Australia vs South Africa: Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange
Australia
32.83 billion SDR
in 2025
South Africa
37.46 billion SDR
in 2025
Australia rank
38th
South Africa rank
35th
Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 37.46 billion SDR against 32.83 billion SDR in Australia, a difference of 4.63 billion SDR.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.1 times Australia's.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 38th and South Africa ranks 35th of 188 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 7 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.03 billion SDR | 166.20 million SDR | 863.80 million SDR | Australia |
| 1960s | 1.10 billion SDR | 118.50 million SDR | 980.30 million SDR | Australia |
| 1970s | 2.38 billion SDR | 293.08 million SDR | 2.09 billion SDR | Australia |
| 1980s | 5.91 billion SDR | 430.41 million SDR | 5.48 billion SDR | Australia |
| 1990s | 9.77 billion SDR | 1.74 billion SDR | 8.03 billion SDR | Australia |
| 2000s | 20.12 billion SDR | 11.22 billion SDR | 8.90 billion SDR | Australia |
| 2010s | 29.76 billion SDR | 28.39 billion SDR | 1.36 billion SDR | Australia |
| 2020s | 28.60 billion SDR | 34.38 billion SDR | 5.78 billion SDR | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange, Australia or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 37.46 billion SDR against 32.83 billion SDR in Australia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange between Australia and South Africa?
- 4.63 billion SDR, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange?
- Australia ranks 38th and South Africa ranks 35th of 188 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund, published as Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange (SDR). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
International Liquidity (IL) 2026 April