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Here are seven weakest currencies in the world in 2025 – Naira is not among them

NIGERIANS sometimes think that the naira is among world’s weakest currrencies globally, but research shows that this is not the case. In fact , the naira is not in the top seven – neither is it in the top 10 or 20.

Economy Post dug deep and found that there were several weaker currencies globally than the naira, including some from emerging markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. We shall focus only on seven of such currencies.

Iran

If you are in Iran, you will need 42,100 rial to get one dollar. That is if you can ever get a dollar in the official market. Like Nigeria, Iran has a parallel black market where manipulators often have a field day. At that market, one dollar sells as high as 700,000/$. The rial fell to 777,000 rial to a dollar on the day Mr Donald Trump was re-elected as United States’ president in late 2024. The Iranian currency was aware that the erratic Trump would not stand the nation’s perennial nuclear programme, which explains why it lost 10 percent on that day.

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The Iranian economy has struggled over the years due to several sanctions imposed on the West Asian nation due to its nuclear programme. Its poverty rate was 30.1 percent in 2024, with inflation rate around 40 percent.

“Iran remains deeply involved in the Middle East conflicts that have roiled the region, with its allies battered – including the militant groups and fighters of its self-described “axis of resistance”, such as Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels,” said Euro News.

Vietnam

The Vietnamese dong exchanges at 24,327/$, making it one of the weakest currencies globally. Experts say Vietman deliberately sets its curency at low rates to export more of its products. It set its currency at 24,283 dong per US dollar on November 7 2024, the weakest since at least 2005, Bloomberg data said.

“SBV is likely to allow the dong to gradually weaken over time, hopefully in a orderly fashion,” said Michael Wan, a currency strategist at MUFG Bank in Singapore, as quoted by Business Times. “But it wouldn’t want the weakness to be too sharp, and it will definitely be ready to intervene to prevent that.”

When a nation devalues its currency as Vietnam has done, it wants its exports to be cheap. Vietnam exports phones, machines, textiles, footwear, seafood, among others. Its exports rose 14.3 percent to $405.53 billion in 2024.

Sierra Leone

Perhaps, it is not surprising to find that Sierra Leone’s currency, known as leone, is one of the weakest in the world. It exchanges at 22,400/$. The nation’s weak currency is not down to devaluation like the case of Vietnam, but it is attribiuted to low productivity and exports.

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Poverty rate is 35 percent generally but 74 percent in rural areas. According to Forbes, high inflation exceeding 40 percent, elevated debt burden, sluggish economic growth, and lingering effects from the Ebola outbreak have had negative impacts on the leone.

Indonesia

Indonesian rupiah remains one of the weakest currencies globally. It exchanged at 16,288.62/$ as of Wednesday, January 15, 2025. An economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Mr Andry Satrio, said the currency is weakening owing to high inflation in the United States and war in the Middle East.

“The main factor is high inflation in the US, which prompts the (Federal Reserve) to increase its interest rate and there are no signs it will be lowered,” he told Channel News Asia.

“Both trigger capital outflow from developing countries,” said Mr Andry.

Guinea

Guinea franc is also one of the weakest currencies in the world. It exchanged at 8,646/$ on January 15. The currency is weakening due to “government mismanagement, populist policies, corruption, and a decrease in mining revenue due to lower global commodity prices,” according to the United States Department of State.

Paraguay

Paraguayan guarani is among world’s weakest currencies. It exchanged at 7,885/$ on January 15. Counterfeiting has been a major problem of the currency. Its people are still poor, though the poverty rate has declined in the last decade.

It is a land of opportunity but the World Bank Senior Economist, Mr Pui Shen Yoong, wrote that, “Paraguay has the potential to accelerate its transition to a high-income country, to achieve this, the country needs to implement a comprehensive strategy that addresses current challenges. We are confident that, with the right policies and investments, Paraguay can use its full potential and create a better future for all its citizens.”

READ ALSO: BDC operators halt dollar sales as EFCC raid weakens dollar to N1,420

Cambodia

Cambodia uses riel, which eschanged at 4,044/$ as of January 15. Cambodia uses the dollar to make major purchases, which is hurting its local currency, making it a partially dollarised nation. Wages are even paid in US dollars, thereby impacting its economy.

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