Currencies in Africa

Country	Currency	ISO Code
Algeria	Algerian dinar	DZD
Angola	Angolan kwanza	AOA
Ascension Island (UK)	Saint Helena pound	SHP
Benin	West African CFA franc	XOF
Botswana	Botswana pula	BWP
Burkina Faso	West African CFA franc	XOF
Burundi	Burundi franc	BIF
Cabo Verde	Cabo Verdean escudo	CVE
Cameroon	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Central African Republic	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Chad	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Comoros	Comorian franc	KMF
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Congolese franc	CDF
Congo, Republic of the	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Cote d’Ivoire	West African CFA franc	XOF
Djibouti	Djiboutian franc	DJF
Egypt	Egyptian pound	EGP
Equatorial Guinea	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Eritrea	Eritrean nakfa	ERN
Eswatini	Swazi lilangeni	SZL
Ethiopia	Ethiopian birr	ETB
Gabon	Central African CFA franc	XAF
Gambia	Gambian dalasi	GMD
Ghana	Ghanaian cedi	GHS
Guinea	Guinean franc	GNF
Guinea-Bissau	West African CFA franc	XOF
Kenya	Kenyan shilling	KES
Lesotho	Lesotho loti	LSL
Liberia	Liberian dollar	LRD
Libya	Libyan dinar	LYD
Madagascar	Malagasy ariary	MGA
Malawi	Malawian kwacha	MWK
Mali	West African CFA franc	XOF
Mauritania	Mauritanian ouguiya	MRU
Mauritius	Mauritian rupee	MUR
Mayotte (France)	European euro	EUR
Morocco	Moroccan dirham	MAD
Mozambique	Mozambican metical	MZN
Namibia	Namibian dollar	NAD
Niger	West African CFA franc	XOF
Nigeria	Nigerian naira	NGN
Reunion (France)	European euro	EUR
Rwanda	Rwandan franc	RWF
Saint Helena (UK)	Saint Helena pound	SHP
Sao Tome and Principe	Sao Tome and Principe dobra	STN
Senegal	West African CFA franc	XOF
Seychelles	Seychellois Rupee	SCR
Sierra Leone	Sierra Leonean leone	SLL
Somalia	Somali shilling	SOS
South Africa	South African rand	ZAR
South Sudan	South Sudanese pound	SSP
Sudan	Sudanese pound	SDG
Tanzania	Tanzanian shilling	TZS
Togo	West African CFA franc	XOF
Tristan da Cunha (UK)	Pound sterling	GBP
Tunisia	Tunisian dinar	TND
Uganda	Ugandan shilling	UGX
Zambia	Zambian kwacha	ZMW
Zimbabwe	United States dollar	USD

The following are few of the information that is known about the currencies about respective currencies: -

Algeria - Algerian dinar

It is further divided into 100 centimes
‘Dinar’ is usually a derived word from the Roman denarius
Dinar was firstly introduced on the year 1964 on the 1st of April

Angola - Angolan kwanza

The name of the currency is derived from the Kwanza River
It was introduced followed by the Angolan independence
It however was successful in replacing the escudo at par
After that, it was further subdivided into 100lwei

Ascension Island (UK) - Saint Helena pound

This pound is pegged to the British pound at par
The coins were issued in 1984

Benin - West African CFA franc

Benin is also one of the many countries where there is a circulation of West African CFA franc
However, both the Central African CFA franc as well as the West African CFA franc are referred to as CFA

Botswana - Botswana pula

Thebe or shield is the subunit of the currency
On 23rd August 1976, this pula was introduced
Post the hundred days of pula was released, Botswana’s legal tender was termed as rand

Burundi - Burundi franc

This currency is subdivided into 100 centimes
Here, the franc became Burundi’s currency in the year 1916

Cabo Verde - Cabo Verdean escudo

This currency replaced the Cape Verdean real
The Cape Verde escudo was equal to the Portuguese escudo only until the independence that took place in 1975
On 22nd December 2014, new series of banknotes were introduced by the respective central bank

Cameroon - Central African CFA franc

It is one of the fourteen countries where Cameroon is effectively used
It somehow has faced criticism in making economic planning where all the developing countries of the French region are included

Central African Republic - Central African CFA franc

It is yet again another country where the franc is used
It was created on the 26th December of 1945
The main reason behind creating this was the prevailing weakness of the French franc that it faced just after the immediate World War 2

Chad - Central African CFA franc

Chad is one of many countries where the franc is used
The franc was created with a rigid exchange rate versus the French franc

