Naira Missing in List of Top 10 Strongest Currencies in Africa
- The naira was absent from the list of Africa’s top 10 strongest currencies in December 2025, despite recent appreciations in official and black markets
- A strong currency provides economic relief by lowering the cost of imports such as fuel, food, and industrial machinery
- Renowned economist, Bismark Rewane, has provided insights into the currency performance expectations for next year
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
The Nigerian naira was conspicuously absent from a recently published list of the top 10 strongest currencies in Africa for December 2025.
Checks show that several African economies have experienced notable currency appreciation against the US dollar in 2025, including the naira, but it was not enough to make the cut.
Source: Getty Images
Countries such as Tunisia, Ghana, Morocco, Libya, and Botswana now hold some of the strongest currencies on the continent.
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These countries are reaping the benefits of a stable currency, owing to their economic outputs supporting their currencies.
The US dollar has also been significantly affected by the US-China trade conflicts and the Trump tariffs, which disrupted global markets.
The appreciation comes at a time when many African economies are navigating high inflation, rising debt levels, and geopolitical disruptions that affect trade and commodity prices.
Naira to dollar latest movement
The naira has shown significant improvement in 2025, opening the year around N1,600 and now trading below N1,500 per dollar in both the official and black markets.
The Nigerian currency eased slightly after trading on Tuesday, December 9, despite extending its losing streak to seven consecutive days.
Data from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) showed that the naira weakened marginally by 0.4%, closing at N1,454.38 per dollar on Tuesday compared with N1,448.43 on December 1, 2025.
On a day-on-day basis, the currency slipped by 0.2%, or N2.52, from N1,451.86 recorded on Monday.
The pressure also filtered into the parallel market, where the Naira fell by N3 to N1,483 per dollar, from N1,480 per dollar the previous day.
Traders said the market remained under mild but persistent demand pressures, driven by festive-season import needs and year-end front-loading of foreign exchange obligations by businesses.
Source: UGC
Which are the strongest currencies in Africa?
Below are the African currencies with the strongest exchange rates against the US dollar as of December 8, 2025.
Rank | Country | Currency | Currency value per US$ |
1 | Tunisia | Tunisian Dinar | 2.933 |
2 | Libya | Libyan Dinar | 5.435 |
3 | Morocco | Moroccan Dirham | 9.236 |
4 | Ghana | Ghanaian Cedi | 11.375 |
5 | Botswana | Botswanan Pula | 13.285 |
6 | Seychelles | Seychellois Rupee | 13.523 |
7 | Eritrea | Eritrean Nakfa | 15.00 |
8 | South Africa | South African Rand | 16.926 |
9 | Lesotho | Lesotho Loti | 16.948 |
10 | Namibia | Namibian Dollar | 16.948 |
Naira rate predicted for 2026
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Leading Nigerian economist and CEO of Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Bismarck Rewane, projected a stronger and more stable naira in 2026.
According to him, the currency would trade within the N1,450 to N1,500 per US dollar band, an improvement from his 2025 prediction of N1,600 and N1,650.
Rewane said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy reforms to curb arbitrage and speculation, favourable inflation–interest rate differentials, and moderation in import demand would also be key factors in the naira achieving stability.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
