The new headquarters of the Central bank of Iraq (CBI). Photo: Zaha Hadid Architects
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq placed 28th out of 30 countries in terms of foreign exchange reserves, with around $85 billion, according to Canada-based Visual Capitalist, citing recent data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the report, Iraq ranked 28th with approximately $85 billion in reserves, placing it just behind France, which held 27th with $86 billion. Iraq was ahead of Romania, ranked 29th with $78.2 billion, and Turkey came in last with $76.6 billion.
China led the list with $3.41 trillion of reserves, followed by Japan with $1.259 trillion, Switzerland with $932.3 billion, Taiwan with $602.5 billion, and India with $543 billion.
Saudi Arabia placed sixth internationally with $458.6 billion in reserves, the UAE ranked 12th with $251.4 billion, and Iraq rated third among the Arab countries.
The ranking, which is based on data from the IMF’s International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity (IRFCL) database, shows that foreign currency reserves are an important tool for dealing with economic shocks, maintaining currency stability, financing imports, and servicing external debt.
Director of the Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) Statistics and Research Department, Samir Neama, said that the country’s foreign currency reserves can cover Iraq’s imports for a whole year.
Speaking at the MERI 2026 forum in Erbil, Neama clarified that the CBI is in a very comfortable situation in terms of foreign reserves.
While IMF reports indicate a capability to finance imports for three to six months, Neama confirmed that the reserves are sufficient to cover the country’s needs for more than a year.