Foreign exchange reserves, also called Forex reserves, are, in a strict sense, only foreign-currency deposits held by nationals and monetary authorities. However, in popular usage and in the list below, it also includes gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and 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.

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, the Pound Sterling, and the Chinese Yuan) 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.

List

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 some others report in their respective currencies. And since all the figures below are in U.S dollar equivalents, exchange rate fluctuations can have a significant impact on these figures.

Rank [lower-alpha 1]	Country or region	Foreign exchange reserves (millions US$)	Date	Change	Ref
1	China	3,171,807	25 Dec 2023	28,100	[1]
2	Japan	1,294,637	31 Dec 2023	24,930	[2]
3	Switzerland	828,185	31 Oct 2023	58,919	[3]
4	India	617,303	5 Jan 2024	5,897	[4][lower-alpha 2]
5	Russia	593,400	22 Dec 2023	5,500	[5][lower-alpha 3]
6	Taiwan	567,520	Nov 2023	4,471	[6][lower-alpha 4]
7	Saudi Arabia	508,000	Aug 2023	115	[7]
8	South Korea	484,000	Aug 2023	3,503	[8]
9	Singapore	345,464	31 Aug 2023	3,542	[9][10]
10	Brazil	344,177	Aug 2023	1,299	[11]
11	Germany	309,047	Aug 2023	2,285	[12]
12	United States	240,324	22 Sep 2023	473	[13][lower-alpha 5]
13	France	238,277	Oct 2022	0,948	[14]
14	Italy	234,034	Jun 2023	4,824	[15]
15	Thailand	221,374	21 Jul 2023	572	[16]
16	Mexico	212,762	Dec 2023	1,253	[17][18][19]
17	United Kingdom	210,483	Nov 2023	5,336	[20][lower-alpha 6]
18	Israel	198,169	Nov 2023	6,934	[21]
19	Poland	186,712	Nov 2023	9,708	[22]
20	United Arab Emirates	151,600	Jun 2023	3,540	[23][lower-alpha 7]
21	Czech Republic	142,989	Jul 2023	1,516	[24]
22	Turkey	145,500	14 Dec 2023	1,300	[25][lower-alpha 8]
23	Indonesia	138,100	Sep 2023	4,960	[26][27]
24	Iraq	115,000	Feb 2023	19,000	[28]
25	Malaysia	112,900	31 Jul 2023	1,100	[29]
26	Canada	106,462	Nov 2022	2,686	[30]
27	Philippines	102,720	Nov 2023	1,685	[31]
28	Spain	99,826	31 Oct 2023	871	[32][26]
29	Vietnam	92,101	Aug 2022	6,504	[33]
30	Denmark	88,752	31 Oct 2023	676	[34][26]
31	Iran	86,000	Feb 2020		[35][lower-alpha 9]
—	European Union (ECB)	85,602	Aug 2021	0,801	[36][lower-alpha 10]
32	Algeria	85,345	Mar 2023	5,150	[37][38][33]
33	Norway	77,817	31 Oct 2023	1,367	[39][26]
34	Romania	72,911	31 Dec 2023	1,771	[40][41]
35	Peru	70,873	Oct 2023	295	[42]
36	Libya	69,114	Mar 2022	0,665	[43][33]
37	South Africa	61,296	May 2023	424	[44][33]
38	Colombia	58,161	Sep 2021	0,124	[26]
39	Australia	57,889	Dec 2022	2,226	[45]
40	Sweden	54,020	6 Mar 2021	1,345	[46][lower-alpha 11]
41	Netherlands	54,016	May 2021	2,677	[26][47]
42	Kuwait	48,820	May 2022	2,040	[48][lower-alpha 12]
43	Chile	42,527	Oct 2023	2,373	[26]
44	Qatar	65,671	Aug 2023	8,931	[49]
45	Nigeria	40,660	22 Dec 2021	4,652	[50]
46	Ukraine	40,507	1 Jan 2024	1,212	[51]
47	Hungary	36,593	Apr 2021	0,933	[26][52]
49	Kazakhstan	35,438	Nov 2021	0,382	[26]
50	Uzbekistan	35,139	1 Jan 2022	0,390	[53]
51	Bulgaria	32,881	Apr 2021	0,748	[26]
52	Egypt	32,149	Dec 2022	453	[54]
53	Belgium	31,762	Apr 2021	860	[26]
54	Portugal	29,050	Apr 2021	2,391	[26]
55	Austria	28,513	Apr 2021	842	[26]
56	Croatia	28,416	3 Jan 2022	996	[55][56]
57	Morocco	27,800	Oct 2021	380	[26]
58	Macau	25,849	Apr 2021	819	[57]
59	Serbia	25,135	12 Sep 2023	520	[58]
60	Argentina	24,092	31 Jul 2023	3,834	[59][33]
61	Turkmenistan	20,600	Feb 2017		[35]
62	Cambodia	19,500	23 Jul 2021	1,410	[60]
63	Jordan	19,100	Dec 2021	987	[26]
58	Bangladesh	27,130	Dec 2023		[61][62]
65	Guatemala	18,600	Apr 2021	853	[26]
66	Oman	18,000	28 Dec 2021	778	[63]
67	Nepal	16,967	14 Dec 2023	-	[64]
68	Finland	16,552	Jan 2022	228	[26][65]
69	Uruguay	15,790	Oct 2023	1.176	[66]
70	Angola	15,400	2 Jan 2022	391	[67]
71	New Zealand	14,544	Dec 2021	1,559	[26]
72	Dominican Republic	12,611	Jun 2021	200	[68]
73	Ghana	11,403	29 Sep 2021	2,445	[69]
74	Greece	10,895	Feb 2021	277	[26]
75	Paraguay	9,200	Jul 2023	155	[26]
76	Afghanistan	9,446	Feb 2021	60	[33]
