26 Africa Currencies That Are Stronger Than Naira

Last updated on July 28th, 2022 at 11:43 am

In 1972 1USD was just 0.658 naira at the official market rate. For 13 years, USD/NGN at the forex market remained under NGN1.

That was the time the Nigerian currency was the pride of every Nigerian as this can be seen in our timeline of the official CBN exchange rate at the forex market

For the first time since Nigeria adopted its currency, the naira hit NGN1 and crossed NGN2 in 1986 during the regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

Today, Nigeria and its economy are facing multi-faceted problems, though they are still being rated as the strongest economy in Africa, the country borrows money to pay its workers. Unexplainable Contradiction!

At the time of this publication, USD/NGN is NGN415.83. The naira is not only weak against the United States Dollar, it can’t also be found on the list of global currencies for international transactions.

On the African soil, there are more than two dozen of currencies in Africa that are stronger than the naira. In the foreign exchange market, below African currencies are more valuable than the naira (not in ascending order):

CurrenciesPair Against NairaValue in Naira
Tunisian dinar
is the strongest currency in Africa
TND/NGN130.66
Libyan dinarLYD/NGN85
Ghanian cediGHS/NGN49.03
Moroccan dirhamMAD/NGN40.27
Botswana pulaBWP/NGN32.91
Seychellois rupeeSCR/NGN32.48
Namibian dollarNAD/NGN24.70
Eritrea nakfasERN/NGN27.70
South African randZAR/NGN24.74
Egyptian poundEGP/NGN21.97
Sao Tomean dobrasSTN/NGN17.22
Swazi lilangeniSZL/NGN24.73
Zambian kwachaZMW/NGN25.45
Mozambican meticalMZN/NGN6.51
Lesotho lotiLSL/NGN24.73
The Gambian dalasiGMD/NGN7.69
Liberian dollar LRD/NGN2.71
Cape Verdean escudoCVE/NGN3.82
Djiboutian francDJF/NGN2.34
Kenyan shillingKES/NGN3.50
Ethiopian BirrETB/NGN7.90
Mauritian ouguiyaMRU/NGN11.05
Mauritian rupeeMUR/NGN9.13
Zimbabwean dollarZWD/NGN1.14
Algerian dinarDZD/NGN2.85

On the continent, the naira isn’t the weakest as there are more than 20 other African currencies that weaker than the Nigerian currency. On the continent, the naira carries some irrelevant weight against some legal tenders.

Note: Some of the currencies listed above are also battling to repress high inflation. For instance, Ghana is facing what can be described as hyperinflaion.

3 thoughts on “26 Africa Currencies That Are Stronger Than Naira”

  1. Nigeria has to Wake up and stop this mess how can our leaders allow this to happen and why can’t they stop corruption and allow things go well in this country

    Reply
  2. The Nigerian currency will continue to remain weak so long as the country remains in corruption and does not want true federalism to reign as it’s system of governance.

    Reply

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