The absolute amount of international reserves shows the scale of resources at the disposal of the central bank or other monetary authorities, but it does not say much about the ratio of this financial cushion to the size of the country. The recalculation of reserves per inhabitant partially eliminates the influence of population size and allows comparing large economies, small financial centers and states with different currency policy models.
Experts Club analytical center calculated international reserves per inhabitant for 47 countries and territories of the European and transcontinental space. The numerator is based on the latest data available on August 20, 2026 from central banks, ECB, IMF IRFCL and OMFIF, and the denominator is based on the average demographic forecast of the UN World Population Prospects 2024 for 2026. Since the reporting dates of reserves range mainly from March to mid-August, the table is an operational information slice, and not a comparison of all countries on one calendar date.
For Switzerland, instead of the broader balance sheet positions of $1.121 trillion, the comparative indicator of official reserve assets of the Swiss National Bank — $1.088 trillion — was used. The latest July data also lowered the scores for Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Austria and Greece, while Hungary's score was higher than in the previous estimate.
Switzerland maintained its undisputed lead with approximately $120.7 thousand in reserves per capita. Next came San Marino with a large margin — about $23.8 thousand, Iceland — $18.9 thousand, Denmark — $17.95 thousand, and the Czech Republic — $17.2 thousand. The high positions of small countries are explained not only by the amount of assets, but also by their small population, due to which even a relatively small adjustment of reserves can significantly change the result for one person.
"Swiss $120.7 thousand reserves per inhabitant are almost seven times higher than the figures of Denmark and the Czech Republic — $17.95 thousand and $17.2 thousand, respectively, while Poland and Hungary have about $7.8 thousand. This gap does not show the level of personal well-being of citizens, but the scale of the external financial cushion relative to the demographic base. For small countries, the denominator dramatically strengthens the result, so the rating must be analyzed together with import coverage, short-term external debt, liquidity and the structure of reserve assets. Without such a context, it is easy to mistakenly perceive a high place as a universal assessment of financial stability," stressed Maksym Urakin, economist and founder of the Experts Club think tank. 25px;">
Place
Country
rowspan="1">1
Switzerland
1,087.68
9,008
120 749
2
San Marino
≈0.80
0.034
23,806
3
Iceland
≈7.60
0.402
18,890
4
Denmark
≈108.11
6,024
17,948
5
Czech Republic
181.05
10.528
17 197
6
Norway
≈90.69
5,653
16,043
7
Poland
294.95
37,843
7,794
8
Hungary
74,11
9,586
7,731
9
Sweden
75.91
10.701
7 094
10
Italy
414.52
58,926
7,035
11
Germany
539.77
83.644
6,453
12
Netherlands
113.80
18,449
6,168
13
Portugal
63.12
10,395
6,072
14
France
404.02
66,746
6,053
15
Austria
50.99
9.107
5 599
16
Serbia
≈35.03
6,642
5,274
17
Belgium
53.98
11,775
4,584
18
Romania
≈86.12
18,801
4,581
19
Luxembourg
3.03
0.687
4 408
20
Finland
22.07
5,622
3,926
21
Montenegro
≈2.20
0.626
3,513
22
Slovakia
18.43
5,451
3,381
23
North Macedonia
≈6.00
1,804
1,836
3,295
25
Russia³
≈470.60
143,394
3,282
26
Albania
≈8.70
2,751
3,162
27
Great Britain
220.13
69,932
3 148
28
Malta
1.68
0.549
3,060
29
Kazakhstan¹
63.72
21,084
3,022
30
Bosnia and Herzegovina
≈9.30
3,114
2,986
31
Spain
123.78
47,851
2,587
32
Lithuania
7.14
2,797
2 552
33
Ireland
13.65
5,357
2,548
34
Greece
22.37
9,897
2,260
35
Turkey
183.50
87,926
2,087
36
Cyprus
2.82
1,382
2,040
37
Moldova
≈5.97
2,961
2,016
38
Georgia
7.53
3.805
1 979
39
Armenia
≈5.50
2,931
1,877
40
Estonia
2.33
1,331
1,750
41
Belarus
≈15.20
8,937
1,701
42
Slovenia
3.55
2.115
1 679
43
Azerbaijan
≈14.50
10,455
1,387
44
Ukraine
51,205
39,536
1,295
45
Bulgaria
8.34
6,668
1,251
46
Croatia
3.68
3.822
963
47
Kosovo²
≈1.50
1,667
900
¹ Kazakhstan is included in the widest possible sample as a transcontinental state. Without Kazakhstan, the countries below move up one position, and Ukraine ranks 43rd.
