INDICATOR DEFINITIONS
Share of global foreign exchange reserves The data refers to the share of central bank foreign exchange (Forex) reserves held in a given currency. Forex reserves are currency holdings of a central bank that are issued by another central bank (the European Central Bank holding US dollars is an example). Monetary gold is not included.
Source: IMF’s Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves
Share of trade export invoicing
The data refers to the share of global exports that are invoiced in a given currency. The dataset covers 115 countries representing 75% of global trade averaged over 1999-2019. While invoicing and settlement are separate functions in trade, research shows that invoicing currency is typically also settlement currency.
Note: Euro share does not include intra Euro Area trade invoicing. Values for Renminbi, Yen, and Pound are estimates based on available data.
Source: Boz et al. (2022)
Share of foreign exchange transactions The data refers to the share of all currency trades in which a given currency was on at least one side of. So for instance the dollar is involved on one side of 89% of all foreign exchange transactions. Since each foreign exchange transaction involves two currencies (converting euros to dollars for example), the sum of shares of individual currencies totals 200%.
Source: BIS 2022 Triennial Central Bank Survey