Top 10 Biggest Currency Devaluations in African History, Ranked

Published: October 28, 2026

A devaluation is a deliberate cut in the official value of a currency. It is not the same as a slow slide in the market, and it is not the same as a redenomination that only cuts zeros off banknotes. This ranking looks only at single, sharp official moves: the rate before the announcement, and the rate right after it.

Every figure in the table is measured on one basis, so the entries can be compared fairly. Value lost means the share of the currency's dollar value that disappeared in that one move. It is calculated as one minus the old rate divided by the new rate, times 100. That matters because headlines often report a different number, the percentage rise in the price of a dollar. Sudan is the clearest example. The pound moved from 55 to 375 per dollar in February 2021. That is a 582% rise in the price of a dollar, and an 85.3% loss in the value of the pound. Both numbers describe the same move. This article uses value lost throughout, so a reader can compare each row directly.

Zimbabwe dominates this ranking, with three of the ten entries. That is not a mistake in the counting. Zimbabwe's currency was reset, devalued, and reset again across three decades, and each reset produced a separate sharp move. Egypt's earlier 2016 float just misses the cut, as noted in Methodology, so Egypt holds only one place in the table itself.

5 Key Facts

• Zimbabwe's September 2007 devaluation is the largest in this ranking by a wide margin. The official rate moved from 250 to 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars per dollar, a 99.2% loss of value in one move.
• The top four moves each wiped out more than 80% of a currency's dollar value: Zimbabwe in 2007, Sudan in 2021, South Sudan in 2015, and Mozambique in 1987.
• The CFA franc devaluation of January 1994 is the only entry that hit many countries at once. Thirteen African states shared the currency zone, and all of them saw its value halve against the French franc in a single decision.
• Four of the ten moves happened in the last five years: Sudan in 2021, Nigeria in 2023, Egypt in 2024, and Zimbabwe's ZiG in 2024. Large devaluations are not only history.
• Headline percentages often look larger than the value lost figures used here, because they measure the rise in the price of a dollar rather than the fall in the value of the local currency. Methodology explains the difference with worked examples.

The Ranking

RankCurrency and eventRate before (per US dollar)Rate after (per US dollar)Value lost 1Zimbabwe dollar, September 200725030,00099.2% 2Sudan pound, February 20215537585.3% 3South Sudan pound, December 20152.9618.584.0% 4Mozambique metical, January 19873920280.7% 5Zimbabwe dollar, August 2006101 (new dollars)25059.6% 6CFA franc, January 199450 per French franc100 per French franc50.0% 7Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), September 202413.924.443.0% 8Nigeria naira, June 202346375038.3% 9Egypt pound, March 202430.949.1537.1% 10Malawi kwacha, May 201216825032.8%

Stat in context: the ten moves average a 61.0% loss of value. The top four alone average 87.3%. For the other end of the currency story, see the strongest currencies in Africa in 2026 and the weakest currencies in Africa in 2026. For the inflation backdrop behind several of these moves, see the lowest inflation rates in Africa in 2026.

1. Zimbabwe dollar, September 2007: 99.2%

On September 6, 2007, Zimbabwe's finance minister moved the official rate from 250 to 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars per dollar. The move wiped out 99.2% of the dollar value of the currency in a single announcement. A holder of 250 Zimbabwe dollars went from holding one dollar's worth to holding less than one cent's worth at the new official rate.

The move was meant to pull scarce foreign currency into the official market. By then, the parallel market was trading far weaker than the official rate, so even the new rate did not close the gap. Reports at the time put the parallel rate at around 240,000 per dollar on the same day, and later reports put it far higher still.

This was not Zimbabwe's last currency crisis. It was the middle chapter. The dollar was abandoned in 2009, brought back in later forms, and replaced again by the ZiG in 2024, which appears separately at number seven in this ranking.

2. Sudan pound, February 2021: 85.3%

On February 21, 2021, the Central Bank of Sudan moved the official rate from 55 to 375 Sudanese pounds per dollar. That is an 85.3% loss of value. The move unified the official rate with the parallel market, where the pound had already been trading between 350 and 400 per dollar.

Sudan needed the move to qualify for debt relief under an IMF monitoring programme. The old official rate had become a fiction. Almost no one could buy dollars at 55 pounds, while importers and ordinary people faced a parallel rate near 375. The devaluation closed that gap in one step, at a heavy cost to anyone holding pounds.

Inflation was already above 300% a year when the move was made. Food prices, which depend heavily on imports, rose further as the new rate fed into shop prices. The devaluation was therefore both a reform and a shock, and Sudanese economists at the time warned that it would only work if wider reforms followed.

