Nepal: Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Nepal's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2024 (from 8.16% to 7.68%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 8.45 percentage points in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.99 percentage points in 2003. 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 0.39 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 37% 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, Nepal had the 89th highest value of the 109 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 Nepal in the 2025 ranking

• Tunisia — 85th of 109: 9.05%
• Chile — 86th of 109: 8.78%
• Bangladesh — 87th of 109: 7.82%
• Mexico — 89th of 109: 7.38%
• Iceland — 90th of 109: 7.16%
• Niger — 91st of 109: 7.08%

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

• Bangladesh — 7.82% (2025)
• Bhutan — 27.92% (2025)
• India — 4.25% (2025)
• Maldives — 31.31% (2025)
• Sri Lanka — 5.38% (2019)

More financial sector data for Nepal

• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 90.4% (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 7.67 trillion (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 3.15 trillion (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 90.54% (2025)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 8.13 trillion (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 131.21% (2025)
• Broad money to total reserves ratio — 2.83 (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 28.22% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 90.54% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Nepal's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)?

7.68% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is down 3.74 percentage points from 11.42% in 2001. The highest value was 19.87% in 2002 and the lowest 5.25% in 2021.

How does Nepal rank?

89th highest of 109 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) unusual for Nepal?

In 2025, Nepal's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) fell 0.48 percentage points on 2024 (from 8.16% to 7.68%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.