Total reserves (% of total external debt) by country
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...
Countries reporting
112
Highest
1,203.3%
Algeria
Lowest
0.8%
Sudan
Median
35.5%
Years covered
54
1971–2024
Data points
6,935
What the numbers show
Total reserves (% of total external debt) is currently reported for 112 countries. The highest value is 1,203.3% in Algeria; the lowest is 0.8% in Sudan.
The median across all reporting countries is 35.5%, and the mean is 66.5%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 1,486.
Over the past decade 45 countries rose and 67 fell. The largest increase was in Samoa (up 511.6%), and the largest decrease in Bolivia (down 92.6%).
Total reserves (% of total external debt): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Algeria | 1,203.3% | 2024 | down 64.3% | volatile |
| 2 | Iraq | 574.8% | 2024 | up 103.7% | rising |
| 3 | Afghanistan | 320.7% | 2020 | up 51.3% | rising |
| 4 | Haiti | 287.3% | 2024 | up 206.8% | volatile |
| 5 | East Timor | 262.6% | 2024 | down 12.1% | volatile |
| 6 | Tonga | 217.9% | 2024 | up 168.8% | volatile |
| 7 | Nepal | 156.1% | 2024 | down 0.0% | volatile |
| 8 | Russia | 154.7% | 2022 | up 70.2% | volatile |
| 9 | Botswana | 149.1% | 2024 | down 55.4% | volatile |
| 10 | China | 142.8% | 2024 | down 34.9% | volatile |
| 11 | Samoa | 128.6% | 2024 | up 511.6% | volatile |
| 12 | Thailand | 123.5% | 2024 | up 15.5% | volatile |
| 13 | Vanuatu | 118.2% | 2024 | up 30.6% | falling |
| 14 | Solomon Islands | 115.0% | 2024 | down 56.5% | volatile |
| 15 | Cambodia | 107.3% | 2024 | up 46.1% | volatile |
| 16 | Azerbaijan | 104.1% | 2024 | down 19.2% | volatile |
| 17 | Guatemala | 90.2% | 2024 | up 140.1% | volatile |
| 18 | India | 89.8% | 2024 | up 26.3% | volatile |
| 19 | Bulgaria | 86.8% | 2022 | up 117.8% | volatile |
| 20 | Peru | 85.0% | 2024 | down 7.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Comoros | 84.0% | 2024 | down 32.9% | volatile |
| 22 | Philippines | 77.5% | 2024 | down 23.4% | volatile |
| 23 | Myanmar | 76.8% | 2023 | down 13.8% | volatile |
| 24 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 67.8% | 2024 | up 83.2% | rising |
| 25 | Vietnam | 62.5% | 2024 | up 36.6% | volatile |
| 26 | Albania | 60.8% | 2024 | up 94.3% | falling |
| 27 | Uzbekistan | 58.7% | 2024 | down 70.4% | falling |
| 28 | Serbia | 58.6% | 2024 | up 56.2% | flat |
| 29 | Lesotho | 56.8% | 2024 | down 52.1% | volatile |
| 30 | Honduras | 56.2% | 2024 | up 19.8% | volatile |
| 31 | Turkmenistan | 55.4% | 1999 | down 80.8% | volatile |
| 32 | Morocco | 54.6% | 2024 | up 16.8% | volatile |
| 33 | Brazil | 54.5% | 2024 | down 16.6% | volatile |
| 34 | Moldova | 52.3% | 2024 | up 41.8% | rising |
| 35 | Tajikistan | 52.0% | 2024 | up 420.1% | volatile |
| 36 | Lebanon | 49.4% | 2024 | down 37.1% | volatile |
| 37 | Grenada | 49.0% | 2024 | up 84.2% | falling |
| 38 | Central African Republic | 46.8% | 2024 | up 28.5% | volatile |
| 39 | Jordan | 46.7% | 2024 | down 29.8% | volatile |
| 40 | Chad | 46.2% | 2024 | up 60.0% | volatile |
| 41 | Kyrgyzstan | 43.5% | 2024 | up 62.0% | rising |
| 42 | Eswatini | 43.3% | 2024 | down 66.3% | falling |
| 43 | Mauritania | 42.6% | 2021 | up 217.4% | volatile |
| 44 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 42.5% | 2023 | up 59.3% | volatile |
| 45 | Madagascar | 41.9% | 2024 | up 60.3% | volatile |
| 46 | Mauritius | 41.8% | 2024 | up 35.9% | volatile |
| 47 | Fiji | 41.3% | 2024 | down 35.3% | volatile |
| 48 | North Macedonia | 40.9% | 2024 | down 7.7% | rising |
| 49 | Nicaragua | 39.4% | 2024 | up 89.9% | volatile |
| 50 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 39.3% | 2024 | down 10.8% | volatile |
| 51 | Mexico | 39.2% | 2024 | up 9.1% | volatile |
| 52 | Gambia | 38.3% | 2024 | up 34.2% | volatile |
| 53 | Jamaica | 38.0% | 2024 | up 116.1% | volatile |
| 54 | South Africa | 37.2% | 2024 | up 13.1% | rising |
| 55 | Nigeria | 37.2% | 2024 | down 50.6% | volatile |
| 56 | Indonesia | 37.0% | 2024 | down 3.3% | rising |
| 57 | Saint Lucia | 34.0% | 2024 | down 29.1% | falling |
| 58 | Suriname | 33.3% | 2023 | up 158.1% | rising |
| 59 | Cape Verde | 33.2% | 2024 | up 20.4% | volatile |
| 60 | Cameroon | 32.1% | 2024 | down 41.6% | volatile |
| 61 | Belize | 32.0% | 2024 | down 15.6% | volatile |
| 62 | Paraguay | 31.9% | 2024 | down 21.0% | falling |
| 63 | Colombia | 30.7% | 2024 | down 31.4% | rising |
| 64 | Türkiye | 30.2% | 2024 | down 1.9% | rising |
