List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold in 2008

Foreign-currency reserves and gold minus external debt based on 2010 data from CIA Factbook

Foreign-exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign-currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term foreign-exchange reserves in popular usage (such as this list) commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs])and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve position as this total figure is more readily available, however it is accurately deemed as official reserves or international reserves. The list excludes currency swaps conducted by central banks.

These are assets of the central banks which are held in different reserve currencies such as the U.S. dollar, euro, yen and pound, 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. Some nations are converting foreign exchange reserves into sovereign wealth funds, which can rival foreign exchange reserves in size.

This is a list of countries and territories by foreign exchange reserves in U.S. dollar equivalence. Some nations have multiple monetary authorities, counted separately, such as the People's Republic of China, which has three (mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau). Exchange rate fluctuations can have significant impact on these numbers. While most nations report in US dollars, a few nations in Eastern Europe report solely in Euros.

List of states by foreign-exchange reserves

The list below is based on IMF data – when available; Otherwise – U.S. Central Intelligence Agency data are indicated. For consistency, forward currency swap contracts are not included in this list until they mature, figures that include them may be higher or lower than those listed here. IMF or other outstanding loans are not shown here, and if accounted for many nations would list lower.

Rank Country/monetary authority Foreign exchange reserves (Millions of US$) Figures as of — World (sum of all countries) N/A – 1 People's Republic of China 3,181,100 Dec 2011 2 Japan 1,295,840 Dec 2011 – Eurosystem (EU member states which have adopted the euro, incl. ECB) 917,026 Nov 2011 3 Saudi Arabia 556,200 Dec 2011 4 Russia 498,649 Jan 2012 5 Republic of China (Taiwan) 385,547 Dec 2011 6 Brazil 352,012 Dec 2011 7 Switzerland 340,626 Dec 2011 8 Republic of Korea 310,976 Oct 2011 9 India 307,884 Nov 2011 – Hong Kong 282,534 Nov 2011 10 Singapore 240,987 Nov 2011 11 Germany 238,857 Dec 2011 12 Italy 186.292 Nov 2011 13 France 185.910 Nov 2011 14 Algeria 185,900 Dec 2011 15 Thailand 176,159 Jan 2012 16 Mexico 147,381 Jan 2012 17 United States 147,315 Jan 2012 18 Malaysia 134,783 Dec 2011 19 Indonesia 124,638 Aug 2011 20 United Kingdom 121,926 Dec 2011 21 Iran 120,000 Jan 2012 22 Poland 97,866 Dec 2011 23 Turkey 88,220 Dec 2011 24 Denmark 85,364 Nov 2011 – European Central Bank (ECB, not owned by any single EU member) 79,142 May 2011 25 Philippines 76,206 Nov 2011 26 Israel 74,735 Dec 2011 27 Libya 71,990 Dec 2011 28 Canada 65,819 Dec 2011 29 United Arab Emirates 55,290 Dec 2011 30 Iraq 53,470 Dec 2011 31 Netherlands 51,266 Dec 2011 32 Sweden 50,828 Nov 2011 33 South Africa 49,650 Nov 2011 34 Peru 49,357 Jan 2012 35 Hungary 48,876 Dec 2011 36 Romania 48,200 Dec 2011 37 Lebanon 47,870 Dec 2011 38 Spain 47,101 Dec 2011 39 Norway 46,224 Nov 2011 40 Argentina 46,062 Nov 2011 41 Australia 44,928 Nov 2011 42 Czech Republic 