Of all the countries in the world, China had, by far, the largest international reserves in 2025, with **** trillion USD in reserves and foreign currency liquidity. Japan was the only other country with over a trillion U.S. dollars in reserves in early 2025, with a total of *** trillion U.S. dollars. Why do countries hold reserves? A simple explanation for China’s accumulation of foreign currency could be its consistently positive and substantial trade balance. When China exports goods and services, it accepts the foreign currency, usually U.S. dollars, and holds that currency in reserve. In addition to facilitating trade, most countries, including China, also hold foreign exchange reserves to ensure the stability of their currencies and facilitate other foreign transactions. Other significant reserves Even though most of the world left the gold standard in 1971, most countries still retain large gold reserves. The United States, followed by Germany and Italy, held the largest amount of gold reserves worldwide as of December 2018.

This dataset provides values for GOLD RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The average for 2023 based on 161 countries was 91.52 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in China: 3449.54 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Sao Tome and Principe: 0.05 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This statistic presents the leading countries worldwide, by value of foreign currency reserves in 2020. In 2020, the foreign currency reserves held by China, including gold, were the largest and amounted to about *** trillion U.S. dollars. Second in rank was Japan with reserves worth about *** trillion U.S. dollars which was less than half of those of China.

The average for 2021 based on 187 countries was 9.09 billion barrels. The highest value was in Venezuela: 303.81 billion barrels and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 0 billion barrels. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Russia has the largest proved natural gas reserves in the world. As of 2023, it held reserves worth ************* standard cubic meters worth of the fossil fuel. Iran and Qatar followed, with more than ** and *********** cubic meters, respectively. Notable new discoveries have been made since 1960, when known reserves were only a fraction of what they are today. Determining proved reserves Used as a source of energy generation and a feedstock in the chemicals industry, natural gas serves various purposes. It is mainly transported in gaseous form via pipelines, but may be shipped via tanker vessels once liquefied. Proved reserves is a measure used to establish recoverable resource volumes. These are linked to known reservoirs and estimated through exploratory drilling. Since 1960, global proved natural gas reserves increased more than ********, reaching a new peak at ************ cubic meters in 2023. Of these, the majority are located in the Middle East. U.S. is world's largest natural gas producer The United States is the world’s largest natural gas producer, despite proved reserves being only a ***** of Russia's. In 2023, the U.S. was responsible for nearly ************ cubic meters of natural gas being extracted. This compared to a production volume of some *********** cubic meters by Russia.

This statistic presents the gold reserves of largest gold holding countries worldwide in 2024. At that time, the central bank of the United States held approximately ******* metric tons of gold. Gold reserves — additional information The United States has the largest gold reserve, with more than ***** metric tons of gold. This was more than twice the gold reserves of Germany and more than three times the gold reserves of Italy and France. China ranked fifth for the amount of gold it has on reserve, but more gold is being mined in China than any other country in the world. Australia, on the other hand, is home to the largest gold mine reserves in addition to being the second-largest producer of gold, after China. While gold no longer serves as an object of exchange and as a confirmation value, gold remains an investment asset for governments, and it could provide a safeguard against inflation or recession. The average price of gold reached a record in 2024, amounting to ******** U.S. dollars for one troy ounce.

Saudi Arabia has approximately **** billion metric tons of conventional crude oil reserves. This made it the country with the largest conventional oil reserves in the world. By comparison, the United States, the world's leading oil producer, held around *** billion metric tons in conventional oil reserves.

This dataset provides values for FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Saudi Arabia's proved oil reserves amount to some *** billion barrels, according to conservative estimates. Taking into account risked prospective resources in yet undiscovered fields and contingent resources in discoveries, recoverable reserves in Saudi Arabia could be as high as *** billion barrels. This compares to proved reserves of ** billion barrels in the United States.

This dataset provides values for FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

This dataset provides values for GOLD RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Top Countries by Gas Proven Reserves, 2016 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Top Countries' Share of Global Oil Proven Reserves, 2016 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2021 based on 44 countries was 21.12 billion barrels. The highest value was in Saudi Arabia: 258.6 billion barrels and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 0 billion barrels. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Venezuela accounts for the greatest share of global oil reserves. As of 2023, ***** percent of all known oil reserves were found in the South American country. Saudi Arabia followed, at some ** percent. The majority of Venezuela's oil reserves are held in the form of oil sands and other very heavy oil types that have only become accessible through technological advances made in the late 2000's and early 2010's. OPEC reserves Most of the leading oil reserves holding countries are members of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, founded in 1960. Now comprised of 13 member states, OPEC's share of global crude oil reserves is around ** percent. Most OPEC countries are in the Middle East, the region with the largest oil reserves, holding around **** of the global share. Oil sands contribute to growing reserves As one of the five founding members of OPEC, Venezuela has long been an oil-producing country with heavy economic reliance on oil exports. However, in 2011, Venezuela’s energy and oil ministry announced an unprecedented increase in proved oil reserves as oil sands in the Orinoco Belt territory were certified. As a result, South and Central America’s proven oil reserves more than ******* between 2008 and 2011.

Venezuela is the Latin American country with the largest gold reserves. As of June 2024, Venezuela's Central Bank held up to 161 tons of gold reserves. Brazil and Mexico completed the top three gold holding countries in the region with 130 and 120 tons, respectively.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 154.86 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in India: 627.79 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Laos: 1.77 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2021 based on 11 countries was 1.52 billion barrels. The highest value was in India: 4.6 billion barrels and the lowest value was in Cambodia: 0 billion barrels. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.