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 exchange and gold, SDRs and 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 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 US dollar equivalence. Some nations have multiple monetary authorities, counted separately, such as the People's Republic of China, which has three (mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau). Exchange rate fluctuations can have significant impact on these numbers.

[edit] List of states by foreign exchange reserves
For consistency, forward currency swap contracts are not included in this list until they mature, figures that include them may be higher than those listed here. Currently, a third of all world reserves are held by majority Chinese nations, i.e. Macau, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore.
Rank
Country/Monetary Authority
Foreign exchange reserves(millions of USD)
Figures as of
—
World (sum of all countries)
$ 7,373,084
--
1
People's Republic of China (does not include Hong Kong SAR Macau SAR)
$ 1,905,600
Sept 2008
2
Japan
$ 977,700
Oct 2008
-
Eurozone (EU member states which have adopted the euro, incl. ECB)
$ 530,173
Sep 2008
3
Russia
$ 453,500
Nov 2008
4
Republic of China (Taiwan)
$ 278,150
Oct 2008
5
India
$ 246,349
Nov 2008
6
South Korea
$ 212,250
Oct 2008
7
Brazil
$ 201,223
Oct 2008
8
Singapore
$ 168,802
Sep 2008
9
Hong Kong
$ 160,557
Sep 2008
10
Algeria
$ 149,806
Sep 2008
11
Germany
$ 142,938
Oct 2008
12
France
$ 113,058
Aug 2008
13
Italy
$ 104,215
Sep 2008
14
Thailand
$ 101,700
Oct 2008
15
Malaysia
$ 99,700
Nov 2008
16
Iran
$ 81,000
May 2008
17
Mexico
$ 80,864
Nov 2008
18
Libya
$ 79,000
Sep 2007
19
Switzerland
$ 74,309
Sep 2008
20
Poland
$ 74,266
Sep 2008
21
Turkey
$ 73,800
Oct 2008
22
United States
$ 71,245
Oct 2008
23
United Kingdom
$ 68,980
Sep 2008
—
European Central Bank (ECB, not owned by any single EU member)
$ 60,707
Sep 2008
24
Nigeria
$ 58,430
Oct 2008
25
Indonesia
$ 50,580
Oct 2008
26
Argentina
$ 45,462
Nov 2008
27
Norway
$ 44,266
Sep 2008
28
Canada
$ 42,980
Oct 2008
29
Romania
$ 40,194
Sep 2008
30
Venezuela
$ 39,745
Nov 2008
31
Czech Republic
$ 36,358
Sep 2008
32
Denmark
$ 36,285
Sep 2008
33
Israel
$ 36,259
Sep 2008
34
Philippines
$ 35,700
Oct 2008
35
Ukraine
$ 34,200
Oct 2008
36
Egypt
$ 32,915
Feb 2008
37
South Africa
$ 32,110
Oct 2008
38
Sweden
$ 32,075
Aug 2008
39
Peru
$ 31,950
Nov 2008
40
Saudi Arabia
$ 31,320
Oct 2007
41
United Arab Emirates
$ 29,620
2007 est.
42
Netherlands
$ 29,527
Sep 2008
43
Australia
$ 28,815
Sep 2008
44
Morocco
$ 26,558
Aug 2008
45
Hungary
$ 25,505
Aug 2008
46
Chile
$ 24,204
Oct 2008
47
Colombia
$ 23,724
Sep 2008
48
Iraq
$ 21,260
2007 est.
49
Kazakhstan
$ 21,953
Sep 2008
50
Bulgaria
$ 21,056
Sep 2008
51
Vietnam
$ 20,700
Jun 2008
52
Spain
$ 19,747
Sep 2008
53
Kuwait
$ 19,630
2007 est.
54
Lebanon
$ 19,400
2007 est.
55
Slovakia
$ 18,504
Sep 2008
56
Austria
$ 17,950
Sep 2008
57
Serbia
$ 15,864
Feb 2008
58
Belgium
$ 14,988
Oct 2008
59
Macau SAR
$ 14,740
Jul 2008
60
New Zealand
$ 14,654
Sep 2008
61
Croatia
$ 14,502
Aug 2008
62
Portugal
$ 12,441
Sep 2008
63
Angola
$ 12,290
2007 est.
64
Botswana
$ 10,000
May 2008
65
Azerbaijan
$ 9,316
Apr 2008
66
Finland
$ 8,344
Sep 2008
67
Tunisia
$ 8,236
Jun 2008
68
Jordan
$ 8,005
Jan 2008
69
Yemen
$ 7,871
2007 est.
