Top 10 African Countries With the Weakest Currencies in May 2025
A weak currency has far-reaching consequences for a country’s economic stability, investor confidence, and citizen well-being, beyond just exchange rates.
Zimbabwe’s introduction of the gold-backed ZiG currency in April 2024 aimed to stabilize its economy. However, by February 2025, the ZiG had lost 95% of its value on the unregulated market, despite significant central bank interventions.
This underscores the complexities of implementing alternative currency models without robust economic fundamentals.
As of April 2025, Imara Asset Management, Zimbabwe’s oldest independent brokerage, noted that the ZiG is on the verge of failure due to rising irrelevance rather than fast devaluation.
In 15 years, Zimbabwe has made six attempts to create a stable indigenous currency, the ZiG being the sixth.
It was introduced a year ago and is supported by the central bank’s $100 million foreign exchange reserves and 2.5 tons of gold.
In the nation, about 80% of transactions are still handled in US dollars, however, some are still made in South African rand.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, announced last year that the current multicurrency system would be phased out by 2030 and that the ZiG would be the only legal money.
Many African countries rely heavily on imports for basic commodities such as petroleum, machinery, medications, and even food.
A weak currency increases the cost of imports, exacerbating inflation and diminishing citizens’ purchasing power.
For example, Nigeria’s continuous inflation struggles, with inflation reaching 23.71% in April 2025, show how a weak currency (the naira) raises importation costs and, by extension, the cost of living.
With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the weakest currencies, presently, according to the Forbes currency converter, last updated on the 29th of May, 2025.
For this month, the currencies of Guinea, Burundi, and the DRC, compared to last month, experienced a dip in value.
While currencies for Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Rwanda all marginally increased in value.
| Rank | Country | Currency value per US$ | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | São Tomé & Príncipe | 22,281.8 | São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra |
| 2. | Sierra Leone | 20,969.5 | Leone |
| 3. | Guinea | 8,667.8 | Guinean Franc |
| 4. | Uganda | 3,636.8 | Ugandan Shilling |
| 5. | Burundi | 2,977.7 | Burundian Franc |
| 6. | DRC | 2,905.7 | Congolese Franc |
| 7. | Tanzania | 2,682.5 | Tanzanian Shilling |
| 8. | Malawi | 1,734.7 | Kwacha |
| 9. | Nigeria | 1,590.2 | Naira |
| 10. | Rwanda | 1,414.3 | Rwandan Franc |