| 65 | Kosovo | 29.8% | 2024 | down 19.9% | volatile |
| 65 | Kosovo (UNSCR 1244) | 29.8% | 2024 | down 19.9% | volatile |
| 67 | Papua New Guinea | 28.9% | 2024 | up 153.0% | volatile |
| 68 | Egypt | 28.8% | 2024 | down 19.4% | volatile |
| 69 | Bhutan | 27.7% | 2024 | down 56.9% | volatile |
| 70 | Guyana | 27.4% | 2024 | down 3.8% | volatile |
| 71 | Dominica | 27.4% | 2024 | up 30.1% | rising |
| 72 | Kazakhstan | 27.3% | 2024 | up 49.8% | falling |
| 73 | Belarus | 26.0% | 2024 | up 105.7% | rising |
| 74 | Dominican Republic | 25.3% | 2024 | up 36.6% | volatile |
| 75 | Guinea | 25.0% | 2024 | down 53.3% | volatile |
| 76 | Eritrea | 24.6% | 2019 | up 187.1% | volatile |
| 77 | Angola | 24.3% | 2024 | down 58.8% | volatile |
| 78 | Kenya | 23.5% | 2024 | down 49.6% | volatile |
| 79 | Tunisia | 23.1% | 2024 | down 15.0% | rising |
| 80 | Ukraine | 22.6% | 2024 | up 283.1% | volatile |
| 81 | Armenia | 22.5% | 2024 | up 29.1% | falling |
| 82 | Tanzania | 22.3% | 2018 | down 53.0% | volatile |
| 83 | Bangladesh | 20.5% | 2024 | down 67.6% | volatile |
| 84 | Malawi | 20.1% | 2020 | down 37.0% | volatile |
| 85 | Montenegro | 19.9% | 2024 | up 103.2% | volatile |
| 86 | Ghana | 19.0% | 2024 | down 2.5% | rising |
| 87 | Sierra Leone | 18.6% | 2024 | down 55.6% | volatile |
| 88 | Rwanda | 18.4% | 2024 | down 43.2% | volatile |
| 89 | Sao Tome and Principe | 18.0% | 2024 | down 41.5% | volatile |
| 90 | Georgia | 17.7% | 2024 | down 7.7% | rising |
| 91 | Yemen | 17.0% | 2022 | down 79.0% | volatile |
| 92 | Uganda | 17.0% | 2024 | down 55.8% | volatile |
| 93 | Liberia | 16.5% | 2024 | down 77.5% | volatile |
| 94 | El Salvador | 14.8% | 2024 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 95 | Zambia | 14.5% | 2024 | down 54.4% | volatile |
| 96 | Mongolia | 14.5% | 2024 | up 98.8% | volatile |
| 97 | Maldives | 14.4% | 2024 | down 74.3% | volatile |
| 98 | Pakistan | 14.2% | 2024 | down 36.2% | volatile |
| 99 | Bolivia | 12.6% | 2024 | down 92.6% | volatile |
| 100 | Laos | 12.4% | 2024 | down 5.1% | volatile |
| 101 | Argentina | 12.2% | 2024 | down 40.3% | volatile |
| 102 | Ecuador | 11.4% | 2024 | down 27.5% | volatile |
| 103 | Congo | 11.3% | 2024 | down 86.9% | volatile |
| 104 | Sri Lanka | 10.7% | 2024 | down 44.8% | flat |
| 105 | Ethiopia | 10.4% | 2024 | down 50.2% | volatile |
| 106 | Djibouti | 10.1% | 2024 | down 75.8% | falling |
| 107 | Gabon | 9.4% | 2024 | down 82.4% | volatile |
| 108 | Burundi | 8.7% | 2023 | down 81.9% | volatile |
| 109 | Mozambique | 5.5% | 2024 | down 40.9% | volatile |
| 110 | Zimbabwe | 3.4% | 2024 | down 19.9% | volatile |
| 111 | Somalia | 1.1% | 1989 | down 89.8% | volatile |
| 112 | Sudan | 0.8% | 2017 | down 88.2% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- East Asia & Pacific (excluding high income) 120.0%
- East Asia & Pacific 120.0%
- East Asia & Pacific (IDA & IBRD countries) 120.0%
- Late-demographic dividend 104.8%
- Central Europe and the Baltics 86.8%
- Upper middle income 81.5%
- Arab World 81.3%
- IBRD only 80.5%
- South Asia 76.8%
- South Asia (IDA & IBRD) 76.8%
- Middle income 76.0%
- Low & middle income 74.9%
- IDA & IBRD total 74.9%
- Pacific island small states 68.2%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 65.1%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 65.1%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (IDA & IBRD) 65.1%
- Lower middle income 55.8%
- Pre-demographic dividend 49.6%
- Early-demographic dividend 48.0%
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 40.9%
- Latin America & Caribbean 40.9%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 40.9%
- Small states 35.8%
- Africa Western and Central 33.7%
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 33.0%
- Europe & Central Asia 33.0%
- Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 33.0%
- Other small states 32.5%
- Caribbean Small States 32.4%
- IDA blend 30.3%
- IDA total 28.0%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 26.8%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 26.8%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 26.8%
- IDA only 26.2%
- Least developed countries 26.1%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 25.3%
- Heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) 22.2%
- Low income 13.7%
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 indicator is expressed as a percentage of total external debt which are all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy.