Sudan: Total reserves in months of imports

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Sudan's total reserves in months of imports fell 9.8% on 2016 (from 0.21 to 0.19).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +23.5% and a typical year strayed about 99.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 444.3% in 1986 and the biggest yearly fall was 82% in 1987. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.09 a year. A straight line explains 64% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Sudan in the 2017 ranking

• Barbados — 1st of 2: 1.26

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 41 values

Total reserves in months of imports in nearby economies

• Angola — 5.29 (2025)
• Botswana — 4.71 (2024)
• Burundi — 0.73 (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 8.69 (2025)
• Cameroon — 5.28 (2024)
• Comoros — 7.61 (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.69 (2023)
• Congo, Rep. — 1.6 (2021)
• Eswatini — 1.91 (2024)
• Ethiopia — 1.78 (2024)
• Gabon

More economic policy & debt data for Sudan

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$10.77 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 23.83 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.02 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 1.75 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 17.9% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$49.06 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 108.57 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$)

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 Sudan's total reserves in months of imports?

0.19 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is down 37.61% from 0.3 in 1977 (1.17% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 2.78 in 2004 and the lowest 0.06 in 1991.

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

In 2017, Sudan's total reserves in months of imports fell 9.8% on 2016 (from 0.21 to 0.19). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +23.5% and a typical year strayed about 99.1% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below 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.

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.