Reserves in months of imports: lowest 2025 readings

Reserves in months of imports: what the figure is

The World Bank reports total reserves, including monetary gold, divided by average monthly imports of goods and services. A higher figure means a larger cushion on this one measure. A country with a large import bill needs more reserves than a smaller one to reach the same number of months.

Which countries have the lowest readings?

The eight lowest of 112 countries and territories in the dataset with a 2025 reading are below.

Seven of the eight are euro users. The European Central Bank lists 21 EU countries that use the euro, plus six more places. Bolivia is the only other country in the eight. The World Bank series reports the figure without a reason, and this page does not say whether the euro explains the pattern. Read the guides for Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus and the Netherlands for each country's other figures.

Which countries sit outside the ranking?

The ranking uses 2025 readings only. In the dataset, 7 countries have an older latest reading that is below the Netherlands. Those readings are not for 2025, so this page does not rank them. Malta is a euro user, and the other six are not.

The years differ. A reading for 2017 or 2023 says nothing about 2025.

Which non-euro countries have the lowest readings?

The next list sets the euro users aside: 22 countries and territories with a 2025 reading, using the ECB's 2026 list, which includes Bulgaria, plus Montenegro and Kosovo, which use the euro without a formal arrangement. Malta's latest reading is older, so it is in the table above.

The eight are Bolivia, the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Australia, Canada, Panama, Maldives and Vietnam. Use the country comparison tool to set any of them beside others on more measures.

What the figure does not show

It omits a country's exchange rate arrangement, its access to swap lines or other credit, how much short-term external debt it owes and what reserves it holds outside the central bank, and it cannot tell the situations of the countries above apart. It comes from one source, the World Bank, and the year differs by country. The ordering and the medians are Invest Global calculations from the dataset, which does not hold every place the World Bank lists. Information only. Not investment, legal or tax advice. Method and sources are on the methodology page.