Sub-Saharan Africa's total reserves in months of imports was 6.12 in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 27.67% from 4.79 in 2015 (2.47% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 6.12 | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 6.11 | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 4.79 | 2015 |
| Highest | 12.31 | 1998 |
| Lowest | 1.92 | 1982 |
| Average since 2016 | 5.37 | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 3.23 | 1977 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa's total reserves in months of imports rose 14.3% on 2024 (from 5.35 to 6.12).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.4% and a typical year strayed about 15.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 92.9% in 1979 and the biggest yearly fall was 56.1% in 1981. 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 2% 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 6.12 | 2025 |
| World | 8.62 | 2025 |
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 49 values
| Year | Total reserves in months of imports |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 6.12 |
| 2024 | 5.35 |
| 2023 | 4.65 |
| 2022 | 4.39 |
| 2021 | 5.52 |
| 2020 | 6.11 |
| 2019 | 4.85 |
| 2018 | 5.02 |
| 2017 | 5.87 |
| 2016 | 5.86 |
| 2015 |
Total reserves in months of imports in nearby economies
More economic policy & debt data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$3.07 billion (2025)
- Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$459.34 million (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$2.21 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.13 trillion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,673 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,615 (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth) — 4.14% (2025)
- GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.64% (2025)
- Charges for the use of intellectual property, receipts (BoP, current US$) — US$473.66 million (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Sub-Saharan Africa's total reserves in months of imports?
- 6.12 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1977?
- It is up 89.15% from 3.23 in 1977 (1.34% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 12.31 in 1998 and the lowest 1.92 in 1982.
- Is the latest change in total reserves in months of imports unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa?
- In 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa's total reserves in months of imports rose 14.3% on 2024 (from 5.35 to 6.12). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.4% and a typical year strayed about 15.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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?
- The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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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