77	Lebanon	8,600	17 Aug 2023	34,877	[70]
78	Bosnia and Herzegovina	8,400	May 2023	916	[71]
79	Pakistan	8,154	5 Jan 2024	67	[72]
80	Ecuador	8,130	23 Nov 2021	4,931	[73]
81	Slovakia	8,100	May 2021	96	[26]
82	North Korea	8,000	Oct 2013		[74]
83	Azerbaijan	7,689	Mar 2021	142	[26]
84	Honduras	7,871	Jun 2023	320	[75]
85	Mauritius	7,461	Apr 2021	133	[26]
86	Tunisia	7,300	Apr 2023	290	[33]
87	Belarus	7,277	Apr 2021	337	[26]
88	Trinidad and Tobago	7,000	Aug 2021	644	[76][77]
89	Iceland	6,860	Apr 2021	74	[26]
90	Costa Rica	6,814	Nov 2021	320	[78]
91	Tanzania	6,714	19 Nov 2021	1,600	[79]
92	Myanmar	6,700	2019	0,800	[80]
93	Venezuela	5,908	16 Nov 2021	776	[81]
94	Panama	5,800	May 2023	4,200	[68]
95	Ireland	5,700	Jun 2023	127	[82]
96	Latvia	5,404	Apr 2021	80	[26]
97	Moldova	5,121	24 Nov 2023	4	[83][84]
98	Georgia	5,100	Jan 2023	900	[26]
99	Botswana	5,080	Feb 2021	267	[33]
100	Lithuania	4,848	Dec 2020	440	[26]
101	Cuba	4,847	Mar 2020	8,391	[68]
102	Ivory Coast	4,688	Nov 2017		[35]
103	Albania	4,345	26 Nov 2021	0,400	[85]
104	Vatican City	4,339	1 Apr 2023	0,950	[86]
105	Armenia	4,100	Dec 2022	0,600	[87]
106	Uganda	4,075	Jun 2023		[80]
107	Nicaragua	2,680	Feb 2023	1,100	[88]
108	Ethiopia	3,993	2019		[80]
109	Jamaica	4,208	May 2023	0,300	[26]
110	Sri Lanka	3,562	Oct 2023	108	[89]
111	Mongolia	3,697	Sep 2020	0,300	[26]
112	Andorra	3,689	20 Apr 2023	11	[90]
113	Brunei	3,664	Feb 2021	0,098	[33]
114	Bolivia	3,538	Feb 2023	0,639	[91]
115	Cameroon	3,459	2018		[80]
116	Bahrain	3,415	Feb 2020
117	Kyrgyzstan	2,910	Sep 2021	0,700	[26]
118	El Salvador	2,510	Apr 2021	0,062	[26]
119	Papua New Guinea	2,339	2019	0,500	[80]
120	Haiti	2,296	2023	1,256	[68]
121	Estonia	2,216	Oct 2020	0,900	[26]
122	Namibia	1,924	Sep 2020	0,025	[26]
123	Bahamas	1,758	2019		[80]
124	Kenya	1,690	20 Oct 2022	0,073	[92]
125	Madagascar	1,593	2019		[80]
126	Montenegro	1,529	2019		[80]
127	Mauritania	1,493	2020		[80]
128	Tajikistan	1,466	2019		[80]
129	Rwanda	1,465	2019		[80]
130	Zambia	1,449	2019		[80]
131	Guinea	1,418	2019		[80]
132	Gabon	1,321	2019		[80]
133	Cyprus	1,271	Aug 2020	0,200	[26]
134	Slovenia	1,217	Oct 2020	0,200	[26]
135	Luxembourg	1,191	Dec 2020	0,034	[26]
136	Laos	1,068	2019		[80]
137	Curaçao	1,055	31 Oct 2019		[93][lower-alpha 13]
138	Fiji	1,043	2019		[80]
139	Niger	1,039	2015		[80]
140	Aruba	982	2019		[80]
141	Bhutan	970	Jul 2022		[80]
142	Kosovo	965	2019		[80]
143	Malta	928	Oct 2020	0,030	[26]
144	Lesotho	774	2019		[80]
145	Barbados	772	2019		[80]
146	Maldives	762	2018		[80]
147	Cape Verde	737	2019		[80]
148	Gambia	692	2018		[80]
149	Palestine	683	Aug 2019	0,050	[26][lower-alpha 14]
150	Democratic Republic of the Congo	665	2018		[80]
151	Timor-Leste	656	2019		[80]
152	Suriname	647	2019	0,065	[80]
153	Mali	624	2015		[80]
154	Guyana	573	2019	0,050	[80]
155	Solomon Islands	571	2019		[80]
156	Seychelles	566	Sep 2020	0,031	[26]
157	Sierra Leone	532	2019		[80]
158	Vanuatu	511	2019		[80]
159	Djibouti	501	2019		[80]
160	San Marino	473	2019		[80]
161	Malawi	471	13 Oct 2021	0,350	[95]
162	Eswatini	440	2019		[80]
163	Republic of the Congo	423	2018		[80]
164	Syria	407	31 Dec 2017		[35]
165	Federated States of Micronesia	397	2019		[80]
166	Central African Republic	361	2018		[80]
167	Saint Kitts and Nevis	351	2018		[80]
168	Liberia	349	2019		[80]
169	Guinea-Bissau	332	2015		[80]
170	Antigua and Barbuda	279	2019		[80]
171	Belize	277	2019		[80]
172	Saint Lucia	260	2019		[80]
173	Yemen	245	31 Dec 2017		[35]
174	Grenada	236	2019		[80]
175	Tonga	229	2019		[80]
176	Togo	215	31 Dec 2017		[35]
177	Comoros	202	2019		[80]
178	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	193	2019		[80]
179	Eritrea	191	2019		[80]
180	Samoa	185	2019		[80]
181	São Tomé and Príncipe	184	2020		[80]
182	Sudan	177	2017		[80]
183	Dominica	166	2019		[80]
184	Senegal	152	31 Dec 2017		[35]
185	Zimbabwe	151	2019		[80]
186	Chad	147	2018		[80]
187	Burundi	111	2019		[80]
188	South Sudan	73	2022		[80]
189	Benin	60	31 Dec 2017		[35]
190	Montserrat	49	31 Dec 2017		[35]
191	Equatorial Guinea	48	2018		[80]
192	Burkina Faso	45	31 Dec 2017		[35]
193	Somalia	32	31 Dec 2017		[35]
194	Kiribati	6	2020		[33]

