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) 863,171 Dec 2011 3 Saudi Arabia 541,091 Dec 2011 4 Russia 505,391 Jan 2012 5 Republic of China (Taiwan) 385,547 Dec 2011 6 Brazil 355,075 Jan 2012 7 Switzerland 340,626 Dec 2011 8 Republic of Korea 311,340 Jan 2012 9 India 296,688 Dec 2011 – Hong Kong 285,408 Dec 2011 10 Singapore 237,737 Dec 2011 11 Germany 238,857 Dec 2011 12 Algeria 185,900 Dec 2011 13 Thailand 176,159 Jan 2012 14 Italy 173,302 Dec 2011 15 France 172,206 Dec 2011 18 United States 148,185 Jan 2012 17 Mexico 147,381 Jan 2012 18 Malaysia 133,641 Dec 2011 19 United Kingdom 121,926 Dec 2011 20 Iran 120,000 Jan 2012 21 Indonesia 110,123 Dec 2011 22 Poland 97,866 Dec 2011 23 Turkey 88,220 Dec 2011 24 Denmark 85,054 Dec 2011 – European Central Bank (ECB, not owned by any single EU member) 79,122 Dec 2011 25 Philippines 77,043 Jan 2012 26 Israel 74,735 Dec 2011 27 Libya 71,990 Dec 2011 28 Canada 66,376 Jan 2012 29 United Arab Emirates 55,290 Dec 2011 30 Iraq 53,470 Dec 2011 31 Netherlands 51,266 Dec 2011 32 Sweden 50,362 Dec 2011 33 Peru 49,357 Jan 2012 34 Hungary 48,876 Dec 2011 35 South Africa 48,861 Dec 2011 36 Romania 48,200 Dec 2011 37 Lebanon 47,870 Dec 2011 38 Spain 47,101 Dec 2011 39 Australia 46,804 Dec 2011 40 Argentina 46,376 Dec 2011 41 Norway 46,224 Nov 2011 42 Chile 41,979 Dec 2011 43 Czech Republic 39,901 Dec 2011 44 Nigeria 36,810 Dec 2011 45 Colombia 31,910 Dec 2011 46 Ukraine 31,795 Dec 2011 47 Venezuela 30,930 Dec 2011 48 Belgium 29,434 Dec 2011 49 Kazakhstan 29,323 Dec 2011 50 Austria 25,173 Dec 2011 51 Kuwait 28,020 Dec 2011 52 Morocco 21,832 Nov 2011 53 Portugal 21,337 Dec 2011 54 Qatar 20,390 Dec 2011 55 Macau 18,730 Mar 2010 56 Pakistan 17,800 Dec 2011 57 Bulgaria 17,272 Dec 2011 58 New Zealand 17,012 Dec 2011 59 Vietnam 16,760 Dec 2011 60 Egypt 16,400 Jan 2012 61 Serbia 14,650 Dec 2011 62 Croatia 14,485 Dec 2011 63 Jordan 12,484 Nov 2011 64 Bolivia 12,395 Jan 2012 65 Bangladesh 10,980 Dec 2011 66 Uruguay 10,538 Jan 2012 67 Finland 10,340 Dec 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 Belarus 7,916 Dec 2011 73 Tunisia 7,551 Dec 2011 74 Azerbaijan 7,146 Dec 2011 75 Greece 6,957 Dec 2011 76 Latvia 6,384 Dec 2011 77 Guatemala 6,184 Dec 2011 78 Paraguay 5,096 Dec 2011 79 Costa Rica 4,756 Dec 2011 80 Dominican Republic 4,397 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 2,504 Dec 2011 86 Slovakia 2,419 Dec 2011 87 Armenia 1,959 Dec 2011 88 Moldova 1,959 Nov 2011 89 Nicaragua 1,892 Dec 2011 90 Kyrgyzstan 1,831 Dec 2011 91 Ireland 1,704 Dec 2011 92 Cyprus 1,289 Oct 2011 93 Luxembourg 1,014 Dec 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