Total reserves (including gold), current USD · 1980–2025 · World Bank · 179 countries
A central bank's foreign exchange reserves: foreign currencies, gold and IMF special drawing rights. This is the cushion that pays for imports and defends the currency when it comes under attack.
World Bank, 1980-2025, current dollars, gold included, 179 countries. Gold is valued at market price, which mechanically inflates the reserves of countries holding a lot of it whenever the price rises.
The gross amount says little on its own. The useful measure is how many months of imports it covers: three months is the classic alert threshold, and a country can show billions and still be fragile.
China holds the world's largest reserves by a wide margin, the legacy of two decades of trade surpluses. The freezing of Russian central bank assets in 2022 showed that reserves are not unconditionally available — and accelerated gold buying by many central banks.