When considering which governments are wealthiest, we have decided to consider their total reserves. This means all holdings of monetary gold, special drawing rights, reserves of IMF members held by the IMF, and holdings of foreign exchange under the control of monetary authorities. Of course, we are aware of the fact that big national reserves do not guarantee prosperity. For instance, China, officially the country with the largest reserves, overspent 110 billion USD last year, much of it went towards modernizing their military. If this were to continue, then their reserves would only last for 22 years.
A country normally can borrow up to 100 per cent of its GDP; a very strong industrial country or very financially stable nation can borrow up to perhaps 200 per cent of its GDP. But if debts are over 250 per cent of GDP then a country is considered bankrupt. Now you have the background, let’s see how this all stacks up:
*Source International Monetary Fund, CIA and Eurostat
The Rich List
1. China
National reserves: $2,453,000,000,000
Debt: 18% of GDP
2. Japan
National reserves: $1,048,000,000,000
Debt: 225% of GDP
3. Russia
National reserves: $439,000,000,000
Debt: 10% of GDP
4. Saudi Arabia
National reserves: $421,000,000,000
Debt: 17% of GDP
5. United States of America
National reserves: $404,000,000,000
Debt: 59% of GDP
6. India
National reserves: $285,000,000,000
Debt: 56% of GDP
7. South Korea
National reserves: $270,000,000,000
Debt: 24% of GDP
8. Hong Kong, China
National reserves: $256,000,000,000
Debt: 18% of GDP
9. Brazil
National reserves: $239,000,000,000
Debt: 61% of GDP
10. Singapore
National reserves: $187,000,000,000
Debt: 102% of GDP
The Middle East
(excluding Saudi Arabia)
+ Algeria
National reserves: $155,000,000,000
Debt: 26% of GDP
+ Libya
National reserves: $103,000,000,000
Debt: 4% of GDP
+ Iraq
National reserves: $46,000,000,000
Debt not disclosed
+ Lebanon
National reserves: $39,000,000,000
Debt: 151% of GDP
+ United Arab Emirates
National reserves: $36,000,000,000
Debt: 45% of GDP
+ Egypt
National reserves: $35,000,000,000
Debt: 81% of GDP
+ Morocco
National reserves: $24,000,000,000
Debt: 58% of GDP
+ Kuwait
National reserves: $23,000,000,000
Debt: 13% of GDP
+ Qatar
National reserves: $19,000,000,000
Debt: 10% of GDP
+ Syria
National reserves: $18,000,000,000
Debt: 30% of GDP
+ Oman
National reserves: $12,000,000,000
Debt: 4% of GDP
+ Jordan
National reserves: $12,000,000,000
Debt: 61% of GDP
+ Tunisia
National reserves: $11,000,000,000
Debt: 50% of GDP
+ Yemen
National reserves: $7,000,000,000
Debt: 39% of GDP
