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Business Insider
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Top 10 African countries with the lowest reserves of foreign exchange and gold
In today's globalized world, a country's ability to defend its economy, stabilize its currency, and maintain strategic autonomy is heavily reliant on the strength of its foreign exchange and gold reserves. Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 African countries with the lowest reserves of foreign exchange and gold. This list is courtesy of Global Firepower. Somalia ranks number 1 on the list. Low reserves are a major vulnerability for African countries, both economically and politically. This susceptibility is reflected in rankings such as the Global Firepower Index, which assesses national power by integrating military capability with key financial and economic factors, such as a country's reserves. Low foreign and gold reserves expose a country to unexpected financial shocks. Many African economies rely significantly on exports like oil, minerals, and agricultural products. When global prices for these items fall, countries with insufficient reserves struggle to meet critical imports such as food, fuel, and medicine. Without sufficient reserves, governments are unable to successfully manage currency volatility or fulfill external debts. This lack of financial cushion can result in balance-of-payments crises, in which a country is unable to meet its international commitments. Such crises frequently force governments to make difficult policy decisions, such as currency depreciation, subsidy cuts, or emergency borrowing, measures that harm ordinary residents and damage national confidence. While gold is commonly regarded as a symbolic store of wealth, it also plays an important role during periods of economic turmoil. When global markets are volatile or fiat currencies devalue, gold holds its value. Countries with limited or no gold reserves have fewer options during currency crises or inflationary periods. Unfortunately, despite being home to some of the world's largest gold-producing regions, many African governments have failed to accumulate significant gold deposits. This wasted opportunity reduces their ability to mitigate risk and contributes to long-term financial insecurity. With that said, here are the African countries with the lowest reserves of foreign exchange and gold, according to Global Firepower. Top 10 African countries with the lowest reserves of foreign exchange and gold Rank Country Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold by Country Global rank 1. Somalia $16,747,500 145th 2. Burkina Faso $47,138,000 144th 3. Zimbabwe $115,530,000 143rd 4. South Sudan $183,615,000 142nd 5. Sudan $206,763,700 141st 6. Chad $211,591,000 140th 7. Eritrea $225,014,976 139th 8. Central Africa Republic $374,405,000 137th 9. Sierra Leone $495,699,000 135th 10. Liberia $599,660,000 134th
Middle East
08-07-2025
- Business
- Middle East
Egypt among top 10 African countries with highest foreign exchange, gold reserve -- report
AFRICAN CAPITALS, July 8 (MENA) - Egypt has been listed among Africa's top 10 African countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold in mid-2025, according to a report published by Business Insider Africa website on Tuesday. High foreign exchange and gold reserves are becoming increasingly important for African countries seeking to establish economic stability and geopolitical power, according to a the Global Firepower Index, which assesses a country's strength based on not only military assets but also economic factors such as national reserves. On Monday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that the country's net foreign reserves rose to $48.700 billion at the end of June 2025, up from $48.526 billion in May, marking an increase of $174 million in one month. The list of the top 10 African countries with the largest foreign exchange and gold reserves included Libya, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Angola, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya, according to the index. (MENA) A A E/S A S
Business Insider
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Top 10 African countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold mid-2025
Globally, a nation's reserves, especially foreign currency and gold, are sometimes used to assess its economic resilience and strategic strength in addition to its GDP and military might. Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 African countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold. This list is courtesy of Global Firepower. Libya ranks number 1 on the list. High foreign exchange and gold reserves are becoming increasingly important for African countries seeking to establish economic stability and geopolitical power. This importance is emphasized in the Global Firepower Index, which assesses a country's strength based on not only military assets but also economic factors such as national reserves. High foreign and gold reserves provide a significant buffer against economic shocks. These reserves provide a safety net for African countries that are frequently hit by volatile commodity prices, political instability, and currency changes. They allow governments to stabilize currency rates, pay for vital imports, and meet foreign debt commitments without triggering a balance-of-payments crisis. Countries with low reserves are significantly more exposed to external influences. An unexpected decline in export profits, for example, can rapidly drain reserves if there is no buffer. On the other hand, countries with large reserves may weather economic crises with greater confidence, preserving investor faith and domestic stability. When a local currency is under pressure, a central bank with substantial reserves can intervene and sell foreign currency to stabilize its value. This is especially important in Africa, where several currencies