Least developed countries: UN classification: Total reserves (% of total external debt)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Least developed countries: UN classification's total reserves (% of total external debt) fell 0.16 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.31% to 26.14%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.68 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.38 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below 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 11.7 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.8 percentage points in 1975. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.27 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 86% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 20.43% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.99%, against 5.73% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

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 indicator is expressed as a percentage of total external debt which are all liabilities that require payment(s) of interest and/or principal by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy.

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

All 54 values

Total reserves (% of total external debt) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 320.68% (2020)
• Algeria — 1,203% (2024)
• Djibouti — 10.09% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 28.8% (2024)
• Iraq — 574.82% (2024)
• Jordan — 46.71% (2024)
• Lebanon — 49.42% (2024)
• Morocco — 54.61% (2024)
• Pakistan — 14.19% (2024)
• Tunisia — 23.09% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Least developed countries: UN classification

• GDP (current US$) — US$1.65 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,362 (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$1.35 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,112 (2025)
• GDP (annual % growth) — 4.3% (2025)
• GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.94% (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$44.93 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$9.99 million (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Least developed countries: UN classification's total reserves (% of total external debt)?

26.14% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 3.4 percentage points from 22.74% in 1971. The highest value was 50.42% in 2012 and the lowest 3.37% in 1985.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FI.RES.TOTL.DT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) 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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