List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves

Foreign exchange reserves, also called Forex reserves, in a strict sense, are foreign-currency deposits held by nationals and monetary authorities. However, in popular usage and in the list below, it also includes gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and IMF reserve position because this total figure, which is usually more accurately termed as official reserves or international reserves or official international reserves, is more readily available and also arguably more meaningful.

These foreign-currency deposits are the financial assets of the central banks and monetary authorities that are held in different reserve currencies (e.g., the U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, the Indian rupee, and the Swiss franc) 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 currency.

List

 * All the figures below are in U.S.$ equivalents as different countries report data in different currencies.
 * The exchange rate of the currencies as well the as gold price of the reported date is considered while calculating U.S.$ equivalents.
 * Not all countries keep gold as reserves to avoid physical storage costs & the risks associated with it, hence there are no values in excluding gold column.
 * Sorting the data in desirable column would provide rankings.

Timeline of the top 5 countries
The five countries with the largest foreign exchange reserves almost all have reserves of at least 500 billion USD and higher and have maintained such an amount for at least a week. At present there are only six countries whose reserves are at such a figure; this includes China, Japan, Switzerland, India, Russia and Taiwan. Saudi Arabia formerly included on the list until March 2020; its reserves were severely depleted by the low oil price during the economic fallout of from the global outbreak of coronavirus disease, its ongoing oil price war with Russia and competition from US shale oil. Here is the combined foreign reserves timeline for China, Japan, Switzerland, India, Russia.


 * China - China has the largest reserve since last 14 years. The main composition of Chinese forex reserves is approximately two-thirds USD and one-fifth Euros with the rest made up of Japanese Yen and the British Pound. China was the second country to reach $500 billion and the first to reach $1 trillion in reserves. China is also the only country that reached net reserves of $2 trillion and $3 trillion. Chinese forex reserve reached over $3.993 trillion and possibly reached $4 trillion before July 2014 but there was no official figures to confirm it.
 * Japan - Japanese has the second largest reserves in the world. Japan was the first country to reach $500 billion in reserves and had the highest forex reserves in the world until they were surpassed by China in 2006. They have remained in second place since 2006 and above $1 trillion since 2008, being the second country to surpass $1 trillion.
 * Switzerland - Swiss has the third largest reserves in the world. Switzerland became the fifth country to reach $500 Billion in 2014 after Saudi Arabia and the third country to reach $1 trillion at the end of 2020. Swiss reserves are compiled in Swiss francs. Since the Financial crisis of 2007-2008, the Swiss franc has significantly appreciated against other currencies due to Switzerland's traditional perceived safety which has attracted speculative foreign capital; due to the inflows of investment income by Swiss firms, and due to the large surplus in the trade of goods. In order to protect the real economy from the sudden speculative appreciation of the currency, the Swiss National Bank began intervening in the currency markets, first with an explicit target of a maximum exchange rate against the euro of 1.20CHF/EUR until 2015, and then through implicit interventions. However, the resilience of the export sector and the continued inflows of capital, has meant that the Swiss Franc has kept appreciating. As a result of this, the SNB has been unable to dispose of its large accumulated foreign exchange reserves since their sale would lead to an even greater appreciation of the currency.
 * India- India has the world's fourth largest reserves. On 4 June 2021 reserves exceeded $600 billion for the first time and they became the fifth country after Switzerland to do so. During the 1991 Indian economic crisis country only had $5 billion of reserves left which led to subsequent economic liberalisation. Since then the reserves have seen a 127 times increase over 30 years. In April 2024, Foreign-exchange reserves of India hit a fresh all-time high of $642.63 including 803.58 tons of gold reserves. Out of which 403.7 tons of golds is held with Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements, and rest is held domestically. It is done to provide a sense of security and to ensure diversification of risk by spreading gold holdings across multiple location.
 * Russia - Russia has the world's fifth largest reserves; They have reached a level of $600 billion on 21 May 2021. They were the third country to reach $500 billion. The first fall in reserves was due to the Great Recession, the second fall in 2015 was due to falling oil prices.

Currency composition of foreign exchange reserves
IMF releases the quarterly data on the currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves. The data are reported to the IMF on a voluntary and confidential basis. As of Q4 2016, there are 146 reporters, consisting of IMF member countries, a number of non-member countries/economies, and other entities holding foreign exchange reserves. From Q4 2016, the data was expanded to include renminbi (RMB). Monetary gold is not covered in COFER but included in reserved assets, a broader scope than that of COFER.