Top 10 countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2025
Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2025.
This list is courtesy of Global Firepower.
China ranks number 1 on the list.
These reserves, which are composed of gold holdings and foreign currencies like the US dollar and euro, act as a vital financial buffer.
Their significance is represented in international rankings like those created by Global Firepower, which monitors national capabilities like economic strength and defense readiness.
Large gold and foreign exchange reserves provide a number of strategic benefits for many nations, particularly those in Africa and the Global South.
They serve as a safety net in times of emergency, to start.
Countries with large reserves can utilize them to stabilize their currency, pay for necessary imports, or satisfy international debt commitments without going into default, regardless of the circumstances, a sudden economic shock, a pandemic, or a decline in commodity prices.
For economies that rely heavily on imports and are impacted when the native currency depreciates, this is especially important.
For example, nations with more robust reserves fared better during the COVID-19 epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Reserves also help to maintain currency stability.
Reserves are a tool that central banks can employ to curb excessive currency volatility and interfere in foreign exchange markets.
Furthermore, they increase investor trust and global credibility.
Strong economic management and resilience are indicated by high reserves, and this can result in improved credit ratings and cheaper borrowing rates on global markets.
Countries that seem prepared and fiscally sound have a higher chance of receiving loans or investments from international organizations.
With that said, here are the countries in the world with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold, according to Global Firepower.
Top 10 countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2025
Rank Country Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold by Country (2025)
1. China $3,450,000,000,000
2. Japan $1,295,000,000,000
3. Switzerland $863,892,000,000
4. United States $773,426,000,000
5. India $627,793,000,000
6. Russia $597,217,000,000
7. Taiwan $492,635,000,000
8. Saudi Arabia $457,949,000,000
9. South Korea $420,930,000,000
10. Singapore $359,835,000,000
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
24 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Facing budget deficit, RIPTA proposes cuts to most bus routes, eliminating 16 routes altogether
The RIPTA board of directors will then hold a special board meeting to vote on the proposed reductions, according to the agency, which did not specify a date for that meeting on Thursday. If approved, the changes would take effect on Sept. 13. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up 'A first-class transit system is essential for driving economic development in our state,' RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said in a statement. 'Unfortunately, revenues have not kept up with operating costs and with federal COVID relief funding being fully spent, the Authority must now amend our services to align with the resources we have.' Advertisement Through the proposed cuts, RIPTA is seeking to eliminate 16 routes altogether, including a mix of regular routes, flex, and park and ride services. (Those routes are listed below). Other changes include reductions in trip frequency or numbers of trips on 30 routes, elimination of all weekend service on nine routes, elimination of some weekend service on eight routes, and the cancellation of some entire segments on six routes, RIPTA said. Advertisement RIPTA officials said the agency relied on an independent efficiency study conducted this year to determine the proposed reductions and cuts. 'We closely analyzed key performance metrics, including ridership levels, service productivity and the cost per passenger trip of every route,' RIPTA spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry wrote in an email when asked how RIPTA chose which routes to consider eliminating, and where service rollbacks could be made. 'Wherever possible, we spread the reductions across the system to minimize the impact on any one area,' Raposo Perry said. Last month, Durand said RIPTA would also turn to raising fares and laying off as many as On Thursday, officials said RIPTA will conduct a study to analyze impacts of a potential fare increase on 'ridership, revenue, and equity.' 'The study will help determine whether fare adjustments could be implemented in a way that supports the agency's long-term financial sustainability while minimizing hardship for riders,' RIPTA said. Asked about the potential for layoffs, Raposo Perry wrote RIPTA is 'still finalizing our plan and are taking into consideration things like retaining the employees hired to resolve the 'With the mandated RIde Anywhere program becoming permanent, we need to grow our paratransit division,' Raposo Perry wrote. 'There is also an opportunity to improve the quality of service provided by the paratransit program by reducing the number of trips outsourced. Collectively these changes will reduce the number of employees that we may have to layoff. Our goal is zero, but we are still analyzing the final budget due to these factors.' Advertisement RIPTA was left with The agency initially faced a Last month, Durand said RIPTA was able to Durand said in his statement Thursday the agency also tapped on one-time federal reimbursements and reallocated federal funding. 'While the timely implementation of these service changes is necessary, we will continue to do everything we can to preserve services that help people get to work, educational and training opportunities, and medical appointments,' Durand said. 'As we prepare for these changes, please monitor our With public hearings on the proposal days away, some transit advocates who spoke at Thursday's RIPTA board meeting before the potential cuts were unveiled said bus riders haven't been given enough time to consider what's being proposed. Advertisement 'This should have been publicized a lot better. It should have been made more transparent,' said Randall Rose, of the Kennedy Plaza Resilience Coalition. 'It's not reasonable to expect the public to comment when this information is not being unveiled yet.' Rose said he places the blame for the cuts squarely on state lawmakers – not RIPTA. 'They chose to put RIPTA through this,' Rose said. Here are the routes that may be eliminated Regular Routes: Route 23 (Arctic/Crompton/Centre of New England) Route 68 (CCRI Newport/Memorial Boulevard/First Beach) Route 69 (Narragansett/Galilee) Route 73 (Mineral Spring/Twin River/CCRI) Route 75 (Dexter/Lincoln Mall) Route 76 (Central Avenue); Route 80 (Armistice Blvd.) Route 88 (Simmons Village Service) Route 89 (Walmart Cranston) Flex Service Routes: Flex 231 (South Aquidneck) Flex 301 Rural Ride (Westerly/Hope Valley) Park & Ride Routes : Route 9x (Pascoag Park & Ride) Route 12x (Arctic/117 Express Park & Ride) Route 59x (North Smithfield/Lincoln Mall Park & Ride) Route 65x (Wakefield Park & Ride) Route 95x (Westerly Park & Ride) Route 61x, or the 'Tiverton/East Bay Park & Ride,' will have two weekday roundtrips eliminated Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Wall Street Journal