are experiencing severe depreciation due to inflation, political insecurity, or decreased export profits. Furthermore, international investors and rating agencies are actively monitoring a country's reserves. High reserves indicate good economic management and boost confidence among foreign lenders, multilateral institutions, and private investors. With that said, here are the African countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold, according to Global Firepower. Top 10 African countries with the highest reserves of foreign exchange and gold mid-2025 Rank Country Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold Global rank 1. Libya $92,427,000,000 32nd 2. Algeria $81,217,000,000 33rd 3. South Africa $62,492,000,000 38th 4. Nigeria $41,349,000,000 48th 5. Morocco $36,328,000,000 51st 6. Egypt $33,070,000,000 54th 7. Angola $13,942,000,000 69th 8. Tunisia $9,240,000,000 79th 9. Ivory Coast $7,583,484,000 84th 10. Kenya $7,342,000,000 86th
NDTV
30-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Who Wants Peace, Anyway? On War And The People Who Fuel It
"O brave new world, / That has such people in't!" One of Shakespeare's most debated heroines, Miranda, exclaimed in The Tempest. "Such people" then and now are the kind of people who launch just wars. Aldous Huxley, who borrowed the title of his most famous work, Brave New World, from Shakespeare, explained in his first novel how these are instigated. "The surest way to work up a crusade in favour of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behaviour 'righteous indignation' - this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats." There's No Safe Distance Anymore The first half of 2025 has seen an unchallenged rise of such crusades. With the dogs of war reaching its soil and skies, India no longer has the privilege of pontificating about peace from a relatively safe distance. Unlike the two world wars of the previous century, which primarily involved Europe and the US, the third one appears to be earmarked for the Global South. And it's already in motion. Twice in the past two months did the world come close to a nuclear conflict. More than 60 armed conflicts are currently raging across the globe. Scan the map, and it becomes painfully clear: countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Asia are heavily - and disproportionately - represented. This isn't just a cartographic coincidence. It's a product of a global security architecture that never truly served these regions in the first place. Violence Is The Top Global Risk Now It's no longer controversial to say that the world is entering a new era of instability. But what remains under-discussed - perhaps deliberately so - is that the Global South bears the brunt of this unravelling order. The 2025 Global Risks Report from the World Economic Forum tells us what those on the ground already know: "perceptions have darkened when it comes to conflict", with state-based armed violence now ranked as the most pressing global risk. Not long ago, such a threat wasn't even in the top two-year outlook. Now it defines the present. Violence, according to the report, is expected to remain "very high relative to the recent historical norm", with an annual rise of up to 20%. The figures speak for themselves. However, statistics alone cannot convey the profound social, economic, and psychological costs of a world in perpetual crisis. For more than three months, India's focus has been fixed on how to contain Pakistan's unconventional covert operations and its full-blown conventional aggression. A significant bump in Pakistan's defence budget will compel India to follow suit. With an annual spend of $75 billion, India is already one of the world's leading military spenders. The Global Firepower Index ranks it in fourth place after the US, China, and Russia. Seeing War For What It Is For decades, conventional security doctrines have hinged on procurement: weapons systems, alliances, and defence budgets. But for much of the Global South, these are symptoms of the problem, not its cure. It may not be 'sexy' in an era dominated by drone strikes, cyberwarfare and diplomatic brinkmanship, but peace remains the only proven path to prosperity. In recent years, the war economy has been unmasked for what it truly is: not a generator of strength, but a destroyer of long-term viability. Bombed-out infrastructure, displaced populations, and disrupted trade routes do not foster investment. They repel it. No Shortage Of Hypocrisy The disruption caused by war to supply chains, energy security, market dynamics, and the psyche of the consumer is all but clear to us, thanks to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Iran's threat to choke the Strait of Hormuz. Talking of Iran, with one of the largest oil reserves in the world, it is an economy on a ventilator. Even the United Nations, often criticised for its bureaucratic caution, has been clear. Marking the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers in 2022, the organisation warned that "armed conflict and post-conflict situations have a substantial impact on economic life and present a hostile environment to business and investments." Its 'Business for Peace' initiative might more accurately be rephrased as 'Peace for Business'. This isn't just a semantic trick. But it is bound to fail. The war industry cannibalises all others, and there's no shortage of hypocrisy in today's global security discourse. Powerful states lament instability while fuelling it through arms sales and proxy wars. There is a paradox, too. The time to turn away from reactive militarisation and toward proactive peacebuilding is right after a war. But that's also the time peace becomes an orphan because a crusade in favour of some good cause is to be launched soon, and we must be prepared.
India Today
16-06-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Israel is scoring heavily in the skies, but is that enough against Iran?
