Switzerland recorded the biggest decline in international reserves in 2022, the Swiss National Bank said. The second place in the anti-ranking was taken by China, whose reserves plunged as well.
In 10 months of 2022, Switzerland lost $226.6 billion in reserves. As a result, the country fell off the trillionaires list. China reported a loss of $211.5 billion, thus taking the runner-up position. The third place went to Japan, which was short of $211.2 billion in international reserves. Singapore came in fourth place, whose reserves slid by $135.6 billion. India closed the top 5 with a loss of $102.5 billion.
According to experts, Russia was ranked sixth as its reserves decreased by $83.4 billion. Hong Kong was seventh on the list (with a loss of $79.7 billion) followed by South Korea ($49.1 billion), Thailand ($44.1 billion), and Great Britain ($42.9 billion).
Other countries also lost the lion's share of their international reserves. The Czech Republic saw a reduction of $41.7 billion, Brazil - $36.7 billion, Israel - $24.4 billion, Germany - $23.9 billion, Italy - $20.8 billion, France - $19.2 billion, and the US - $18.7 billion.
In addition, a significant decrease in reserves in value terms was recorded in Sri Lanka (46%), Pakistan (43%), New Zealand (38%), Mongolia (36%), and Panama (31%). In percentage terms, Switzerland shed 20% of its reserves, the Czech Republic and Greece - 24%, Japan - 15%, and China - 6%.
Nevertheless, a number of economies managed to increase the volume of international reserves. However, none of them was able to replenish reserves by over $10 billion, experts pointed out. A substantial rise was seen in Saudi Arabia ($7.8 billion), Turkey ($2.3 billion), Qatar ($1.9 billion), and South Africa ($1.1 billion).
