Countries · Europe
Russia
Since 2022, Western sanctions have cut Russia off from much of the international financial system.
At a glance
Net inflows of foreign direct investment were $11.1bn in 2025, against an average of $9.94bn a year in 2015–2024. Investors based in Russia withdrew a net $5.46bn of direct investment from abroad in the same year. Foreign investors were net sellers of $3.76bn of shares in Russia in 2025. Russia ran a current account surplus in every year shown, which means it was a net lender to the rest of the world.
Part of the Bank of Russia's reserves was immobilised by sanctions in 2022; Euroclear in Belgium reported holding about €195bn of sanctioned Russian assets at the end of 2025, most of them belonging to the Bank of Russia (Euroclear, February 2026). Russia sold almost all of its US Treasuries in 2018, and US Treasury data now show negligible holdings. Direct investment turned negative in 2022–2024 as Western companies left. Russia is a founding member of BRICS.
Russia's holdings of US securities
Treasuries, shares and bonds issued in the US and held by investors in Russia.
Holdings of US securities
End of month, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026, $bn.
Net purchases of long-term US securities
Each month, $bn. Positive means net buying.
The US Treasury records holdings by the country where securities are held in custody, which is not always the owner's country. Why this matters.
Direct and equity investment
Annual net flows, $bn. Direct investment means building or buying businesses; portfolio equity means buying listed shares and fund units.
Net flows by year
Direct investment into and out of Russia, and foreign buying of its shares, $bn.
Current account and reserves
The balance of trade and income with the rest of the world, and the reserves held by the central bank.
Current account balance
Each year, $bn. A surplus means the country lends to the rest of the world.
Foreign exchange reserves, including gold
End of year, $bn.
Remittances
Money sent home by people working abroad, compared with direct investment, $bn.
Remittances and direct investment
Each year, $bn.
The economy
GDP
Current US dollars, $bn. Dollar figures also move with exchange rates.
Growth and inflation
Real GDP growth and consumer price inflation, per cent.
All figures
Annual figures from the World Bank, as published. Download them for every country on the data page.
| Indicator | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (m) | 144.64 | 145.02 | 145.29 | 145.40 | 145.45 | 145.25 | 144.75 | 144.24 | 143.83 | 143.67 | 143.51 |
| GDP ($bn) | 1,363.5 | 1,276.8 | 1,574.2 | 1,657.3 | 1,693.1 | 1,493.1 | 1,829.2 | 2,292.5 | 2,046.3 | 2,186.5 | 2,561.3 |
| GDP per person ($) | 9,278 | 8,663 | 10,659 | 11,212 | 11,448 | 10,108 | 12,425 | 15,626 | 13,987 | 14,962 | 17,547 |
| Real GDP growth (%) | −2.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 2.2 | −2.7 | 5.9 | −1.4 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 1.0 |
| Inflation (%) | 15.5 | 7.0 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 6.7 | 13.7 | 5.9 | 8.4 | 8.7 |
| Current account ($bn) | 67.78 | 24.47 | 32.18 | 115.68 | 65.63 | 35.37 | 124.95 | 237.73 | 49.40 | 63.26 | 38.81 |
| Current account (% GDP) | 5.0 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 2.4 | 6.8 | 10.4 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.5 |
| Reserves incl. gold ($bn) | 368.0 | 377.1 | 432.7 | 468.6 | 555.2 | 596.8 | 632.2 | 581.7 | 597.2 | 608.4 | — |
| Direct investment in ($bn) | 6.85 | 32.54 | 28.56 | 8.78 | 31.97 | 9.48 | 40.45 | −39.80 | −10.05 | −9.35 | 11.14 |
| Direct investment out ($bn) | 22.09 | 22.31 | 36.76 | 31.38 | 21.92 | 5.85 | 65.88 | −13.09 | 10.71 | −0.17 | −5.46 |
| Portfolio equity in ($bn) | −5.54 | −1.79 | −7.94 | −4.16 | −4.32 | −14.79 | −11.04 | −16.52 | −2.43 | −2.45 | −3.76 |
| Remittances ($bn) | 6.90 | 6.69 | 8.23 | 9.29 | 10.43 | 9.91 | 9.65 | 3.25 | 2.62 | 1.82 | 1.61 |
The monthly read
A short email after each TIC release: where money moved, what changed among the big holders, and the charts that matter.
Sign-up and emails are handled by Substack.