List of Central Banks In Africa Along With The Year Each Was Established

Last updated on February 19th, 2024 at 11:26 am

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There are 41 central banks in Africa. While each of the independent countries has an apex bank of its own, two currency unions are associated with multinational central banks.

The multinational apex banks are: West African Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) and the Central African Banque des États de l’Afrique Centrale (BEAC).

The members of BCEAO and BEAC use the CFA Franc as their legal tender, which some people call economic attachment with France, their colonial master.

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The Central Bank of a politically independent country is so important that the former Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah in 1961 says, “our political independence will be worthless unless we use it to obtain economic and financial self-government and independence.”

Burundian franc
1000 BIF. Photo credit: Banque de la République du Burundi

As such, after gaining independence, most of the countries in Africa had to fight another battle: establishing their own apex bank to make macroeconomic policies to boost production.

For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is in charge of minting naira and plays other economic and financial roles.

As such, the 41 central banks in Africa play a regulatory role in the financial system of their country by regulating the supply, availability and cost of money in their jurisdiction.

Central banks are bankers’ banks. They regulate the activities of other financial institutions in their country.

Some of the other responsibilities of a central bank include the issuance of legal tender; maintenance of external reserves; making public financial and economic statistics of a country to boost foreign investors’ confidence and acting as financial advisers to the ruling government among other things.

Also Read:  Company's Financial Health: Its Importance and How To Analyze It

In this post, we compiled a list of central banks in Africa, their year of establishment, their legal name and the official websites of African Central Banks.

Security note: Pay attention to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) of the websites listed in this article.

Because HTTPS is used for secure communication over a computer network and we believe that the URL of a central bank of any country should implement a high level of security on their website

List of African Central Banks

CountryLegal NamesOfficial websiteYear of Establishment
EthiopiaNational Bank of Ethiopia (NBE)https://nbe.gov.et/1963
EgyptCentral Bank of Egypthttps://www.cbe.org.eg/1898
South AfricaSouth African Reserve Bankhttps://www.resbank.co.za/June 30, 1921
TanzaniaBank of Tanzaniahttps://www.bot.go.tz/1966
KenyaCentral Bank of Kenyahttps://www.centralbank.go.ke/1966
AlgeriaBanque d’Algériehttps://www.bank-of-algeria.dz/1962
UgandaBank of Ugandahttps://www.bou.or.ug/1966
SudanCentral Bank of Sudanhttps://cbos.gov.sd/1960
NigeriaCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN)https://www.cbn.gov.ngMarch 1958
MoroccoBank Al-Maghribhttps://www.bkam.ma/1959
AngolaBanco Nacional de Angolahttps://www.bna.ao/1926
GhanaBank of Ghanhttps://www.bog.gov.gh/1957
Bank of Central African States
Members:
1. Cameroon
2. Central African Republic
3. Chad,
4. Equatorial Guinea
5. Gabon
6. Republic of Congo
Banque des États de l’Afrique Centrale (BEAC)https://www.beac.int/1972
MadagascarBanky Foiben’i Madagasikarawebsite down at time of publication1974
MozambiqueBanco de Moçambiquehttps://www.bancomoc.mz/May 17, 1975
Central Bank of West African States
Member states:
1. Benin republic
2. Burkina Faso
3. Côte d’Ivoire
4. Guinea Bissau
5. Mali
6. Niger republic
7. Senegal
8. Togo
Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO)https://www.bceao.int/May 12, 1962
MalawiReserve Bank of Malawihttps://www.rbm.mw/July 1964
SomaliaCentral Bank of Somaliahttps://centralbank.gov.so/June 30, 1960
ZimbabweReserve Bank of Zimbabwehttps://www.rbz.co.zw/March 1956
RwandaNational Bank of Rwandahttps://www.bnr.rw/1964
Republic of GuineaBanque Centrale de la République de Guinée (BCRG)https://www.bcrg-guinee.org/1960
TunisiaCentral Bank of Tunisiahttps://www.bct.gov.tn/bct/siteprod/index.jspSeptember 19, 1958
South SudanBank of South Sudanhttps://www.boss.gov.ss/July 2011
LibyaCentral Bank of Libyahttps://cbl.gov.ly/en/April 1, 1956
Sierra LeoneBank of Sierra Leonehttps://www.bsl.gov.sl/March 27, 1963
BurundiBanque de la République du Burundihttps://www.brb.bi/enApril 9, 1964
LiberiaCentral Bank of Liberia1999
MauritaniaBanque Centrale de Mauritanie https://www.bcm.mr/1973
EritreaBank of Eritrea
NamibiaBank of Namibiahttps://www.bon.com.na/July 9, 1990
The GambiaCentral Bank of The Gambiahttps://www.cbg.gm/1971
BotswanaBank of Botswanahttps://www.bankofbotswana.bw/July 1, 1975
LesothoCentral bank of Lesothohttps://www.centralbank.org.ls/1978
MauritiusBank of Mauritiushttps://www.bom.mu/September 1967
EswatiniCentral Bank of Eswatinihttps://www.centralbank.org.sz/April 1974
DjiboutiBanque Centrale de Djiboutihttps://banque-centrale.dj/April 18, 1979
ComorosCentral Bank of the Comoroshttp://www.banque-comores.km/index.php 1981
Cape VerdeBanco de Cabo Verdehttps://www.bcv.cv/en/Pages/Homepage.aspxSeptember 29, 1975
ZambiaBank of Zambiahttps://www.boz.zm/August 7, 1964
Sao Tome and PrincipeCentral Bank of São Tomé and Príncipewww.bcstp.st Insecure website (use with caution)May 24, 1975
SeychellesCentral Bank of Seychelleshttps://www.cbs.sc/January 1, 1983

What is the youngest Central Bank in Africa?

The Bank of South Sudan is the youngest African central bank because is the World’s youngest country.

It gained independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011. South Sudan set up its central bank the same month it gained independence.

How many apex banks are in Africa?

There are 41 central banks across the continent

Author

  • InfomediaNG

    The Infomediang Team comprises a group of researchers, data analysts, and financial experts who closely follow government policies and spending. Our passion lies in empowering people to make informed decisions about their investments by simplifying data for easy understanding. Find us @infomedia_ng on X.

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