Countries by Total reserves minus gold (current US$)

Ranking 2024

Analysis

Total reserves minus gold measures external assets, excluding 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). Values are reported in current US dollars as absolute figures, where higher values indicate larger reserve holdings. The dataset covers 177 countries, with 173 out of 177 (97.7%) providing data from the last seven years. All 100% of datapoints are classified as official-quality. The ranking contains 22 extreme outliers by a 3-standard-deviation threshold, and the value range spans from $46.2 million to $3.26 trillion — a spread of over 7,059,340%.

The top of the ranking is dominated by large export-oriented economies and major financial centers. China (rank 1) holds $3.26 trillion, nearly three times Switzerland (rank 3) at $822.1 billion. Japan (rank 2) sits at $1.16 trillion. India (rank 4) holds $569.5 billion, followed by Russia (rank 5) at $442.5 billion and Saudi Arabia (rank 6) at $436.8 billion. Hong Kong SAR (rank 7) at $425.4 billion and South Korea (rank 8) at $409.5 billion round out the top eight. Singapore (rank 9) at $365.5 billion and Brazil (rank 10) at $318.9 billion complete the top ten. High reserve levels across these economies reflect substantial trade volumes, currency management needs, or sovereign wealth accumulation.

Several counterintuitive placements appear in the middle rankings. The United States, the world's largest economy, ranks only 12th at $227.8 billion, behind Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Israel (rank 15, $214.5 billion). Libya ranks 31st at $80.6 billion, placing it above France (rank 32, $78.4 billion) and Peru (rank 33, $76.3 billion). Germany, Europe's largest economy, ranks 23rd at $96.8 billion. At the lower end, countries such as Burundi (rank 174, $88.4 million), Bolivia (rank 175, $87.2 million), and South Sudan (rank 176, $72.9 million) hold reserves under $100 million. Bolivia's rank 175 placement is notable given its relative size compared to several smaller economies ranked above it.

This metric has meaningful limitations. It excludes monetary gold entirely, which can represent a substantial portion of total reserves for certain countries, making rankings here an incomplete picture of overall reserve strength. Reporting lags affect data consistency: only 135 out of 177 countries (76.3%) have data from the latest year 2024, meaning some values reflect earlier periods. Reserve levels can fluctuate sharply due to exchange rate movements, as reserves are expressed in current US dollars — a weaker domestic currency raises the reported dollar value of foreign-currency assets without any real change in reserve capacity. The 22 identified extreme outliers may also distort any aggregate comparisons. Figures for territories such as Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR reflect their monetary authority holdings separately from mainland China.

Methodology

Data source: World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code FI.RES.XGLD.CD, data year 2024. The metric is defined as follows (source note verbatim): 'This series includes external assets (excluding 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).' Values are in current US dollars. The ranking covers 177 countries. Data recency: 173/177 countries (97.7%) have data from the last 7 years. Data quality: 100% of datapoints are classified as official. Latest-year (2024) coverage: 135/177 countries (76.3%). The dataset contains 22 extreme outliers by a 3-standard-deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change across the dataset is 23.5%. The value range runs from $46,247,347.89 (Sao Tome and Principe) to $3,264,803,869,739.12 (China), a spread of approximately 7,059,340%.

Sources

• World Bank