


Top 5 Countries & Their Timeline


These are the top 5 countries in above list & almost all of them have reserves of 500 billion USD or above & have maintained that spot for atleast a week. Currently there are only five countries whose reserves are above half trillion which includes China, Japan, Russia, Switzerland & India being the latest to achieve this feat. While Saudi Arabia being the former country until March 2020 when it saw the fastest fall in 20 years amid covid 19 outbreak.[76]

The images below shows the timeline of their reserves over the years since their first compilation of forex data.The list is in accordance to their respective entry in this club.


Japan

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Japan


Japanese foreign exchange reserves are the second biggest reserves in the world. Japan was the first country to reach 500b $ mark & had the highest forex reserves in the world until late February 2006 when it was eventually surpassed by China. Since then it holds the second spot with over 1Trillion $ making it the 2nd ever country to reach 13 digit figure.[77]

China

Foreign Exchange Reserves of China


Foreign-exchange reserves of China are the biggest of all the countries and have maintained the top spot for over 14 years.[78][79]The main composition of chinese forex reserves are of approx. two-third USD, one-fifth Euros & the rest is Japanese Yen & British Pound. China is also the only country in the world who's net reserves have touched a total of 4Trillion $.

Russia

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Russia


Russian reserves are the fourth biggest forex reserves of the world. Russia is the only country in the world who has crossed the 500b $ mark thrice despite the United States & European Union sanctions.[80] The first fall in reserves was because of the 2008 financial crisis & the second fall was in 2015 because of EU sanctions.

Switzerland

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Switzerland in CHF


Swiss forex reserves are the third biggest reserves in the world and reached 500b $ in 2014 becoming fifth country to do so after Saudi Arabia. Swiss reserves are compiled in Swiss franc. The high reserves are mainly because of net trade surplus of Switzerland over the years.

India

Foreign Exchange Reserves of India


Foreign-exchange reserves of India became the fifth largest on 5th June 2020 after Reserve Bank of India released its weekly bulletin of previous week. On 12th June 2020 reserves crossed the 500 billion $ for the first time and became the sixth ever country after Switzerland to do so[81]. During 1991 Indian economic crisis country only had 5b $ worth of reserves left which led to Economic liberalisation in India. Since then the reserves had seen a 10,000% uplift of reserves in under three decades.[82]

Currency composition of foreign exchange reserves

IMF releases the quarterly data on the currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves. The data are reported to the IMF on a voluntary and confidential basis. As of Q4 2016, there are 146 reporters, consisting of IMF member countries, a number of non-member countries/economies, and other entities holding foreign exchange reserves. From Q4 2016, the data was expanded to include renminbi (RMB).[83]

Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER)
(US Dollars, billions)[83]
No.CurrencyQ4 2016Q1 2017Q2 2017Q3 2017Q4 2017Q1 2018Q2 2018Q3 2018Q4 2018
1USD5,501.985,713.355,909.136,124.736,280.616,530.876,560.786,632.156,617.84
2EUR1,610.871,703.131,847.191,933.682,019.252,117.572,129.412,192.432,219.34
3JPY332.93399.85427.79435.67491.01477.28511.52532.94558.36
4GBP365.85377.89409.48434.08454.12486.13469.86481.10475.45
5CAD163.14167.49178.77192.85202.80193.29200.22208.74197.76
6AUD142.30156.28162.31171.22180.01176.96178.61180.91174.21
7RMB90.7895.42100.00108.37123.47145.67192.75192.38202.79
8CHF13.6914.4515.6016.3118.0917.9317.1817.1815.86
Other currencies199.51208.28209.55228.81244.69256.46254.62269.60266.07
Unallocated Reserves2,293.612,063.281,859.041,650.321,430.361,201.40951.69692.22690.55
Total10,714.6810,899.4211,118.8611,296.0511,444.4111,603.5711,466.6311,399.6611,418.24

Notes
  1. increment & decrement icon of countries resets at end of month or till specific country releases its forex reserve data.
  2. Excluding figures for Hong Kong and Macau.
  3. Amount calculated on 6 June 2020 at 02:45 UTC when 1CHF : 1.03923USD.
  4. Indian reports are released on a weekly basis with the figures being of the previous week.
  5. Formally known as the Republic of China
  6. Amount calculated on 1June 2020 at 11:04 UTC when 1sar : 0.26638usd.
  7. US reports are released on a weekly basis with the figures being of two weeks back.
  8. The Iranian government does not report the foreign exchange reserves as a matter of policy and all figures are estimates calculated by international or foreign institutes, which are occasionally endorsed by Iranian officials without disclosing the exact numbers.
  9. Not to be confused over 'Eurozone' ECB is the common bank of European countries that have opted for euro as their common currency but eurozone includes the total amount of foreign reserves held by the different European countries centeral bank & gives you collective data of all European members.
  10. Libya doesn't give it's forex reserves holding these are only estimates available from international organisations like world bank last recorded data is of 2017
  11. Nigeria's number is of 30-day moving average.
  12. Figure in June 2019 is a derivation of the original figure in the June 2019 report, KZ 5761114 million, and the average reference rate of KZ338.65/USD (also in the June report).
  13. September 2019 number is based on EUR reported and EUR/USD average rate of 1.0917 as reported here.
  14. Indicated as Burma in CIA report.
  15. Figure reported in NAf (ANG), and derived using currency peg of 1USD to 1.79ANG[75].
  16. Name in IMF data is "West Bank and Gaza".

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