The Forbes currency calculator report for September 2025, has ranked the Nigerian Naira as the 9th weakest currency in Africa.
The report underscored the lingering pressure on Nigeria’s economy despite recent signs of easing inflation.
The Forbes currency calculator, which sources real-time foreign exchange market data via the Open Exchange Rates API, updates every five minutes to reflect live trading values, usually captures the impact of demand and supply, market sentiment, and broader economic conditions on each nation’s currency performance.
Based on the data, the São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra (22,282 per $1) topped the list of Africa’s weakest currencies, followed by the Sierra Leonean Leone (20,970), Guinean Franc (8,680), Ugandan Shilling (3,503), and Burundian Franc (2,968).
Others include the Congolese Franc (2,811), Tanzanian Shilling (2,465), Malawian Kwacha (1,737), the Nigerian Naira (₦1,490 per $1), and the Rwandan Franc (1,448).
However, in contrast is the Tunisian Dinar (2.90 per $1), Libyan Dinar (5.40), Moroccan Dirham (9.91), Ghanaian Cedi (12.31), and Botswanan Pula (14.15) which were ranked as the five strongest currencies in Africa.
According to the United Nations and geographic data sources, Africa has 54 recognised countries.
Nigeria’s inflation rate showed significant improvement in 2025, marking a rare disinflationary trend as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the country’s headline inflation fell from 24.5% in January to 20.12% in August, its fifth consecutive month of decline.
The development is attributed to stable foreign exchange inflows from oil exports and remittances, better agricultural yields, and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s monetary policy, which held the benchmark rate at 27.5%.
Similarly, the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) had noted that inflation had slowed sharply in the year’s first eight months.
IMPI chairman Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju said, “Nigeria recorded a rare disinflation in 2025, with inflation falling from 24.5% in January to 20.12% in August, the sharpest mid-year slowdown in over a decade.”
Significantly, the IMPI forecasted that inflation could drop to 17% by December 2025, indicating a continued disinflation, thereby ease pressure on consumers.