3. South Sudan pound, December 2015: 84.0%

South Sudan kept a fixed rate of 2.96 pounds per dollar from independence in 2011 until December 15, 2015. On that day, the Bank of South Sudan abandoned the peg and let the pound float. The official rate moved to 18.5 per dollar, the rate then prevailing in the parallel market. That is an 84.0% loss of value overnight.

The peg had become impossible to defend. Oil production had fallen after conflict broke out in December 2013, and the global oil price had collapsed. Foreign reserves drained away, while the parallel rate climbed from about 4 per dollar in mid 2014 to about 17 per dollar by late 2015.

The float ended a system in which a lucky few could buy dollars cheaply from the government and sell them dear on the parallel market. It also slashed the dollar value of wages and savings held in pounds. For a country where most people live from farming and herding, the immediate effect was felt through import prices, especially fuel and food.

4. Mozambique metical, January 1987: 80.7%

In January 1987, Mozambique devalued the metical from 39 to 202 per dollar. That is an 80.7% loss of value. The move was part of the Economic Recovery Programme, the country's first structural adjustment package, agreed after it joined the IMF and the World Bank in 1985.

Before the move, the official rate was far out of line with reality. The IMF later noted that the parallel market rate in 1986 was nearly 40 times the official rate. The January 1987 step, followed by further devaluations at irregular intervals, began the long process of bringing the official rate toward the market rate.

The human cost fell hardest on city dwellers, who depended on imported goods and paid wages fixed in meticais. Rural producers gained in one respect, because producer prices for crops rose faster than consumer prices in the years that followed. That split, between urban pain and rural gain, is a pattern that repeats across several entries in this ranking.

5. Zimbabwe dollar, August 2006: 59.6%

August 2006 brought Zimbabwe's first redenomination of the decade, under the name Operation Sunrise. The old dollar was replaced at 1,000 to one, so 101,000 old dollars became 101 new dollars. At the same time, the currency was devalued from that 101 to 250 new dollars per dollar. That is a 59.6% loss of value, separate from the zeros that were cut.

It is important to separate the two parts of this move. Cutting three zeros off a banknote does not change what it buys. Moving the rate from 101 to 250 does. This ranking counts only the second part, which is why the 2006 event ranks fifth, well below the 2007 event, even though both belong to the same crisis.

The redenomination did not stop the crisis. Inflation kept rising, the parallel rate kept sliding, and within thirteen months the government was forced into the far larger September 2007 devaluation ranked first here. The 2006 move is best read as an early warning that the system was failing, not as a fix.

6. CFA franc, January 1994: 50.0%

On January 12, 1994, the CFA franc was devalued by half. The parity moved from 50 CFA francs per French franc to 100 CFA francs per French franc. That is a 50.0% loss of value, and it applied at the same moment to every member of the CFA zone, then thirteen African states across West and Central Africa.

The zone had held its parity since 1948, even as its members' economies stagnated through the 1980s. Exports had become uncompetitive, because the franc was kept artificially strong. The devaluation was agreed by zone heads of state in Dakar, with the IMF and France, after years of resistance.

The effects were immediate and uneven. Exporters of farm goods and timber gained, because their earnings in foreign currency now bought twice as many CFA francs. Importers and city consumers lost, because imported food, fuel, and medicine doubled in local currency terms almost overnight. The 1994 devaluation remains the most politically charged entry in this ranking, because the decision was taken for countries that did not control their own currency.

7. Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), September 2024: 43.0%

The ZiG was launched in April 2024 as Zimbabwe's newest attempt at a stable currency, backed in part by gold and foreign reserves. On September 27, 2024, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe devalued it from 13.9 to 24.4 ZiG per dollar. That is a 43.0% loss of value, less than six months after launch.

The trigger was pressure from food imports and falling mineral export earnings, which had pushed the parallel rate far above the official rate. Rather than spend reserves defending 13.9, the central bank let the official rate jump toward the market. The parallel rate had already been near 30 per dollar, so the official move partly caught up with reality.

The devaluation did not restore confidence. By mid October 2024, the ZiG had weakened past 26 per dollar, and monthly inflation, which had been 1.4% in August, rose to 5.8% in September. Zimbabwe's appearance three times in this ranking, in 2006, 2007, and 2024, tells a single story: a currency that keeps being reset, because the spending and trust problems behind it are not fixed by the reset itself.