26 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Tariff Uncertainty Weighs on the Warehouse Market
The Trump administration's on-again, off-again tariff rollout has slowed decisions about warehouse sales and purchases, as business leaders await the outcome of new trade policy. Industrial deal volume was roughly flat at $22.87 billion in the second quarter of 2025, compared with a year earlier, after double-digit growth the previous two quarters, according to data provider MSCI. Warehouse operators over the past three years have grappled with slow leasing activity as retailers and other tenants take a more cautious approach to new space after frenetic expansion during the Covid-19 pandemic. New buildings constructed since the pandemic also have driven up the availability of space. Now, questions are emerging about "what happens in the future to demand given all the challenges from tariffs,' said Jim Costello, head of Americas real-estate research at MSCI. Dig deeper:
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Following significant rate hikes, bonds are back in the game
Guess who just got back today Them wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven't changed, had much to say But man, I still think them cats are crazy The boys are back in town —Thin Lizzy Government bonds: The gift that (usually) keeps on giving Historically, bonds have provided investors with two main benefits. First, their yields have provided a reasonable, if unspectacular return. Second, they have offered diversification value, muting overall portfolio losses during bear markets. By owning high quality bonds, you got paid for protecting your portfolio during times of market turmoil, which is akin to receiving (rather than paying) a premium for fire insurance — a remarkably sweet deal indeed. However, these benefits have historically ranged from significant to nonexistent, depending on the investment environment. A bear market sedative As the accompanying table illustrates, in five of the six equity bear markets before that of 2022, bonds provided investors with much needed gains, thereby mitigating the overall damage to their portfolios. During the tech wreck of the early 2000s, a balanced portfolio that was 60 per cent weighted in the S&P 500 and 40 per cent weighted in seven- to 10-year U.S. Treasuries declined 16.41 per cent, as compared with a fall of 42.46 per cent for the all-stock portfolio. In the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007-2009, the balanced portfolio lost 23.92 per cent versus a loss of 45.76 per cent in equities. The ZIRP era and the erosion of bond powers During the GFC, central banks entered hyper-stimulus mode to stave off a collapse of the global financial system and avoid a worldwide depression. ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) stances became the norm for monetary authorities around the world, with rates remaining at historically low levels for the next 14 years. Although stimulative policies were successful in making the recession less severe than would have otherwise been the case, they also robbed bonds of their two key attributes. First, high quality bonds ceased to offer reasonable yields. Second, ultra low rates also limited the ability of bonds to provide capital gains during times of equity market turmoil, thereby hindering their diversification value. In 2016, Pacific Investment Management Co. co-founder and 'Bond King' Bill Gross commented that to repeat the bond market's 7.5 per cent annualized return over the past 40 years, yields would have to drop to negative 17 per cent. The math just didn't work. A clear warning sign As the saying goes, 'Hindsight is 20/20.' It is easy to understand what should have been done after an event has already happened, even if it was not obvious at the time. However, market behaviour during the COVID crash offered a clear warning that all was not well in bond land. The accompanying table compares countries by their pre-pandemic short-term rates and the returns of their 10-year government bonds during the subsequent bear market. There is a near perfect relationship across countries in terms of where their short-term rates stood prior to the pandemic and the subsequent return of their 10-year bonds. In the countries that initially had relatively high short-term rates, such as the U.S., Canada and Norway, 10-year bonds produced substantial gains and mitigated the damage caused by the vicious decline in stocks. In countries that started with rates that were neither relatively high nor low, such as the U.K. and Australia, 10-year bonds provided some, albeit lower, amounts of protection. Lastly, in countries that started with the lowest rates, such as Sweden, Japan, Germany and Switzerland, not only did government bonds fail to mitigate stock losses but their returns actually declined. Given the strong correlation between where pre-COVID rates stood in different countries and the subsequent ability of their bond markets to offset stock market losses, it was clear there was little, if any, gas left in the tank in the post-COVID world of zero rates, leaving investors largely unprotected. From hedge to Texas hedge Post-COVID, not only did ultra-low rates obliterate the insurance value of bond holdings, but the unprecedented amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus that had been injected into the global economy left bonds particularly vulnerable to capital losses. Against this backdrop, when the rubber of stimulus hit the road of inflation in early 2022, central banks were forced to raise rates at a clip not seen since the Volcker era of the 1980s, resulting in painful declines in bond prices. Canadians snap up most U.S. bonds since 2023 TD Bank uses automation to trade more bonds In livestock trading, a Texas hedge refers to a scenario where cattle ranchers buy cattle futures contracts despite already owning cattle, thereby doubling their risk exposure. In 2022, when fears of a Fed-induced recession caused stock prices to tank, bonds not only failed to provide diversification but acted as a Texas hedge, declining alongside stocks. From early August 2020 through late October 2022, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond index suffered a peak-trough loss of 18.5 per cent. Bonds are back in the game Following the most significant rate hiking cycle in decades, bonds are once again 'back in the game.' They offer reasonable yields, thereby restoring their prospects for delivering moderate returns, decreasing their risk and enhancing their diversification value. Given these resurgent qualities, bonds once again constitute a valuable component of many investors' portfolios. Noah Solomon is chief investment officer at Outcome Metric Asset Management LP. _____________________________________________________________ If you like this story, sign up for the FP Investor Newsletter.