43,230 Jun 2011 43 Chile 41,979 Dec 2011 44 Nigeria 36,810 Dec 2011 45 Kazakhstan 32,177 Nov 2011 46 Colombia 31,910 Dec 2011 47 Ukraine 31,795 Dec 2011 48 Venezuela 30,930 Dec 2011 49 Belgium 29,434 Dec 2011 50 Austria 25,173 Dec 2011 51 Kuwait 28,020 Dec 2011 52 New Zealand 22,031 Oct 2011 53 Morocco 21,832 Nov 2011 54 Portugal 21,337 Dec 2011 55 Egypt 20,685 Nov 2011 56 Qatar 20,390 Dec 2011 57 Vietnam 19,200 Jan 2011 58 Macau 18,730 Mar 2010 59 Pakistan 17,800 Dec 2011 60 Bulgaria 17,614 May 2011 61 Croatia 16,276 May 2011 62 Serbia 14,650 Dec 2011 63 Jordan 12,484 Nov 2011 64 Bolivia 12,395 Jan 2012 65 Bangladesh 10,980 Dec 2011 66 Finland 10,812 Nov 2011 67 Uruguay 10,027 Nov 2011 68 Trinidad and Tobago 9,876 Dec 2011 69 Iceland 8,550 Dec 2011 70 Sri Lanka 8,400 Dec 2011 71 Lithuania 8,210 Dec 2011 72 Tunisia 7,551 Dec 2011 73 Azerbaijan 7,146 Dec 2011 74 Greece 6,957 Dec 2011 75 Latvia 6,384 Dec 2011 76 Guatemala 6,034 Nov 2011 77 Paraguay 5,096 Dec 2011 78 Costa Rica 4,756 Dec 2011 79 Dominican Republic 4,397 Jun 2011 80 Belarus 4,151 Jun 2011 81 Cambodia 4,113 Dec 2011 82 Myanmar 3,762 Dec 2010 83 Georgia 2,818 Dec 2011 84 Honduras 2,793 Dec 2011 85 El Salvador 2,685 Nov 2011 86 Slovakia 2,409 May 2011 87 Armenia 1,959 Dec 2011 88 Moldova 1,958 Nov 2011 89 Nicaragua 1,892 Dec 2011 90 Kyrgyzstan 1,831 Dec 2011 91 Ireland 1,723 Nov 2011 92 Cyprus 1,289 Oct 2011 93 Luxembourg 1,009 Nov 2011 94 Slovenia 992 Dec 2011 95 Laos 757 Dec 2011 96 Malta 465 Dec 2011 97 Estonia 208 Dec 2011 List of outstanding forward swap agreements The following is a list of outstanding forward swap contracts with the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China. They are not included in foreign exchange reserves, but can bolster the reserves when credit is taken out, and reduce the reserves when credit expires. The Fed has extended its credit deadline to Oct. 30, 2009 for those nations listed below. Japan's deadlines are April 30, 2009, but may be extended. China's table list below are a lines of credit, and does not show actual withdrawals, and are valid for 3 years. Rank Country/monetary authority Foreign exchange swap with Fed (millions of USD) As of 1 European Central Bank −264,100 Nov 2008 2 Japan −97,000 Nov 2008 3 United Kingdom −54,300 Nov 2009 4 Brazil −30,000 Dec 2008 5 Mexico −30,000 Dec 2008 6 Republic of Korea −30,000 Dec 2008 7 Sweden −25,000 Nov 2008 8 Australia −21,600 Nov 2008 9 Switzerland −20,800 Nov 2008 10 Denmark −15,000 Nov 2008 Rank Country/Monetary Authority Foreign exchange swap with BOJ (millions of USD) Figures as of 1 Republic of Korea −70,000 Oct 2011 2 Indonesia −12,000 Feb 2009 3 Thailand −6,000 Dec 2008 3 Philippines −6,000 Dec 2008 5 Malaysia −3,000 Dec 2008 5 India −3,000 Dec 2008 Rank Country/Monetary Authority Swap credit line with PBC (millions of Yuan) Issue date 1 Republic of Korea −357,000 Oct 2011 2 Hong Kong −180,000 Dec 2008 3 Singapore −150,000 Jul 2010 4 Indonesia −100,000 Mar 2009 5 Malaysia −80,000 Feb 2009 6 Argentina −70,000 Mar 2009 7 Belarus −20,000 Feb 2009 See also Official gold reserves Notes ^ 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. References External links The World Factbook, CIA IMF's data on current foreign exchange reserves of reporting countries SDDS subscribers with links to their websites containing data on international reserves Central bank websites from Bank for International Settlements