African Currencies

West & Central Africa Currencies

West and Central Africa is the continent's largest currency region by country count — 24 nations — and also its most unified: 14 of those countries share just two currencies, the West African CFA franc (XOF) and Central African CFA franc (XAF), both historically pegged to the euro at a fixed rate. The remaining ten countries manage independent currencies, including Nigeria's naira (Africa's most-traded currency by transaction volume, backing the continent's most populous economy) and Ghana's cedi, alongside smaller economies like Cabo Verde, Liberia, Sierra Leone and DR Congo that chose monetary independence from the CFA system at or after their own independence.

West & Central Africa Currency Comparison

The CFA franc zones and the proposed eco

The CFA franc was created in December 1945 for France's African colonies. After independence in the early 1960s, most former French colonies chose to keep the shared currency rather than issue their own, splitting into two currency unions — the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA, using XOF) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC, using XAF) — each pegged to the French franc and later the euro. West African leaders have proposed replacing the CFA franc with a new currency called the eco as a step toward greater monetary sovereignty, but as of 2026 the transition has not been completed and both CFA francs remain in daily use across the region.

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