Africa Western and Central: Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Africa Western and Central's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) rose 2.16 percentage points on 2024 (from 13.62% to 15.79%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.19 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.47 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Ratio of bank liquid reserves to bank assets is the ratio of domestic currency holdings and deposits with the monetary authorities to claims on other governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, the private sector, and other banking institutions. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 25 values

Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 86.89% (2020)
• Algeria — 20.1% (2025)
• Djibouti — 15.33% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 14.37% (2025)
• Iraq — 53.76% (2024)
• Israel — 21.96% (2025)
• Jordan — 22.56% (2025)
• Kuwait — 6.06% (2025)
• Libya — 315.45% (2025)
• Morocco — 3.5% (2025)

More financial sector data for Africa Western and Central

• Broad money (% of GDP) — 33.06% (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 2.75% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 15.08% (2023)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 15.22% (2023)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 9.66% (2023)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 15.22% (2023)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 1.66% (2025)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 2.62% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Africa Western and Central's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)?

15.79% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 2.13 percentage points from 13.65% in 2001. The highest value was 24.18% in 2013 and the lowest 13.62% in 2024.

Is the latest change in bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) unusual for Africa Western and Central?

In 2025, Africa Western and Central's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) rose 2.16 percentage points on 2024 (from 13.62% to 15.79%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.76 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FD.RES.LIQU.AS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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