Higher economic output is linked to larger currency reserves
Comparing Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current US$) with Reserves excluding gold (SDR) across 170 countries, 1990–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.90
- Holding size constant
- +0.74
- Countries compared
- 170
- Period
- 1990–2025
What might link these
Indicator A (GVA) reflects a country's economic production, while Indicator B (reserves) measures foreign currency holdings. Both may rise with economic size or trade integration, but correlation alone doesn't imply policy influence. A careful reader should note that richer countries can afford larger reserves, but other factors (e.g., trade deficits) could distort this link.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. The high rank correlation may overstate the relationship due to outliers or unmeasured factors like debt levels.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.