Top African currencies: The Kenya shilling has not only been the strongest currency in East Africa but also among the top players on the continent. Unfortunately due to an increasing debt to GDP ratio the Kenya Shillings has lost its glory steadily in the past few years and now its ranked number 18 from Africa’s top Currencies
Let us start our countdown of Countries with the highest currency in Africa.
Which country has the highest currency in Africa?
The following are the top 10 Highest currencies in Africa in 2022:
1. Tunisian Dinar
- Currency Name: Dinar
- Code: TND
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = 2.88 د.ت
Tunisia has the highest currency in Africa with the Dinars. This country is also an Arabic country located in Northern Africa, and it is home to one of the unique currencies that attract foreign investors for the business.
The Tunisian Dinar is pegged to the Euro as it uses this currency along with Algeria’s Dinar to form a common currency. This reason is its stability as it has strong support from another country.
Tunisian Dinar is also a strong African currency because the country has efficient import and export policies. When the country’s economy is brought down, its people are not affected by a sound fiscal and monetary policy.
The currency has an ISO code “TND” and 1 TND = 0.36 USD, which translates to 1$ = 2.88 TND as of January 2022.
2. Libyan Dinar
- Currency Name: Dinar
- Code: LYD
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = 4.58 ل.د
Number two on our list of the highest currency in Africa is the Libyan Dinar. The National Bank of Libya issues this currency, and it has an ISO code, “LYD.” It is number one on our list because 1 LYD = 0.22 USD, which translates to 1$ = 4.58 LYD.
For a long time, the Libyan Dinar has been the strongest currency in Africa because of the strict monetary policy set out by Libya’s central bank. Libya is also rich in resources like oil, gold, and silver.
Libya is also among those African countries whose economies heavily depend on oil export, making LYD valuable. It has to be exchanged for USD or other foreign currencies for its living exporters. This makes LYD one of the strongest currencies in Africa currently.
Libyan Dinar has always been a very stable currency, even when political unrest swept Libya because of internal problems back in 2011. Today, the Libyan Dinar is still one of the most valued African currencies.
3. Ghanaian Cedi
- Currency Name: Cedi
- Code: GHC
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = GH₵ 6.16
In 2007 the Central Bank of Ghana replaced the Cedi, and ever since then, it has been growing in strength and value. Even though Ghana is one of those countries affected by the foreign exchange crisis in 2008, along with Tunisia, Morocco, and South Africa, its currency was not hit as hard as the others.
The Cedi is the strongest Currency in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is an official currency for both the Republic of Ghana and the Northern region in Togo.
The Cedi has a peg with the US dollar, which makes it one of the strongest currencies in Africa; 1 GHC = 0.16 USD, which translates to 1$ = 6.16 GHC
The GPD of Ghana is the largest in West Africa, contributing to the Cedi being one of the highest currencies in Africa.
4. Moroccan Dirham
- Currency Name: Dirham
- Code: MAD
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = DH 8.99
Moroccan Dirham is an ancient currency in Africa as it has been around for more than 100 years. It is the official currency of Morocco and its neighboring countries in the Western Sahara region.
Being close to Europe gives Morocco an advantage of doing business with the European Union. The country is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. This growth is reflected by the fact that its currency is among the highest on our list.
Kenya set to issue its own digital shilling as CBK makes move
5. Botswana Pula
- Currency Name: Pula
- Code: BWP
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = 11.32P
Coming in at number 5 on our list of the highest currency in Africa is the Pula. It is the currency of Botswana that is pegged to the South African Rand.
Botswana is located in Southern Africa with a stable democracy and strong economy. The Pula has been with Botswana for more than 45 years since its independence from Britain back then.
6. Seychellois Rupee
- Currency Name: Seychellois Rupee
- Code: SCR
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = SRe 12.92
Seychelles is an Indian Ocean country, and it has one of the highest currencies in Africa in terms of value, which is the Seychellois Rupee.
The main reason the currency is strong is because of the country’s strict monetary policy. The country is also an excellent destination for tourists, and this gives it a lot of foreign exchange, which is also another reason for the currency to be one of the strongest.
The country primarily imports and exports goods, and thus, its economy is mainly driven by the import-export sector, making it a stable currency in Africa.
7. South African Rand
- Currency Name: Rand
- Code: ZAR
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = R 15.27
Currently, the Rand is one of the strongest currencies in Africa, and this is due to recent economic growth. South Africa’s GDP can support this is growing at a rate of 4.6% annually.
South Africa has one of the strongest economies in Africa, with its Gross Domestic Product being $351.4 billion as ranked by the World Bank. The economy is dependent on several sectors such as mining, tourism, and financial services.
Several countries in the South have pegged their currency to the Rand, like Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, and Malawi.
8. Eritrean Nakfa
- Currency Name: Nakfa
- Code: ERN
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = Nfk 15.00
Eritrea is a country located in the horn of Africa with one of the most important currencies in Africa, the Nakfa, which is its official currency.
The main reason for Eritrea to have high currency value is because the country has a fixed exchange rate. This makes it one of the highest currencies in Africa.