Comoros - Comorian franc

It was 1920 when the first ever paper money in this country was introduced
Just after when the islands turned out to be the French protectorate in the year 1886, this country’s currency came to be known as the French franc
The country’s central bank said that the board of directors will possess eight members who are specially chosen from the Comorian government

Congo, Democratic Republic of the - Congolese franc

This is further subdivided into the 100 centimes
Only after the independence and up until 1967 did the franc remain the currency of this country
The franc of this country was finally re-established in the year 1997

Cote d'Ivoire - West African CFA franc

Here, CFA coins are following the country’s independence
The aluminum 1 and 2 franc coins were introduced in 1948

Djibouti - Djiboutian franc

This currency is subdivided into 100 centimes
This franc was circulated along the side of the Indian rupee and the Maria Theresa thaler
There was a legal circulation of the Djibouti franc at a certain value of the French franc

Egypt - Egyptian pound

It is subdivided into 100 piastres or ersh
From 1899 to 1956, this Egyptian pound was used in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
The currency was issued by the National Bank of Egypt on the 3rd of April in 1899

Equatorial Guinea - Central African CFA franc

The currency is issued by the Bank of Central African States
Here, the franc division is 100 cents
The country has not witnessed any such centime denominations

Eritrea - Eritrean nakfa

This nafka is sub-divided into 100 cents
Here, nafka coins were created out of nickel-clad steel
Instead of a uniform reeding for all the prevailing denominations, each of the certain coins has a unique reeded edge

Eswatini - Swazi lilangeni

It is divided into 100 cents
The central bank of Eswatini issued it
However, the South African rand is also accepted in this country

Ethiopia - Ethiopian birr

It is further subdivided into 100 santim
On the 9th of February in 1893, the Ethiopian talari became the standard unit
In 1903 the new Ethiopian coinage appeared

Gabon - Central African CFA franc

In 1945 in Equatorial Africa, this CFA franc was introduced
The Central African CFA franc has been divided into 100 cents

Gambia - Gambian dalasi

This currency is further subdivided into 100 bututs
The Gambian pound was replaced by this currency at a fixed rate o 1 pound=5 dalasis
However, the dala derivative yet remains unknown

Ghana - Ghanaian cedi

It is the fourth of the historical as well as only current legal tender in the entire Republic of Ghana
It is further subdivided into one hundred pesewas
Ever since 1958, the bank of Ghana began issuing all the Ghanaian banknotes

Guinea - Guinean franc

It is subdivided into hundred centimes
No kind of centime denomination was ever issued under this
It was in 1959 when the very first Guinea franc was ever introduced

Guinea-Bissau - West African CFA franc

It is yet another country out of the eight ones that use CFA franc
Only after gaining independence, these countries were able to function these coins

Kenya - Kenyan shilling

The shilling was introduced in 1966
It replaced the regional East African Shilling
There is no more circulation of cents because of the shilling’s devaluation

Lesotho - Lesotho loti

It is divided into 100 lisente
It was in 1966 when the loti was first ever issued
It was in 1980 when Lesotho issued its first coins denominated in both the lisente as well as loti

Liberia - Liberian dollar

It is divided into 100 cents
It was between 1847-1907 when it was the currency country
The very first Liberian dollar was finally issued in 1847

Libya - Libyan dinar

In 1971, it was introduced into the economy
It is made up of around 1000 dirham
It witnessed valuation in 2011

Madagascar - Malagasy ariary

It has been divided into five the iraimbilanja
It is also considered as one of the sole two non-decimal currencies that have been circulating even in this period
Both the names ariary as well as iraimbilanja are derived from the early colonial currency

Malawi - Malawian kwacha

It replaced the Malwain pound besides other currencies such as the South African rand as well as the British pound sterling
Zambia used the name Kwacha first following which there was an avid introduction of Zambian kwacha in the year 1968

Mali - West African CFA franc

It was introduced in the French colonies in 1945 in the region of West Africa
It replaced the French West African franc

Mauritania - Mauritanian ouguiya

The ouguiya that is being circulated currently was introduced in 2018
It replaced the old ouguiya at a rapid rate of 1 new ouguiya
Here, the name of the currency is an Hassaniya Arabic pronunciation of the uqiyyah

Mauritius - Mauritian rupee

The one rupee of Mauritius has been subdivided into further 10 cents
In 1876, the government issued the first-ever banknotes
In 1967, in September the Bank of Mauritius was established

