9 African Countries With Stronger Currencies Than The Rand

South African Rands on a world map

The Rand has had a lot of flack for its devaluation over the past couple of years. I already wrote about a few countries worse off than us, so now let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum: African countries whose currencies are stronger than ours. Now before you feel the urge to launch into a News24-comments-section-style-SA-self-loathing tirade, check out the reasons listed in the description of each, many of them have little merit to their strength.

Botswanan Pula – R1.20

An obvious one is Botswana. The Pula has been stronger than the Rand for some years now and the country’s economy and political structure is often lauded as a shining example of how an African democracy can work. 1 Pula will cost you around R1.20, though this is not as bad as it was in around 2004 where it would have cost you 20 cents extra.

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Egyptian Pound – R1.50

Another example which has long been stronger than the Rand, Egypt, despite all its political turmoil has been able to retain a lot of its country’s currency value. 1 Egyptian Pound will cost you around R1.50.

Libyan Dinar – R8.53

Yet another country in political turmoil with a strong currency is Libya. Perhaps it’s oil which is keeping things afloat but one Libyan Dinar will set you back around R8.53 currently, making it the strongest currency in Africa.

Tunisia Dinar – R6.65

Recovering from its status as the birthplace of the Arab Spring, Tunisia’s Dinar gained almost 20% against the Rand this year. One Tunisian Dinar will now cost you around R6.65.

Also see: The Great African Experience: Discover Tunisia

Moroccan Dirham – R1.29

Rubbing shoulders with Europe, Morocco is in the news as much for illegal immigrants trying to smash down the border it shares with Spain as it is for its exotic culture and beautiful scenery. Morocco’s currency wasn’t always as strong against the Rand, in fact, it was as recently as October 2012 when the Rand was more valuable. 1 Moroccan Dirham will cost you R1.29 currently.

Ghanaian Cedi – R3.79

A very surprising example of a strong African currency, Ghana’s Cedi. Ghana is well known for its extensive natural resources, namely Gold from its Ashanti region (hence the Anglo-Ashanti gold company famous in South Africa). This one is actually a cheat though, the Cedi is actually in its 3rd rendition under the same name as the currency has been revalued a couple of times. The most recent revaluation was 2007 and it’s lost almost 50% of its value against the Rand since then, so the current rate of R3.79 for 1 Cedi shouldn’t last long.

Sudanese Pound – R1.85

Another story very similar to the Ghanaian one is that of the Sudanese Pound. Revalued successively during its post-colonial period, the most recent revaluation came in 2011 following the independence of the oil-rich Southern half of the country which became South Sudan. The Sudanese Pound is now worth R1.85, but likely not for long.

Eritrean Nakfa – R1.01

A country you probably haven’t heard from before, it split from Ethiopia in the early 90’s but has a currency, roughly on the same value as ours. This is only a recent development though since the beginning of 2014 and is as a result of the currency being pegged to the US Dollar. 1 Nakfa will cost you R1.01.

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Zambian Kwacha – R1.73

The country formerly known as the colony of Northern Rhodesia has sadly never been known as an economic success story and at a stage had an exchange rate of 1 US Dollar = 5120 Kwacha. The currency was revalued in January 2013 and until recently 1 Kwacha cost over R2, today 1 Kwacha buys you only R1.73.

Just because the South African Rand is not as strong as we would like it to be, that doesn’t mean we can’t still travel. Check out these unique and cheap experiences which hadn’t crossed your mind.

And find out how to book the cheapest flight to make your rands go further!

Our Readers Comments

  1. Rand is going down coz ur busy asking government to build u RDPs taking ur economy down a drain. U don’t erect house by yourselves just go to other countries u will see what people do by themselves without government help that’s why their economy is booming all the times. South Africa could be a wealthy country if u South African can stop boozing too much prioritising beer than investing urselves in businesses u always expected everything from the government just be u without the help of someone start ur thing from the sketch.The foreigners comes far away to make businesses in front of u coz ur sleeping beer is a good thing to invest to Dats why the brains are always sleeping.stuggering movement is the cul thing to u than building the bright future for ur country.

    • It’s useless to have a stronger currency and poor citizens. STOP conflating issues- having a stronger currency doesn’t mean your economy is booming. If those other African countries were doing as well as you want us to believe economically, their citizens wouldn’t be here with their ‘business minds’ now would they? Surely they would be where the economy is booming.

      Providing shelter for the poor is the responsibility of the government and it doesn’t knock down the value of the currency. STOP with the lies already.

  2. The Most expensive currency in the world at the moment in year 2018 is the Kuwaiti Dinar. It has more value than the American Dollar and it is not going to be surpassed by any other currency anytime soon.

  3. Can someone tell me how the PESTLE factors have been applied to value any currency in Africa above the South Africa Rand. How is it possible that an Africa currency is higher than Rand when South Africa has the highest GDP and per capital income in Africa.
    Which Finance board measured the currencies and how did the applied the PESTEL in their evaluation.

    • Hey

      I am just advising that your statement of SA having highest GDP per capita in Africa is completely wrong.
      I live in Botswana and our GDP per capita is 7,597 USD and SA is 6,160 USD.
      In your mind it should be but better to do some more homework on the rest of Africa before going onto the internet.

      Cheers

  4. Am from Kenya was asking if its true that Botwana pays its citizen even those who are jobless because of the numerous minerals the country has..?

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