Nigerian Naira Ranked 4th Worst Performing Currency in Africa

The Nigerian Naira ranked fourth among the worst performing currencies in Africa since January 2022, a report by Steve Hanke, a Professor of Applied Economics and Director of the Troubled Currencies Project in the United States, has shown.

Hanke’s currency watchlist is a list of currencies that have depreciated by at least 20% against the dollar since January 2020.

According to the recent ranking released by Hanke, the Zimbabwean dollar tops the list as the worst-performing currency in Africa against the United States dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has depreciated against the United States Dollar (USD) by 97.33% since January 2020.

Hanke in a tweet said, “Zimbabwe must dump the Zim dollar and adopt the USD immediately.”

The Sudanese pound comes second on the list of the worst-performing currencies in Africa. The Sudanese pound has depreciated against the USD by 84.95% since Jan 2020. According to Hanke, the only way to save Sudan’s pound & its economy is to install a currency board.

South Sudan ranks third on the list after the country’s currency depreciated against the U.S Dollar by 50.79% since January 2020.

The Nigerian Naira appeared on the list as the 4th worst performing currency in Africa and 11th globally. The currency’s value has depreciated against the U.S Dollar by 48.87% since January 2020.

The Ghana Cedis comes 5th on the list of worst-performing currencies in Africa. According to Hanke, the Ghanaian cedi has depreciated 42.57% against the USD since January 2020.

Kwacha, the Malawi currency ranks 6th on the list of worst performing African currencies. The kwacha has depreciated against the United States Dollar by 39.54% since January 2020.

Sierra Leone Leone comes in 7th place on the list of worst performing currencies in Africa. The leone has depreciated against the USD by 31.23% since January 2020.

Investors King had previously released a list of African countries with the highest food inflation, with Zimbabwe topping the list with 309%, with Nigeria ranking 11th with 22.02% food inflation.

With the recent happenings in the country, the Nigerian Naira value continues to decline, leaving the Central Bank of Nigeria struggling to address the declining foreign revenue inflow, drop in oil production and oil theft.