70
Bolivia
$ 7,629
Nov 2008
71
Oman
$ 7,004
2007 est.
72
Trinidad and Tobago
$ 8,100
2008 est.
73
Pakistan
$ 6,750
Oct 2008
74
Lithuania
$ 6,505
Sep 2008
75
Ecuador
$ 6,500
Oct 2008
76
Qatar
$ 6,368
2007 est.
77
Latvia
$ 6,239
Sep 2008
78
Uruguay
$ 6,230
Aug 2008
79
Cyprus
$ 6,176
2007 est.
80
Syria
$ 6,039
2007 est.
81
Uzbekistan
$ 5,600
2007 est.
82
Bangladesh
$ 5,170
Oct 2008
83
Bosnia and Herzegovina
$ 5,151
Jan 2008
84
Guatemala
$ 4,559
2007 est.
85
Cuba
$ 4,247
2007 est.
86
Belarus
$ 4,051
Oct 2008
87
Equatorial Guinea
$ 3,928
2007 est.
88
Costa Rica
$ 3,915
2007 est.
89
Turkmenistan
$ 3,644
2007 est.
90
Estonia
$ 3,642
Sep 2008
91
Malta
$ 3,522
2007 est.
92
Burma
$ 3,500
Aug 2008
93
Bahrain
$ 3,474
2007 est.
94
Greece
$ 3,573
Sep 2008
96
Ghana
$ 2,837
2007 est.
97
Kenya
$ 2,800
Oct 2008
98
Iceland
$ 2,792
Feb 2008
99
Sri Lanka
$ 2,600
Oct 2008
100
Dominican Republic
$ 2,525
2007 est.
101
Côte d'Ivoire
$ 2,500
2007 est.
102
Paraguay
$ 2,463
2007 est.
103
Tanzania
$ 2,441
2007 est.
104
Cameroon
$ 2,341
2007 est.
95
Honduras
$ 2,336
Oct 2008
105
El Salvador
$ 2,263
Sep 2008
106
Republic of Macedonia
$ 2,243
Nov 2007
107
Congo
$ 2,242
2007 est.
108
Papua New Guinea
$ 2,193
Dec 2007
109
Uganda
$ 2,100
2007 est.
110
Mauritius
$ 1,772
2007 est.
111
Albania
$ 1,615
Dec 2007
112
Moldova
$ 1,610
Oct 2008
113
Cambodia
$ 1,600
Dec 2007
114
Armenia
$ 1,585
Sep 2008
115
Jamaica
$ 1,490
Dec 2007
116
Mozambique
$ 1,470
Nov 2007
117
Gabon
$ 1,459
2007 est.
118
Senegal
$ 1,350
2007 est.
119
Georgia
$ 1,300
2008 est.
120
Panama
$ 1,260
2007 est.
121
Sudan
$ 1,245
2007 est.
122
Zimbabwe
$ 1,222
Mar 2008
123
Kyrgyzstan
$ 1,278
Sep 2008
124
Zambia
$ 1,100
2007 est.
125
Slovenia
$ 1,076
Jan 2008
126
Nicaragua
$ 1,075
2007 est.
127
Mongolia
$ 1000
Jul 2007
128
Chad
$ 997
2007 est.
129
Ireland
$ 934
Oct 2008
130
Burkina Faso
$ 897
2007 est.
131
Lesotho
$ 889
2007 est.
132
Ethiopia
$ 840
2007 est.
133
Benin
$ 825
2007 est.
134
Namibia
$ 750
2007 est.
135
Madagascar
$ 745
2007 est.
136
Luxembourg
$ 713
Sep 2008
137
Barbados
$ 620
2007 est
138
Laos
$ 514
2007 est.
139
Rwanda
$ 511
2007 est.
140
Swaziland
$ 395
2007 est.
141
Togo
$ 363
2007 est.
142
Cape Verde
$ 344
2007 est.
143
Tajikistan
$ 301
2007 est.
144
Guyana
$ 292
2007 est.
145
Haiti
$ 221
2007 est.
146
Vanuatu
$ 149
Dec 2007
147
Malawi
$ 140
2007 est.
148
Gambia
$ 120
2007 est.
149
Guinea
$ 119
2007 est.
150
Burundi
$ 118
2007 est.
151
Seychelles
$ 118
2007 est.
152
Belize
$ 150
Oct 2008
153
Samoa
$ 70
2004 est.
154
Tonga
$ 55
Feb 2008
155
São Tomé and Príncipe
$ 36
Dec 2007
156
Eritrea
$ 22

2007 est.