KATHMANDU, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- As remittance inflows surged, Nepal witnessed a record level of foreign exchange reserves as of mid-January 2026, the country's central bank said on Monday.

According to a report on macro-economic and financial situation released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the country's gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 15.2 percent to 22.47 billion U.S. dollars in mid-January 2026, up from 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in mid-July 2025.

"Based on imports during the first six months of the current fiscal year 2025-26, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector are sufficient to cover prospective merchandise imports for 21.4 months, and merchandise and services imports for 18.1 months," the NRB said. During the period, the country imported goods worth 6.36 billion dollars.

Nepal's fiscal year begins in mid-July.

Although Nepal's imports have also been growing, an overwhelming increase in remittances contributed to the continued surge in foreign exchange reserves in recent months.

According to the NRB, the South Asian country saw remittance inflows surge by 32.3 percent to 7.5 billion dollars during the review period. Such inflows had increased by only 2.7 percent in the same period of the previous year. In the entire last fiscal year 2024-25, the country received 12.64 billion dollars in remittances.

Nepal is one of the largest recipients of remittances in comparison to its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

Nepali migrant workers are a key source of remittances for the country. By mid-January of the current fiscal year, as many as 206,807 Nepali workers had gone abroad for employment with first-time approval, while 194,733 renewed their labor permits to work overseas, according to the NRB. ■