Zimbabwe's total reserves (% of total external debt) was 3.37% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.83 percentage points from 4.2% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3.37% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 1.21% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 4.2% | 2014 |
| Highest | 96.06% | 1973 |
| Lowest | 0.26% | 2020 |
| Average since 2015 | 2.65% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 17.48% | 1971 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Zimbabwe's total reserves (% of total external debt) rose 2.57 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.79% to 3.37%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.52 percentage points 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 51.69 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 29.13 percentage points in 1977. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% 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
In 2024, Zimbabwe had the 96th highest value of the 96 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | 3.37% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 26.8% | 2024 |
| Lower middle income | 55.78% | 2024 |
Closest to Zimbabwe in the 2024 ranking
- Djibouti — 93rd of 96: 10.09%
- Gabon — 94th of 96: 9.37%
- Mozambique — 95th of 96: 5.51%
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
| Year | Total reserves (% of total external debt) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3.37 |
| 2023 | 0.7941 |
| 2022 | 4.24 |
| 2021 | 5.94 |
| 2020 | 0.2563 |
| 2019 | 1.21 |
| 2018 | 0.6697 |
| 2017 | 2.27 |
| 2016 | 3.45 |
| 2015 | 4.35 |
| 2014 |
Total reserves (% of total external debt) in nearby economies
- Angola — 24.25% (2024)
- Botswana — 149.08% (2024)
- Burundi — 8.74% (2023)
- Cabo Verde — 33.19% (2024)
- Cameroon — 32.09% (2024)
- Central African Republic — 46.78% (2024)
- Chad — 46.22% (2024)
- Comoros — 84.02% (2024)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 42.51% (2023)
- Congo, Rep. — 11.27% (2024)
More economic policy & debt data for Zimbabwe
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$48.51 billion (2025)
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 1.54 trillion (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$51.22 billion (2025)
- GDP (current LCU) — 1.63 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$25.48 billion (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 74.26 billion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$3,021 (2025)
- GDP per capita (current LCU) — 96,071 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,503 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4,381 (2025)
- GNI (current US$)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Zimbabwe's total reserves (% of total external debt)?
- 3.37% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1971?
- It is down 14.12 percentage points from 17.48% in 1971. The highest value was 96.06% in 1973 and the lowest 0.26% in 2020.
- How does Zimbabwe rank?
- 96th highest of 96 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in total reserves (% of total external debt) unusual for Zimbabwe?
- In 2024, Zimbabwe's total reserves (% of total external debt) rose 2.57 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.79% to 3.37%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.52 percentage points 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.
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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