Timeline of the top 5 countries

The five countries with the largest foreign exchange reserves almost all have reserves of at least 500 billion USD and higher and have maintained such an amount for at least a week. At present there are only six countries whose reserves are at such a figure; this includes China, Japan, Switzerland, India, Russia and Taiwan. Saudi Arabia formerly included on the list until March 2020; its reserves were severely depleted by the low oil price during the economic fallout of from the global outbreak of coronavirus disease, its ongoing oil price war with Russia and competition from US shale oil.^[96]

The images below shows the timeline of their reserves since the earliest available forex data. The list is in accordance to their respective positions.

China

Foreign Exchange Reserves of China

The foreign-exchange reserves of China are the greatest of all countries and have been so for more than 14 years.^[97][98] The main composition of Chinese forex reserves is approximately two-thirds USD and one-fifth Euros with the rest made up of Japanese Yen and the British Pound. China was the second country to reach $500 billion and the first to reach $1 trillion in reserves. China is also the only country that reached net reserves of $2 trillion and $3 trillion. Chinese forex reserve reached over $3.993 trillion and possibly reached $4 trillion before July 2014 but there was no official figures to confirm it.

China began reducing its forex reserves in July 2014 over concerns that the forex reserve level was too high. The practice lasted one and a half years. In January 2017, Chinese forex reserves dipped below $3 trillion briefly and have since remained above that level.