Eritrea is an agricultural country with many fertile lands for growing several agricultural products. This has made Eritrea have one of the highest currency values in Africa as the demand for food is always high, subsequently making its economy grow at a fast rate.
9. Egyptian Pound
- Currency Name: Egyptian Pound
- Code: EGP
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = E£ 15.71 or ج.م 15.71
The Egyptian Pound is the official currency of Egypt, and it has been with the country for close to 200 years.
Egypt is a populous country in Africa located Northeast of Africa. Cairo, the biggest city in Africa, makes up 2/3rds of the country’s population and GDP.
Egypt has one of the oldest economies globally, and the banking sector in Egypt is one of the largest banks in Africa.
10. Zambian Kwacha
- Currency Name: Kwacha
- Code: ZMW
- Current Exchange Rate: $1 = ZK 17.20
Zambia is located in Southern Africa, and the Kwacha is its official currency. The Kwacha has been with Zambia for more than 54 years since gaining independence from Great Britain and replacing the Zambian Pound.
One of the reasons it is one of the strongest currencies in Africa is that Zambia is the largest copper producer in Africa. The country has rich mineral resources, and with Copper being the most dominant metal, mining of Copper is done on a large scale. This gives Zambia a considerable boost to earn foreign currency from selling the metals to other countries.
We had only listed the top 10 strongest currencies in Africa but decided to add all the African currencies below.
Strongest Currencies in Africa Overview
Here is a table with all the African currencies from the strongest to the weakest:
| Currency | ISO Code | Country | USD Rate |
| Tunisian Dinar | TND | Tunisia | 2.88 |
| Libyan Dinar | LYD | Libya | 4.58 |
| Ghanaian Cedi | GHS | Ghana | 6.16 |
| Moroccan Dirham | MAD | Morocco | 9.25 |
| Botswana pula | BWP | Botswana | 11.61 |
| Seychellois rupee | SCR | Seychelles | 14.98 |
| Lesotho loti | LSL | Lesotho | 15.64 |
| Namibian dollar | NAD | Namibia | 15.64 |
| Swazi lilangeni | SZL | Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) | 14.96 |
| Eritrean Nakfa | ERN | Eritrea | 15 |
| South African Rand | ZAR | South Africa | 15.04 |
| Egyptian Pound | EGP | Egypt | 15.72 |
| Zambian kwacha | ZMW | Zambia | 17.07 |
| Sao Tome and Principe dobra | STN | Sao Tome and Principe | 21.2 |
| Mauritanian ouguiya | MRU | Mauritania | 36.3 |
| Mauritian Rupee | MUR | Mauritius | 42.8 |
| Ethiopian Birr | ETB | Ethiopia | 46.55 |
| Gambian dalasi | GMD | Gambia | 51.5 |
| Mozambican metical | MZN | Mozambique | 63.83 |
| Cape Verdean escudo | CVE | Cabo Verde | 95.34 |
| Kenyan shilling | KES | Kenya | 110.76 |
| South Sudanese pound | SSP | South Sudan | 130.26 |
| Algerian Dinar | DZD | Algeria | 137.34 |
| Liberian dollar | LRD | Liberia | 170.5 |
| Djiboutian franc | DJF | Djibouti | 178.04 |
| Zimbabwean dollar | ZWD | Zimbabwe | 361.9 |
| Nigerian naira | NGN | Nigeria | 410.77 |
| Comorian franc | KMF | Comoros | 425.65 |
| Sudanese Pound | SDG | Sudan | 441.5 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Benin | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Burkina Faso | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | Cameroon | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | The central African Republic | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | Chad | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | Republic of the Congo | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Cote d’Ivoire | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | Equatorial Guinea | 567.18 |
| Central African CFA franc | XAF | Gabon | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Guinea-Bissau | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Mali | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Niger | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Senegal | 567.18 |
| West African CFA franc | XOF | Togo | 567.18 |
| Somali shilling | SOS | Somalia | 584 |
| Angolan kwanza | AOA | Angola | 598.39 |
| Malawian kwacha | MWK | Malawi | 816.02 |
| Rwandan franc | RWF | Rwanda | 1017.29 |
| Burundi franc | BIF | Burundi | 1988.45 |
| Congolese franc | CDF | The Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2015 |
| Tanzanian shilling | TZS | Tanzania | 2307 |
| Ugandan shilling | UGX | Uganda | 3595.34 |
| Malagasy ariary | MGA | Madagascar | 3959.4 |
| Guinean franc | GNF | Guinea | 9758.98 |
| Sierra Leonean leone | SLL | Sierra Leone | 10595 |
Obtained January 2022
As you can see from the table above, there is no top 100 highest currency in Africa 2022. You can see which country has the highest currency.
I will update the country’s list with the highest currency with new data since the exchange rate changes frequently.
Highest Currency in Africa Conclusion
In summary, This article has listed the highest currencies from around Africa. I hope that reading this article will help you know and understand currencies better.
The article shows us the strength of a currency, which is determined by exchanging it against the dollar. The exchange rate is the main factor that determines a currency’s strength.
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