Mayotte(France) - European euro

Euro is the currency of this country
This currency is also used by the rest of the five countries
It has been acting as a common currency for more than 320 million Europeans

Morocco - Moroccan dirham

The Bank AL-Maghrib which is the central bank of Morocco issues this currency
It is divided into 100 cents
Dirham word is the derivative of a Greek country

Mozambique - Mozambican metical

It is divided into 100 centavos
Metical word originated from Arabic
The metical was successful in replacing the escudo at a rapid par on 16 June 1980

Namibia - Namibian dollar

It replaced the South African rand
It was on the 15th of September 1993 when the first banknotes were issued by the Bank of Namibia
The first national coins were issued in December

Niger - West African CFA franc

It is one of the eight countries where the CFA franc is used
The Central Bank of West African States issued the currency
It has been successively divided into 100 cents

Nigeria - Nigerian naira

One naira has been divided into 100 kobo
The sole issuer of the legal tender money is the Central Bank of Nigeria
It has been way successful in attaining authority over the money that is being supplied to the economy

Reunion (France) -European euro

It is ranked in the second position in the category of reserve currency
It is well known as it is a common currency in most the countries

Rwanda - Rwandan franc

In 1916, it became the currency of Rwanda
The introduced coins in the year 1964 were 1,5 and 10 francs
In 1977, the brass 20 and 50 francs were hence introduced

Saint Helena (UK) - Saint Helena pound

It acts as the official currency of this country
The introduced denominations in this country were of 1,2,5,10 as well as 50 pence

Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome and Principe dobra

In 1977 the first-ever dobra was introduced
Its abbreviation is Db
The fixed exchange rate here was 1 EUR = 24,500 STD

Senegal - West African CFA franc

The CFA coins not only depicted a mint mark but also an engraver’s privy mark
The mark of the mint is on the reverse on the very left side of the denomination
The CFA coins depicted the mask emblem

Seychelles - Seychellois rupee

In French, it is often referred to as roupie
Its abbreviation form is SR
The abbreviation form is sometimes used for distinction purposes

Sierra Leone - Sierra Leonean leone

On the 4th of August 1964, t was introduced
It was a successor of the British West African pound and it replaced it at a rate of 1 pound= 2 leones
In July 2022, the new leone was introduced

Somalia - Somali shilling

Ever since 1921, it has been the currency of Somalia
The notes were issued on the 15th of October 1962 by the National Bank of Somalia
Here, the notes were exclusively denominated as 5,10,20 and following 100 shillings

South Africa - South African rand

It is a combination of 100 subunits known as cents
Eventually in the 1980s, the rand depreciated in value
It is used in South Africa, Lesotho

South Sudan - South Sudanese pound

Before the succession on the 9th of July 2011, the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly approved the currency of this country
On the 18th of July, 2011, this currency was introduced
It was a successful replacement of the Sudanese pound at par

Sudan - Sudanese pound

The central bank of Sudan issued this currency
Ever since 1997, the pound fell for the very first time which was after the imposition of economic sanctions on Sudan by the United States

Tanzania - Tanzanian shilling

The East African shilling replaced the Tanzanian shilling
The replacement took place on the 14th of June in 1966
The coins were introduced on 1966

Togo - West African CFA franc

In 1959 around 50 francs were used
Since 1965 100 francs were not issued
The new series of denominations such as 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, and 10,000 was introduced in 2004

Tristan da Cunha (UK) - Pound sterling

It is ranked as one of the world’s oldest currencies still in use
It is ranked in the fourth position in the list of the most traded currency
Sterling’s central bank is the Bank of England

Tunisia - Tunisian dinar

‘Dinar’ is the derived word from Roman denarius which was used in the African province
The Central Bank of Tunisia introduced the banknotes on 3rd November 1958
The banknotes of 50, as well as 50 dinars, were introduced on 2022

Uganda - Ugandan shilling

The East African shilling was replaced by the Ugandan shilling in 1966
The coins were introduced in 1966
It is abbreviated as USh

Zambia - Zambian kwacha

The kwacha is a combination of 100 sub-units known as ‘ngwee’
Kwacha is an actual local name meaning ‘a new dawn’
It was originally known as the Zambian pound

Zimbabwe - United States dollar

The Zimbabwe dollar witnessed one of the biggest inflation in the history of any currency
It leads to the demonetization of the currency in the year 2009
It replaced the Rhodesian dollar at the very dollar rates

Thus, these are some of the information that was there to know about the currencies of the respective countries.