16/08/2017
The strength or value of a currency is an index of its purchasing power, reflecting the current economic situation of a country in comparison with other countries in the world. Therefore we at JobnetAfrica wanted to pay some attention to the African currencies in this blog. Using the dollar as a benchmark, these are the 5 strongest currencies in Africa. Of course there are other aspects to look at, but to keep it fairly simple we chose for this method. The list includes some interesting inclusions as well as some surprising omissions. For example, the naira, the official currency of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, did not make the list, while despite decades of civil war, the Sudanese Pound did.
Ghana is the only West African country on this list. One USD currently exchanges for 4 Ghanaian cedis, making it the most valuable currency on our list. Ghana boasts one of the most stable democracies in Africa, and the economy is well managed.
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Despite decades of civil war, Sudan has managed to keep the value of its official currency respectable through a series of re-evaluations, with the most recent coming in 2011 and $1 currently exchanging for 6.4 Sudanese pounds. Crude oil exports, fishing, and agriculture remain the major sources of the government’s revenue.
The kwacha is the official currency of Zambia. The exchange rate is currently 1USD for about 9.84 Zambian kwacha, making it one of the most valuable currencies in southern Africa. Zambia maybe considered another of the surprise inclusions on this list since its economy is largely agrarian with some extra revenue coming in from the tourism sector.
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The pula is Botswana’s official currency, with $1 worth about 10.8 Botswanan pula. The Botswanan economy is often regarded as an African success story; the country enjoys one of the highest Human Development Indexes (HDI) on the continent. Government revenue is derived from mining, cattle ranching, and the service sector.
Alongside Nigeria, South Africa boasts one of the continent’s strongest economies; however, a sluggish global economy and a fall in commodity prices has hit the rand in recent times with its value declining against the dollar. It currently exchanges for 14 rand to every 1 USD.
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You can read more about the top African currencies on Face2FaceAfrica.
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Warm Regards,
Inez