² Kosovo is included in the sample as a partially recognized country. This technical classification does not determine the position regarding its international legal status. In the UN database, the territory is designated as Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244.
³ For Russia, the table uses an analytically adjusted estimate of the available reserve buffer, not the official gross indicator.
The symbol "≈" means a currency conversion, a rounded value, or a secondary OMFIF estimate. Minimal differences between neighboring positions should not be interpreted as a significant gap.
The rating demonstrates the strong positions of a number of Central European countries. The Czech Republic has about $17.2 thousand in reserves per inhabitant, Poland - $7.79 thousand, Hungary - $7.73 thousand, and Serbia - $5.27 thousand. At the same time, the national reserve assets of the Eurozone countries are the balance sheet positions of their central banks within the Eurosystem. They can be compared statistically, but should not be considered as completely autonomous currency resources, similar to the reserves of states with their own independent monetary policy.
The official series of the Bank of Russia showed $755.6 billion in international reserves as of August 14, 2026. This aggregate reflects the legal ownership of assets and includes a portion of funds to which access remains blocked due to sanctions. For the rating, approximately $285 billion of Russian sovereign assets immobilized in the jurisdictions of the G7 countries and the EU were analytically deducted from the gross indicator. As a result, the estimate of the available buffer decreases to $470.6 billion, and the indicator per inhabitant — from $5.27 thousand to $3.28 thousand, or by 37.7%. Russia moves from conditional 17th place according to the gross indicator to 25th according to the adjusted one. The figure of $470.6 billion is not an official statistic or estimate of "net reserves": it is an analytical scenario sensitive to the value, exchange rate, and current legal status of the frozen assets.
"Official $755.6 billion gave Russia about $5.27 thousand reserves per inhabitant and 17th place, but this gross indicator does not reflect the operational availability of assets. After the analytical exclusion of approximately $285 billion in immobilized funds, the estimate drops to $470.6 billion, or $3.28 thousand per person, and the country falls to 25th place. This is not a rewriting of official statistics and not a calculation of net reserves, but a scenario assessment of a resource that can perform the function of a liquid currency buffer. Legal ownership of an asset and the ability to immediately use it for interventions, external payments, or stabilization of the currency market are fundamentally different categories," Maksym Urakin noted.
For Ukraine, the revised National Bank figure shows $51.205 billion in international reserves as of August 1, 2026. According to the UN demographic estimate of 39.536 million people, this corresponds to approximately $1,295 per inhabitant and ranks 44th among the 47 participants in the sample. Poland's indicator is approximately six times higher, Hungary's - almost six times, Serbia's - 4.1 times, Romania - 3.5 times.
From the maximum on February 1, 2026, when Ukraine's reserves amounted to $57.674 billion, their volume decreased by $6.469 billion, or by 11.22%. Compared to the beginning of the year, the decrease was $6.097 billion, or 10.64%, while directly in July reserves decreased by only 0.13%. According to the NBU's estimate, at the beginning of August, they provided financing for approximately 4.2 months of future imports.
The demographic denominator in the case of Ukraine requires special caution. The UN figure is a model estimate of a country's population, not a count of people actually living in government-controlled territory. Temporary occupation, external migration and forced displacement create significant uncertainty. The use of a lower estimate of the actually present population would mathematically increase the reserves per resident, but would deprive the rating of a unified demographic methodology.
"Ukraine's $1.3 thousand reserves per resident and the 44th place do not provide an independent answer to the question of the adequacy of the financial cushion. As of August 1, reserves amounted to $51.205 billion and covered about 4.2 months of future imports, but from the February maximum they decreased by $6.469 billion, or by 11.22%. In addition, the denominator is the UN model estimate of 39.54 million people, not the number of people who are actually in the controlled territory. Under the conditions of war, the stability of reserves is determined not by the place in the table, but by the rhythm of external financing, the scale of currency interventions, export revenue and the schedule of external debt payments," Maksym Urakin emphasized.
The indicator of reserves per inhabitant does not mean that the corresponding amount falls on the citizen personally, and is not a measure of the standard of living. International reserves belong to monetary authorities and are used for currency interventions, external settlements, fulfillment of international obligations and maintaining confidence in the financial system.
Therefore, the rating should be considered as one of the auxiliary analytical slices. A more complete assessment of external stability should simultaneously take into account the coverage of imports, the ratio of reserves to short-term external debt and GDP, the structure of assets, the share of gold, the currency composition, liquidity and the actual ability to dispose of reserve funds.
