List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves
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-currency deposits and gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and International Monetary Fund (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 U.S. 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 U.S. dollar equivalence. The People's Republic of China is unique because it has 3 different monetary authorities, i.e. one for Mainland China and one each for its two autonomous Special administrative regions - Hong Kong and Macau - which are therefore counted separately. 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.
List of sovereign states by foreign-exchange reserves
The list below is based on IMF data – when available; Otherwise – U.S. Central Intelligence Agency data are indicated. 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; if they were accounted for many nations would list lower.
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