Exchange Rates in Leading African Countries as of December

The South African Rand seems to be stable now, recovering from a near one-month low of 18 Rands/USD hit on the 1st of December, after the chairman of the ruling ANC party denied speculation that President Cyril Ramaphosa was considering resigning over accusations he may have violated the constitution. An independent panel appointed by South Africa's parliament finds the president has to answer for the theft of at least a half-million dollars from his game farm in 2020 that may not have been declared in his taxes. The Rand was trading at 17.33 at the time of this article after gains were capped by a stronger dollar after a robust US jobs report renewed expectations for higher interest rates. 

The Nigerian Naira has increased by 31 Naira when compared to the corresponding month in 2021. The currency is currently trading at N444.02 to a dollar at the banks, a slight increase from the N439.9 being traded in November. However, Nigeria's parallel market rate saw a rate reduction from N800/USD sometime in November to N745/USD.  

December also marks the launch of the newly designed 200, 500, and 1000 naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The decision was reached due to persisting concerns with managing the current series of banknotes and currency in circulation — particularly those outside the banking system in Nigeria. According to the Governor of the Central Bank, "over 80 percent of currency in circulation are outside the vaults of commercial banks, with available data indicating that N2.73 trillion out of the N3.23 trillion currency in circulation, was outside the vaults of commercial banks across the country which may pose an increased risk to the financial stability of the naira" The notes are scheduled to begin circulation by the 15th of December, while the old notes are set to expire at the end of January 2023.  

The Angolan Kwanza is still performing at a decent level, trading at 507 Kwanza/USD, compared to the 574.80 Kwanza/USD traded in the corresponding month in 2021. However, this is not the case for Kenyan Shilling, which reached an all-time high this month at 122.51 Kenyan Shilling/USD due to a stronger dollar amid limited domestic supply from the Central Bank. Analysts also expect "the depreciating trend will continue in 2022, amplified by election-related uncertainty, which typically saps confidence, taking the shilling to an unfavorable price by year-end." 

Below is a list of the leading African countries by GDP and their various bank exchange rates. 

US Dollars 

British Pounds 

NB: This list was updated on the 2nd of December 2022 from various Mustard Insights Sources.