8. Nigeria naira, June 2023: 38.3%

On June 14, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria abolished its multiple exchange rate windows and let the naira float. The official rate had been 463 naira per dollar the day before. Market trading on the day reached 750 naira per dollar, a 38.3% loss of value on the intraday market print. The widely reported official close that day was lower, at about 632 per dollar, which is why readers may see a smaller percentage in some reports. This article uses the 750 market print, because it was the rate at which dollars actually changed hands that day.

Nigeria had run a managed system for years, with an official rate few could access and a parallel rate far weaker. The unification ended that dual system in a single step. President Bola Tinubu, sworn in on May 29, 2023, had promised a unified rate, and the central bank acted two weeks later.

The naira kept sliding after June 2023, past 1,500 per dollar by early 2024, so the June 2023 move was the start of a longer fall rather than a one day event that settled the matter. Its place in this ranking rests only on the June 14 step itself, not on the depreciation that followed.

9. Egypt pound, March 2024: 37.1%

On March 6, 2024, the Central Bank of Egypt let the pound float after more than a year of holding it near 30.9 per dollar. Within hours it traded at 49.15 per dollar, a 37.1% loss of value. By the afternoon it had touched 50.6 per dollar, which would be a 38.9% loss, but this article uses the first reported post float print of 49.15 for consistency.

The float unlocked an expanded IMF loan, raised from 3 billion to 8 billion dollars. Egypt had faced a severe shortage of foreign currency, and the parallel market had already moved far beyond the official rate. The float closed that gap, at the cost of a sharp rise in import prices for a country that imports much of its food and fuel.

The central bank raised its key rate by 600 basis points on the same day, to 27.25%, in an attempt to contain the inflation that the float would bring. Egypt's pound had already been floated once before, in 2016, and that earlier move just misses this top ten, as noted in Methodology.

10. Malawi kwacha, May 2012: 32.8%

In May 2012, Malawi devalued the kwacha from 168 to 250 per dollar, a 32.8% loss of value. Headlines at the time called it a 49% devaluation, which is the percentage rise in the price of a dollar, from 168 to 250. On the value lost basis used throughout this article, the figure is 32.8%, and that is the figure ranked here.

President Joyce Banda, who took office in April 2012 after the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika, reversed her predecessor's refusal to devalue. Donors had frozen about 1 billion dollars in aid, fuel was scarce, and foreign exchange had dried up. The devaluation, plus a move to a floating rate, was the price of restoring donor support and IMF backing.

The pain was immediate. Prices of maize flour, cooking oil, and rice jumped, fuel prices rose about 30%, and electricity prices rose about 63% within days. Civil servants later demanded, and partly won, large wage rises to offset the loss. Malawi devalued again in 2022 and 2023, but neither later move was as large, on this basis, as the 2012 step.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a devaluation in this ranking?

A devaluation here is a single, sharp change in the official exchange rate, announced by a central bank or government. Slow market depreciation over months or years does not count, even if the total fall is larger. A redenomination that only cuts zeros off banknotes also does not count, unless the rate is also moved at the same time, as in Zimbabwe in August 2006.

Why do your percentages differ from some headlines?

Headlines often report the percentage rise in the price of a dollar. This article reports the percentage loss in the value of the local currency. The two numbers describe the same move, but they are not equal. For Sudan in 2021, the price of a dollar rose 582%, while the pound lost 85.3% of its value. For Malawi in 2012, the price of a dollar rose 49%, while the kwacha lost 32.8%. Methodology gives the formula, so any reader can recompute each figure from the before and after rates in the table.

Why does Zimbabwe appear three times?

Because the ranking is of events, not of countries. Zimbabwe had three separate sharp official moves: August 2006, September 2007, and September 2024, each with its own before and after rate. Counting only the largest move per country would hide real history, so each event is ranked on its own. Egypt appears in the notes the same way, with its 2016 float just missing the top ten.

Is the CFA franc entry really one devaluation?

Yes. The CFA franc was a single shared currency across the zone, with a single parity against the French franc. The January 1994 decision changed that parity once, from 50 to 100 CFA francs per French franc, and it applied to all member states at the same time. The entry is listed once, as a zone, rather than once per member country.

Which large devaluations just missed this top ten?

Egypt's November 2016 float, from 8.88 to 13 pounds per dollar, is a 31.7% loss of value, just below Malawi's 32.8% in tenth place. Ethiopia's July 2024 float, from 57.48 to 74.73 birr per dollar, is a 23.1% loss. Both are large moves, but neither reaches the top ten on the value lost basis used here.

Data Sources

• Zimbabwe, September 2007, 250 to 30,000 per dollar:

  The Zimbabwean, Zimbabwe dollar devalued, September 6, 2007

  .

