Australia: Total reserves in months of imports

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Australia's total reserves in months of imports rose 17.1% on 2024 (from 1.35 to 1.58).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.9% and a typical year strayed about 20.2% 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 52.1% in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 60.8% in 2007. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.06 a year. A straight line explains 55% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2025, Australia had the 100th highest value of the 112 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Australia in the 2025 ranking

• Panama — 96th of 112: 1.74
• Finland — 97th of 112: 1.64
• Canada — 98th of 112: 1.6
• Slovak Republic — 100th of 112: 1.54
• Bahrain — 101st of 112: 1.44
• United Kingdom — 102nd of 112: 1.39

What this measures

Reserve assets are external assets, including monetary gold, that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency exchange rate, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing). Reserve assets must be denominated and settled in foreign currency. This item is expressed in terms of the number of months of imports of goods and services they could pay for [X/(Imports/12)].

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

All 37 values

Total reserves in months of imports in nearby economies

• Brunei Darussalam — 7.91 (2025)
• Cambodia — 7.91 (2025)
• China — 11.94 (2025)
• Fiji — 4.44 (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 5.69 (2023)
• Indonesia — 5.51 (2025)
• Japan — 14.01 (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — 6.46 (2025)
• Lao PDR — 3.43 (2025)
• Macao SAR, China — 10.06 (2025)
• Malaysia

More economic policy & debt data for Australia

• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$18.94 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$72.63 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$62.12 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$416.34 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 643.28 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$418.83 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 622.17 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 23.15% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Australia's total reserves in months of imports?

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

How has it changed since 1989?

It is down 46.14% from 2.94 in 1989 (1.7% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3.39 in 1991 and the lowest 1.12 in 2007.

How does Australia rank?

100th highest of 112 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in total reserves in months of imports unusual for Australia?

In 2025, Australia's total reserves in months of imports rose 17.1% on 2024 (from 1.35 to 1.58). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.9% and a typical year strayed about 20.2% 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.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FI.RES.TOTL.MO, 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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