List of countries by foreign exchange reserves

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold in 2008

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, SDRs and 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 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 US 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.

Contents

[edit] List of states by foreign exchange reserves

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. Currently, well over a third of all world reserves are held by majority Chinese territories Macau, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore.

Rank Country/Monetary Authority Foreign exchange reserves
(millions of USD)		 Figures as of
—  World (sum of all countries) 7,471,093 --
1  People's Republic of China
(Mainland China only)		 1,953,000 Mar 2009
2  Japan 1,056,718 May 2009[1]
- Flag of Europe Eurozone
(EU member states which have adopted the euro, incl. ECB)		 685,406 Apr 2009[1]
3  Russia 383,969 Apr 2009[1]
4  Republic of China 312,642 May 2009
5  India 264,580 Jun 2009[2]
6  South Korea 226,927 May 2009[1]
7  Brazil 208,738 July 2009[3]
8  Germany 201,224 May 2009[1]
9 Flag of Hong Kong Hong Kong 193,441 Apr 2009[1]
10  Singapore 170,101 Apr 2009[1]
11  Switzerland 164,005 May 2009[1]
12  Algeria 145,363 Apr 2009
13  France 125,222 Apr 2009[1]
14  Thailand 116,879 Apr 2009[1]
15  Italy 107,681 Apr 2009[1]
16  Malaysia 87,100 Jun 2009[1]
17  Mexico 82,100 Feb 2009
18  Iran 81,000 May 2008
19  Libya 79,000 Sep 2007
20  United States 78,634 May 2009[1]
21  United Kingdom 73,929 May 2009[1]
— Flag of Europe European Central Bank
(ECB, not owned by any single EU member)		 73,719 Apr 2009[1]
22  Turkey 67,655 Apr 2009[1]
23  Poland 64,089 Apr 2009[1]
24  Denmark 60,148 Apr 2009[1]
25  Indonesia 56,566 Apr 2009[1]
26  Norway 53,100 Apr 2009[1]
27  Iraq 48,779 Jan 2009[4]
28  Israel 47,887 May 2009[1]
29  Argentina 46,368 Apr 2009[1]
30  Belgium 45,219 May 2009[1]
31  Chile 45,135 Apr 2009[1]
32  Nigeria 45,000 Apr 2009
33  Canada 44,870 May 2009[1]
34  Venezuela 42,628 Dec 2008
35  Romania 41,111 May 2009[1]
36  Australia 40,919 Apr 2009[1]
37  Philippines 39,845 Apr 2009[1]
38  Czech Republic 38,665 May 2009[1]
39  Hungary 37,495 May 2009[1]
40  South Africa 34,049 Apr 2009[1]
41  Netherlands 33,107 May 2009[1]
42  Saudi Arabia 31,320 Oct 2007
43  Egypt 31,209 May 2009
44  Peru 30,863 May 2009[1]
45  United Arab Emirates 29,620 2007 est.
46  Sweden 27,816 Apr 2009[1]
47  Spain 27,653 Apr 2009[1]
48  Ukraine 25,106 Apr 2009[1]
49  Colombia 24,814 May 2009[1]
50  Morocco 21,918 Apr 2009[1]
51  Vietnam 20,700 Jun 2008
52 Flag of Macau Macau 20,000 Dec 2008
53  Kuwait 19,630 2007 est.
54  Kazakhstan 19,479 Apr 2009[1]
55  Lebanon 19,400 2007 est.
56  Serbia 17,490 Nov 2008
57  Bulgaria 17,005 May 2009[1]
58 Flag of Ireland Ireland 16,229 Apr 2009[1]
59  Austria 14,855 May 2009[1]
60  Portugal 12,965 May 2009[1]
61  Angola 12,290 2007 est.
62  Croatia 11,759 Apr 2009[1]
63  Pakistan 11,190 May 2009
64  New Zealand 10,927 Apr 2009[1]
65  Botswana 10,000 May 2008
66  Jordan 9,937 Apr 2009[1]
67  Finland 9,372 Apr 2009[1]
68  Azerbaijan 9,316 Apr 2008
69  Tunisia 9,035 May 2009[1]
70  Trinidad and Tobago 8,100 2008 est.
71  Bolivia 7,717 Dec 2008
72  Yemen 7,400 Mar 2009
73  Oman 7,004 2007 est.
74  Uruguay 7,083 Apr 2009[1]
75  Bangladesh 6,500 Apr 2009
76  Ecuador 6,500 Oct 2008
77  Qatar 6,368 2007 est.
78  Cyprus 6,176 2007 est.
79  Syria 6,039 2007 est.
80  Lithuania 5,810 May 2009[1]