• Zimbabwe, August 2006, redenomination plus devaluation from 101 to 250 new dollars:

  Investopedia, History and Demise of the Zimbabwe Dollar

  .

• Sudan, February 2021, 55 to 375 per dollar:

  FAO, Sudan devalues sharply the exchange rate, March 17, 2021

  ;

  Reuters via DevDiscourse, Sudan sharply devalues currency, February 2021

  .

• South Sudan, December 2015, 2.96 to 18.5 per dollar:

  ReliefWeb, Special Working Paper on Devaluation of South Sudan Pound, January 2016

  .

• Mozambique, January 1987, 39 to 202 per dollar:

  IMF, Republic of Mozambique Selected Issues, 1998, exchange rate section

  .

• CFA franc, January 1994, 50 to 100 per French franc:

  World Bank, The CFA Franc Zone, Macroeconomic Coordination After the Devaluation, June 1994

  ;

  Harvard International Review, True Sovereignty, the CFA Franc and French Influence

  .

• Zimbabwe Gold, September 2024, 13.9 to 24.4 per dollar:

  The Zimbabwean, Zimbabwe's ZiG devaluations, October 2024

  .

• Nigeria, June 2023, 463 to 750 per dollar intraday:

  FocusEconomics, Nigeria Exchange Rate, June 2023

  .

• Egypt, March 2024, 30.9 to 49.15 per dollar:

  AFP via AM Business, Egypt floats pound, loses over third of value, March 6, 2024

  .

• Egypt, November 2016, 8.88 to 13 per dollar, just missed:

  Associated Press, Egypt Devalues, Floats Currency, November 3, 2016

  .

• Malawi, May 2012, 168 to 250 per dollar:

  IPS via Global Issues, Hopes to Heal Economy Through Devaluation, May 17, 2012

  .

• Ethiopia, July 2024, 57.48 to 74.73 birr per dollar, just missed:

  Daba Finance, Ethiopian birr dips 30% as central bank floats currency, July 29, 2024

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• Related African Exponent reading:

  strongest currencies in Africa in 2026

  ;

  weakest currencies in Africa in 2026

  ;

  lowest inflation rates in Africa in 2026

  ;

  foreign exchange reserves in 2026

  .

Methodology

Data vintage: each figure is the official rate before and after a dated announcement, as reported at the time. No figure in the table is a 2026 measurement. The article is a 2026 edition in the sense that it is published in 2026, but every ranking figure is a historical rate from the year of its event, from 1987 to 2024.

How value lost is calculated: value lost equals one minus the old rate divided by the new rate, times 100. Worked examples: Zimbabwe 2007, one minus 250 divided by 30,000, equals 99.2%. Sudan 2021, one minus 55 divided by 375, equals 85.3%. Malawi 2012, one minus 168 divided by 250, equals 32.8%. The average of the ten value lost figures is 61.0%. The average of the top four is 87.3%. Both averages are computed from the ten published figures.

What is included and what is excluded: only single, sharp official moves are ranked. Gradual market depreciation is excluded, even when the total fall over years is larger. Redenominations that only cut zeros are excluded. Zimbabwe's 2008 redenomination (10 billion to one) and its 2009 redenomination (one trillion to one) are therefore not ranked, because they did not change value at conversion. Zimbabwe's August 2006 move is ranked, because it combined a 1,000 to one redenomination with a genuine rate change, from 101 to 250 new dollars per dollar.

Snapshot choices, disclosed: for floats, where no new official rate was announced, the first reported market print is used, and it is named in the country section. Nigeria uses the June 14, 2023 intraday market print of 750 per dollar, not the lower official close of about 632. Egypt in March 2024 uses the first post float print of 49.15 per dollar, not the later same day print of 50.6. Using the alternative prints would move Nigeria to about 26.7% and Egypt in 2024 to 38.9%, which would swap their order and drop Nigeria out of the top ten. Readers who prefer official closes should read those two rows with that caveat in mind. No other row depends on a snapshot choice of that kind.

Coverage check: the site's March 31, 2025 article titled Top 10 African Nations with the Most Currency Devaluation in 2025 does not cover this pick. That article ranks currencies by their nominal level per dollar, with no percentage devaluation and no baseline date, while this article ranks dated single step percentage devaluations. The two rankings measure different things, so this pick is not a duplicate.

Scope and limits: only the largest single step per event is ranked, and each event is ranked once. A country can appear more than once for different events. No figure was estimated, and no country was moved up or down for any reason other than its computed value lost. Where sources disagree on a secondary detail, such as the exact parallel rate on a given day, the article reports the range or the single figure it uses, and says so in the country section.