Japan

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Japan

Japanese forex reserves are the second largest in the world. Japan was the first country to reach $500 billion in reserves and had the highest forex reserves in the world until they were surpassed by China in 2006. They have remained in second place since 2006 and above $1 trillion since 2008, being the second country to surpass $1 trillion.^[99]

Switzerland

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Switzerland in CHF

Swiss forex reserves are the third largest in the world. Switzerland became the fifth country to reach $500 Billion in 2014 after Saudi Arabia and the third country to reach $1 trillion at the end of 2020. Swiss reserves are compiled in Swiss francs. Since the Financial crisis of 2007-2008, the Swiss franc has significantly appreciated against other currencies due to Switzerland's traditional perceived safety which has attracted speculative foreign capital; due to the inflows of investment income by Swiss firms, and due to the large surplus in the trade of goods. In order to protect the real economy from the sudden speculative appreciation of the currency, the Swiss National Bank began intervening in the currency markets, first with an explicit target of a maximum exchange rate against the euro of 1.20CHF/EUR until 2015,^[100] and then through implicit interventions. However, the resilience of the export sector and the continued inflows of capital, has meant that the Swiss Franc has kept appreciating.^[101] As a result of this, the SNB has been unable to dispose of its large accumulated foreign exchange reserves since their sale would lead to an even greater appreciation of the currency.

India

Foreign Exchange Reserves of India

The Foreign-exchange reserves of India are the world's fourth largest. On 4 June 2021 reserves exceeded $600 billion for the first time and they became the fifth country after Switzerland to do so.^[102] During the 1991 Indian economic crisis country only had $5 billion of reserves left which led to subsequent economic liberalisation.^[103] Since then the reserves have seen a 127 times increase over 30 years.

Russia

Foreign Exchange Reserves of Russia

Russian reserves are the world's fifth largest; They have reached a level of $600 billion on 21 May 2021. They were the third country to reach $500 billion.^[104] The first fall in reserves was due to the Great Recession, the second fall in 2015 was due to falling oil prices.

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).^[105] Monetary gold is not covered in COFER but included in reserved assets, a broader scope than that of COFER.^[106]

Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER)
(US Dollars, billions)^[105]

Currency→ ↓Quarter	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP	CAD	RMB	AUD	CHF	Other Currencies	Unallocated Reserves	Total
Q1 2019	6727.09	2208.79	584.63	495.70	208.64	212.26	181.95	15.27	263.50	712.93	11610.77
Q2 2019	6752.28	2264.88	611.87	497.41	209.85	212.80	186.71	15.53	270.56	715.88	11737.76
Q3 2019	6728.85	2212.74	612.75	492.22	205.44	213.83	182.48	16.20	262.92	729.40	11656.82
Q4 2019	6674.83	2279.30	631	511.51	206.71	215.81	187.18	17.36	281.50	749.55	11824.74
Q1 2020	6794.91	2197.30	624.97	486.08	195.13	221.48	170.16	16.05	255.53	770.32	11731.94
Q2 2020	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Q3 2020	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Q4 2020	6990.97	2526.41	715.35	561.39	246.57	271.60	216.87	20.74	314.63	841.14	12705.67
Q1 2021	6971.79	2404.80	686.30	554.28	250.01	293.32	214.89	19.44	335.82	851.50	12582.14
Q2 2021	7070.33	2458.88	672.20	560.90	270.01	314.81	218.44	23.13	357.57	865.83	12812.12
Q3 2021	7087.77	2462.44	681.42	561.66	264.29	320.15	214.26	23.77	354.77	860.67	12831.20
Q4 2021	7087.14	2486.88	671.77	576.22	286.93	336.10	218.02	24.51	362.96	886.73	12937.27
Q1 2022	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Q2 2022	6645.02	2187.63	572.65	538.73	275.75	308.22	209.14	-	358.62	858.26	11981.65
Q3 2022	6426.89	2086.40	560.11	489.95	260.92	281.12	204.78	-	358.59	840.62	11534.16
Q4 2022	6460.26	2252.06	608.17	543.11	262.62	287.81	217.08	-	383.65	876.10	11916.16
Q1 2023	6571.71	2208.42	610.39	543.05	270.60	288.31	221.62	-	408.25	877.70	12027.71
Q2 2023	6576.90	2230.34	602.86	544.51	278.43	274.10	219.67	-	423.00	884.81	12055.26

See also

• List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves (excluding gold)
• List of circulating currencies

Notes

References

External links

• IMF's Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity -- Reporting Countries
• IMF's SDDS subscribers with links to their websites containing data on international reserves
• Central bank and monetary authority websites at the Bank for International Settlements website