Korea vs North America: Total reserves in months of imports
Total reserves in months of imports over time
- Korea
- North America
How they compare
Korea currently reports 6.46 against 2.73 in North America, a difference of 3.73.
That makes Korea's figure about 2.4 times North America's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 50 shared years of data; in 1976 it was North America ahead.
Korea ranks 45th and North America ranks 47th of 179 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Korea averaged higher in 4 and North America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Korea | North America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.1 | 3.81 | 1.71 | North America |
| 1980s | 1.41 | 3.45 | 2.04 | North America |
| 1990s | 2.89 | 1.85 | 1.05 | Korea |
| 2000s | 7.11 | 1.11 | 5.99 | Korea |
| 2010s | 6.92 | 1.6 | 5.31 | Korea |
| 2020s | 6.96 | 2.01 | 4.95 | Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher total reserves in months of imports, Korea or North America?
- Korea, at 6.46 against 2.73 in North America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in total reserves in months of imports between Korea and North America?
- 3.73, with Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Korea and North America?
- 50 years are reported by both, from 1976 to 2025.
- How do Korea and North America rank globally for total reserves in months of imports?
- Korea ranks 45th and North America ranks 47th of 179 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as Total reserves in months of imports. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
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About this data
Reserve assets are external assets, including monetary gold, that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency exchange rate, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing). Reserve assets must be denominated and settled in foreign currency. This item is expressed in terms of the number of months of imports of goods and services they could pay for [X/(Imports/12)].