81  Uzbekistan 5,600 2007 est.
82  Latvia 5,438 May 2009[1]
83  Luxembourg 5,337 Apr 2009[1]
84  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5,151 Jan 2008
85  Guatemala 4,559 2007 est.
86  Greece 4,522 May 2009[1]
87  Estonia 4,517 May 2009[1]
88  Cuba 4,247 2007 est.
89  Equatorial Guinea 3,928 2007 est.
90  Costa Rica 3,915 2007 est.
91  Turkmenistan 3,644 2007 est.
92  Malta 3,522 2007 est.
93  Burma 3,500 Aug 2008
94  Bahrain 3,474 2007 est.
95  Belarus 3,461 May 2009[1]
96  Iceland 3,459 May 2009[1]
97  Ghana 2,837 2007 est.
98  Kenya 2,615 Mar 2009
99  Paraguay 2,743 Nov 2008
100  Sri Lanka 2,600 Oct 2008
101  Dominican Republic 2,525 2007 est.
102  Côte d'Ivoire 2,500 2007 est.
103  Tanzania 2,441 2007 est.
104  Cameroon 2,341 2007 est.
105  Honduras 2,336 Oct 2008
106  El Salvador 2,681 Apr 2009[1]
107  Republic of Macedonia 2,243 Nov 2007
108  Papua New Guinea 2,193 Dec 2007
109  Mauritius 1,772 2007 est.
110  Albania 1,615 Dec 2007
111  Cambodia 1,600 Dec 2007
112  Jamaica 1,490 Dec 2007
113  Kyrgyzstan 1,480 Apr 2009[1]
114  Mozambique 1,470 Nov 2007
115  Gabon 1,459 2007 est.
116  Senegal 1,350 2007 est.
117  Slovakia 1,311 Apr 2009[1]
118  Georgia 1,300 2008 est.
119  Panama 1,260 2007 est.
120  Sudan 1,245 2007 est.
121  Armenia 1,242 Apr 2009[1]
122  Zimbabwe 1,222 Mar 2008
123  Slovenia 1,216 May 2009[1]
124  Moldova 1,102 Apr 2009[1]
125  Zambia 1,100 2007 est.
126  Nicaragua 1,075 2007 est.
127  Mongolia 1,000 Jul 2007
128  Chad 997 2007 est.
129  Burkina Faso 897 2007 est.
130  Lesotho 889 2007 est.
131  Ethiopia 840 2007 est.
132  Benin 825 2007 est.
133  Namibia 750 2007 est.
134  Madagascar 745 2007 est.
135  Barbados 620 2007 est
136  Laos 514 2007 est.
137  Rwanda 511 2007 est.
138  Swaziland 395 2007 est.
139  Togo 363 2007 est.
140  Cape Verde 344 2007 est.
141  Tajikistan 301 2007 est.
142  Guyana 292 2007 est.
143  Haiti 221 2007 est.
144  Belize 150 Oct 2008
145  Vanuatu 149 Dec 2007
146  Malawi 140 2007 est.
147  Gambia 120 2007 est.
148  Guinea 119 2007 est.
149  Burundi 118 2007 est.
150  Seychelles 118 2007 est.
151  Samoa 70 2004 est.
152  Tonga 55 Feb 2008
153  Liberia 49 Dec 2008
154  Congo 36 Jan 2009
155  São Tomé and Príncipe 36 Dec 2007
156  Eritrea 22 2007 est.

[edit] 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)		 Figures as of
1 Flag of Europe 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
4  Mexico -30,000 Dec 2008
4  South 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  South Korea -20,000 Dec 2008
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[5]
(millions of Yuan)		 Issue date
1  Hong Kong -200,000 Jan 2009
2  South Korea -180,000 Dec 2008
3  Indonesia -100,000 Mar 2009
4  Malaysia -80,000 Feb 2009
5  Argentina -70,000 Mar 2009
6  Belarus -20,000 Feb 2009

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj IMF.org:International reserves by country
  2. ^ [1] Retrieved on 2009-07-06.
  3. ^ Reservas internacionais Central Bank of Brazil. Retrieved on 2009-06-25.
  4. ^ http://www.cbi.iq/index2.htm
  5. ^ Bloomberg:China, Indonesia in 100 Billion Yuan Currency Swap

[edit] External links

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Account balance (% GDP) · Aid  · Budget · Debt (external · public) · Exports (per capita) · FDI (received · abroad) · GFI · Imports · Income · Inflation · Interest (central bank · commercial) · Minimum wage · Pension fund · Reserves (forex · gold) · SWF · Taxes (revenue) · US$ exchange
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