African Currencies

Converter, directory & quick facts for every currency in Africa

Currency Converter

Reference rates snapshot — see disclaimer below.
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Rates are approximate reference values as of late July 2026, meant for quick estimates only. For real-time trading or remittance decisions, check a live source such as your bank, Wise, or XE.

Strongest African Currencies

Ranked by fewest local units needed to buy 1 US dollar.
"Strongest" here just means the nominal exchange rate — how many units equal $1. It says nothing about an economy's health; Japan's yen and Kuwait's dinar sit at opposite extremes despite both being strong economies. Treat this as a fun ranking, not an economic signal.

Currency Directory

All 54 African countries — symbol, code, currency, and approximate rate to USD.
Country Currency Code Symbol Per 1 USD

Quick Facts

A handful of things that make African currencies distinctive.

The CFA Franc zones XOF / XAF

Fourteen countries in West and Central Africa share two CFA franc currencies (XOF and XAF), both historically pegged to the euro. They are separate currencies with the same fixed exchange rate to the euro, not one single currency.

The Rand zone ZAR

The South African rand circulates alongside — and is pegged 1:1 with — the local currencies of Lesotho (loti), Namibia (Namibian dollar), and Eswatini (lilangeni).

Redenominations are common

Several countries have re-issued currency to drop zeros after high inflation, including Ghana (2007), Zimbabwe (multiple times, most recently the ZiG in 2024), and Sierra Leone (2022, new leone SLE).

Newest currency

Zimbabwe's Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG, code ZWG) launched in April 2024, backed partly by gold and foreign reserves, replacing the Zimbabwean dollar.

US Dollar vs African currencies

Most African currencies trade at hundreds or thousands of units per US dollar (e.g. Nigerian naira, Tanzanian shilling), while a handful — like the Tunisian dinar and Libyan dinar — need fewer than 10 units to equal a dollar. Even so, none of Africa's 54 currencies are currently worth more than a US dollar outright. A high or low number-per-dollar isn't weakness or strength by itself; it mainly reflects each currency's historical starting value and any redenominations, not the size or health of the economy behind it.