There are many options to consider when looking to grow your hard earned money - stocks, bonds, the relatively new peer to peer lending, and of course -  bank savings or deposits.

As a small and growing investor, I'm always looking for a higher yield investment, and despite deposits doesn't fit in my wealth building strategy, I have made some money in the past. 

In 2019 I would favor peer to peer lending marketplace like over the hustle of opening a foreign bank account in a distant country just to chase a higher deposit rate. 




According to the research, these following countries offer the highest deposit rates in 2019 in national currencies. provides the largest marketplace for retail interest bearing products for deposits, personal loans, home loans, credit cards, savings, SME financing and other exotic investment opportunities. We are the one-stop comprehensive reference for international financing and investment

Please note, in most case, a higher interest rate means higher inflation in a country

Country Inflation Interest Rate Currency
Argentina 27.60% 42,05% ARS
Uzbekistan 11% 20.00% UZS
Turkey 7.80% 17.75% TRY
Iran 15.30% 15.00% IRR
Mongolia 8.30% 15.00% MNT
Ukraine 49% 15.00% UAH
Kazakhstan 5.80% 10.50% KZT
Georgia 4.10% 10.40% GEL
Azerbaijan 2.40% 10.00% AZN
Myanmar 8.90% 10.00% MMK
Syria 59.10% 10% SYP
Rwanda 5.90% 9.50% RWF
Egypt 13.30% 9.00% EGP
Turkmenistan 9% 9.00% TMT
Uganda 4.90% 9.00% UGX
Ghana 8.80% 8.90% GHS
South Africa 5% 8.78% ZAR
Nepal 8.30% 8.00% NPR
Costa Rica   7.80% CRC
Vietnam 18.90% 7.80% VND

Data source: World Deposit Rates

When speaking about higher deposit rates in 2019, we can highlight the following regions and countries:  Former Soviet Union countries (Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan), Middle East, South Asia, and South America

As a foreigner living in Georgia, I've been using Georgia's banks in the past for savings, though I have got a very negative experience when dealing with national currencies - they are volatile. My February Savings Report - GEL Loses Another 16.5% Against USD; -17% Against EUR

As you can see in the above table, in some countries the inflation rate is far greater than the interest rate (Iran, Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam).

I would be cautious when depositing in national currencies.

Here is the map visualizing countries and regions with the highest deposit rates in the World in 2019

Highest deposit rates around the World 2019

Highest deposit rates around the World 2019

Now, let's see how about deposits in a more stable USD currency:

Country Inflation Interest rate Currency
Iran 15.30% 5.00% USD
Cambodia 3.20% 4.75% USD
Indonesia 6% 4.50% USD
Ukraine 49.00% 4.25% USD
Sri Lanka 7.70% 3.50% USD
Zimbabwe 8.30% 3.50% USD
Georgia 4% 3.50% USD
Laos   3.40% USD
India 6.80% 3.29% USD
Kazakhstan 5.80% 3.10% USD
Turkey 7.80% 3.00% USD
Azerbaijan 2.40% 3.00% AZN
United States 1.50% 2.75% USD
Oman 4.00% 2.75% USD
Afghanistan 6.8%^ 2.75% USD
Bahrain 0.30% 2.55 USD
Bermuda 1.80% 2.50% USD
Hong Kong 5% 2.50% USD
Uganda 4.90% 2.50% USD
Cuba 4.8%^ 2.50% USD

Data source: World Deposit Rates

Now, this looks more interesting (despite lower interest rate) - in 2019, you could get up to 5% in deposit rates.

On the other hand, countries with highest interest rates are politically and economically unstable, by choosing to deposit at one of the above-listed countries you could actually lose some or all of your savings (in case the bank goes bankrupt).

it's interesting to note that interest rates have lowered in countries like Ukraine and Georgia if compared to 2018.

There are plenty of countries in the World with high enough deposit rates in 2018, most of them, on the other hand, are politically and economically unstable and you could risk losing some or all of your money by choosing to invest.