A strong currency is mostly associated with a stable economy, low inflation and interest rates. But on the other hand, a weak currency is mostly associated with economic instability, high inflation and interest rates.
The top 10 weakest world currencies in no particular order and at the time of filing this report are:
1. Congolese Franc (CDF)
2. Vietnamese Dong (VND)
3. Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
4. Laotian Kip (LAK)
5. Sierra Leonean Leone (SLL)
The currency which was introduced in 1964 for a very brief period was worth more than a US dollar in the 1980s before suffering huge depreciation.
1 pound is equivalent to 25,153.30 SLL, 1 dollar equals 17,750 SLL and 1 Naira equals 25.86 SLL.
6. Paraguayan Guarani (PYG)
The Guarani is the national currency of Paraguay. Guaraníes, which was created in 1943 was divided into 100 céntimos – which is no longer in use – due to inflation as it remains one of the weakest currencies within South America. In 2011, it was announced that plans to revalue the currency were in motion but it was suspended.
For the Paraguayan Guarani, 1 pound equals 9,260, 1 USD equals 7266. 78 and 1 Naira equals 9.46.
7. Iranian Rial (IRR)
The main reason why the Iranian Rial is officially the weakest currency in the world is mainly based on the political tensions between the United States of America and the Iran-Iraq war. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 caused a rapid decline in the value of the Iranian rial due to the huge amount of capital flight from the country. It was estimated that around $30-40bn left the country during the revolution.
1 pound is currently equivalent to 53,817 rials, 1 USD to 42,250 rials and 1 Naira is equivalent to 53.76.
8. Uzbekistan Sum (UZS)
The Sum – which means ‘pure’ in Uzbek – is the official currency of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has the “world’s most worthless coin” which is worth less than 1⁄9400 of a US cent and its largest denomination is the 100,000 sum. Although the sum is considered one of the weakest currencies in the world, the country has made a couple of economic reforms in order to help its economy.
1 pound is equivalent to 15,392.30 sum, 1 USD equals 12,075 sum while the 1 Nigerian Naira is equivalent to 15.72 sum.