China vs Upper middle income: Total Reserves
China
3.43 million
in 2025
Upper middle income
5.57 million
in 2025
China rank
1st
Upper middle income rank
2nd
Total Reserves over time
- China
- Upper middle income
How they compare
Upper middle income currently reports 5.57 million against 3.43 million in China, a difference of 2.15 million.
That makes Upper middle income's figure about 1.6 times China's.
Across all 36 years both countries report, Upper middle income has been ahead every year.
China ranks 1st and Upper middle income ranks 2nd of 164 countries.
Upper middle income has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Upper middle income | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 80,430 | 264,312 | 183,882 | Upper middle income |
| 2000s | 949,346 | 1.58 million | 635,373 | Upper middle income |
| 2010s | 3.29 million | 4.92 million | 1.63 million | Upper middle income |
| 2020s | 3.29 million | 5.16 million | 1.87 million | Upper middle income |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher total reserves, China or Upper middle income?
- Upper middle income, at 5.57 million against 3.43 million in China as of 2025.
- What is the difference in total reserves between China and Upper middle income?
- 2.15 million, with Upper middle income ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Upper middle income?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2025.
- How do China and Upper middle income rank globally for total reserves?
- China ranks 1st and Upper middle income ranks 2nd of 164 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank staff calculations based on Datastream data, published as Total Reserves. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total reserves comprise 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.