Will Israel attack Iran? When will it happen? Will the US support Israel in its misadventure? What will be the pretext? All these questions were answered when Israel launched a unilateral, preemptive strike deep into Iran on Friday the that Iran had developed enough fissile material in the past few months to build up to nine nuclear bombs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called its Operation Rising Lion a necessary move to ensure Israel's survival. He added that waiting was no longer an strikes in the first few days have been precise and punitive, striking at critical assets in Tehran. In meticulously planned intelligence operations, it eliminated the entire top military leadership of Iran, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of Iran's Armed Forces, and Major General Hossein Salami, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps chief. It also struck key nuclear sites in Natanz and Fordow, oil depots in Shahran, key military installations, air defence assets, and the Iranian Military HQ in Tehran. Iran was quick to retaliate and struck many parts of Tel Aviv, including a direct strike on Israel's Military HQ building Kirya, which is often called Israel's Pentagon. Iranian missiles also struck the critical port of Haifa in Israel on June 15, which reportedly caused significant damage not only to the port infrastructure but also to the oil refinery in its close both nations unwilling to back down, the conflict looks set to escalate. What is interesting from a military perspective is the vastly different military capabilities of these two mighty regional powers and how each is leveraging its strengths. The degree to which they are matched up is evident from the Global Firepower Index, which ranked the militaries of Iran and Israel 16th and 15th this year. Geography also plays a crucial role. Separated by around 1,700 kilometres, a match-up of ground forces becomes more or less irrelevant. The match-up is therefore limited to stand-off weapon Military Match-upAir force: Israel has overwhelming superiority here, possessing the most modern fighter aircraft, such as the F-35 and the F-16. Its might and reach are almost unmatched by Iran's old and ageing air force. Coupled with the capabilities of air-to-air refuelling, courtesy of the US, Israel completely dominates Iran in the defence: Israel has overwhelming superiority in air defence, with its Patriot and Arrow systems. The former is a well-tested American system that was used during the First Gulf War in 1991 to intercept Iraq's Scud missiles, and recently, to intercept long-range missiles launched by the Houthi from Yemen. The latter is a modern anti-missile defence system developed by the US to intercept long-range Iron Dome and Iron Shield systems, with an interception success of over 90 per cent for short-range rockets and missiles, add to the arsenal. And the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system of the US, capable of intercepting missiles at longer ranges of 200 km and beyond Earth's atmosphere, completes the comparison, Iran has an old S-300 air defence system coupled with other older Russian anti-aircraft missiles. It developed the Bawar 373, which is touted to be almost as good as the Russian S-400 system. But it is yet to prove its worth. No wonder Israel declared 'air superiority' just three days into the systems: It is in its missile systems that Iran holds an edge over Israel. Iran's array of missiles is the largest and most modern in the region. Many Iranian missiles are capable of carrying nuclear payloads, which has long been an international concern, leading to the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which called upon Iran 'not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons'. In its medium- and long-range categories are the Khorramshahr-1, 2, and 3 — medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) with ranges of 2,000–3,000 km — the Fatah-1 with ranges of 1,400–1,700 km, and many others like the Sejjil (2,000 km) and the Paveh (1,650 km). Iran has also developed hypersonic missiles that fly at Mach 5 speeds and above and are beyond the interception capability of most anti-missile on the other hand, has more short-range missiles with ranges up to 500 km that cannot target Iran directly. However, it has Jericho-2, an MRBM with ranges of 1,500 to 3,000 km, and Jericho-3, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 4,800–6,500 In drones, both are evenly matched, although Iran may hold an edge given the number of drones it has and their Kamikaze possesses a variety of drones and has mastered developing low-cost ones. It exported its drones to Russia, which effectively used them against Ukraine. Prominent among them is the Shahed category of drones, which are suicide or Kamikaze drones meant to explode on targets. These include the Shahed-101 and has also developed the longer-range Shahed-136 drones (over 2,500 km) that can carry 20–40 kg of explosives, around double that of Shahed-131, enough to cause significant damage in a non-hardened structure. The Shahed-238 drones also have jet propulsion, making them faster and capable of carrying more payload. There are also the Samad-1, 2, and 3 categories of drones, which have an effective range of 1,800 km and can carry sufficient payload to inflict comparison, the Israeli drones are superior in technology and costlier. The major ones include the famous Heron and Hermes 900 armed drones that have a range of over 1,000 weapons: Israel's arsenal of nuclear weapons is an open secret. Most analysts estimate it has 90–140 nuclear warheads. Iran, on the other hand, has no nuclear weapons yet, giving an edge to and intelligence: With its advanced satellite systems and detailed coordination with the West, Israel is way ahead of Iran in terms of satellite coverage and real-time data links. Even in terms of intelligence, Israelis have proved more than once how effective it is in penetrating enemy lines and carrying out targeted strikes. The elimination of the Hezbollah leadership in September last year, Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in April last year, and the top Iranian military leadership recently are cases in Iran has traditionally leveraged the 3H (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis) to good effect in the region in the past. However, with Israel decimating Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran's proxies are not as effective against Israel as before. Israel is not known to have any proxy groups, relying mostly on its intelligence services to do the support: Israel scores over Iran, with the 'iron-clad' support from the US, the UK and many other Western powers. Iran, on the other hand, is left to fight the battle largely on its own, despite strategic partnerships with Russia and China, which have not shown any direct military support yet. Also, Arab countries in the region are rather ambivalent and have chosen to watch from the match-up between Israel and Iran is, therefore, relatively equal. Iran has a greater capacity to absorb strikes due to its vast territory and extensive infrastructure. It is also likely to gain the upper hand if the conflict turns into a war of attrition, given the size of its economy and its military-industrial Israel, the best option would be to either end the war soon or somehow get the US actively involved. In a prolonged conflict, Iran will likely prevail. Another lesson from recent conflicts, which Israel would do well to remember, is that stand-off weapon systems rarely win wars. If Gaza is still standing after three years of unprecedented punishment, Iran is a much bigger challenge for Israel and the US.(Col Rajeev Agarwal is a Foreign Policy Expert and a Senior Research Consultant at Chintan Research Foundation, New Delhi)(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Tune InMust Watch
