A recent Forbes report ranks Nigeria’s naira among the continent’s most devalued currencies, placing it as the ninth weakest in Africa. (SaharaReporters)
According to the report, the naira has suffered sharp depreciation against major currencies, impacted by inflation, foreign exchange scarcity, and declining investor confidence.
The Forbes currency calculator, which sources real-time foreign exchange market data via the Open Exchange Rates API, updates every five minutes to reflect live trading values.
The system captures the impact of demand and supply, market sentiment, and broader economic conditions on each nation’s currency performance.
According to the data, the São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra (22,282 per $1) topped the list of Africa’s weakest currencies, followed by the Sierra Leonean Leone (20,970), Guinean Franc (8,680), Ugandan Shilling (3,503), and Burundian Franc (2,968).
Others on the list include the Congolese Franc (2,811), Tanzanian Shilling (2,465), Malawian Kwacha (1,737), the Nigerian Naira (₦1,490 per $1), and the Rwandan Franc (1,448).
In contrast, the Tunisian Dinar (2.90 per $1), Libyan Dinar (5.40), Moroccan Dirham (9.91), Ghanaian Cedi (12.31), and Botswanan Pula (14.15) were ranked as the five strongest currencies in Africa.
The continent currently has 54 recognised countries, according to the United Nations and geographic data sources.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the country’s headline inflation fell from 24.5% in January to 20.12% in August, its fifth consecutive month of decline.
The trend is attributed to stable foreign exchange inflows from oil exports and remittances, better agricultural yields, and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy, which held the benchmark rate at 27.5%.
The ranking reflects a broader trend affecting several African economies struggling to maintain currency stability amid global economic pressures.
