2016 saw many bad performing currencies and some of the worst-performing currencies include the Nigerian Naira, the Mexican Peso, and the Turkish Lira. Following the military coup in mid-2016, the Lira slid almost 18% and the country’s external debt problems came into light. The Indonesian Rupiah is another currency that is among the weakest currencies in the world list. During a denomination, old banknotes are exchanged for new ones, which, as a rule, have a smaller denomination. Denomination means a change in the nominal value of banknotes, usually after hyperinflation, to stabilize the currency and simplify calculations.

The UK’s inexplicable decision to leave the European Union is the single biggest reason why the country’s currency and its businesses went into hyperventilation mode. This brings us to the rudiment of our discussion in this article which is the lowest currencies in the world which is also believed to be the weakest. So, to buttress your knowledge, you can read through this article where we have compiled currencies that are among the worst currencies in the world in terms of value. The Colombian peso is the national currency of the Republic of Colombia. Considering its natural gifts like gold, diamonds, and aluminum, this country’s currency should be one of the most valuable.

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To strengthen the country’s economy, the government has undertaken several measures such as reducing taxes, promoting tourism, and loosening the rules applied to foreign workers. Image credit Bakhodir Saidov via Shutterstock As a former republic of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan has only enjoyed independence weakest currency in the world for the last three decades. Since then the country has struggled with its transition to a free market economy, and its currency has stagnated as one of the world’s least traded and used. As of 2022, nearly 11,000 Sums equals one US dollar, making it one of the cheapest monetary units of Central Asia.

Indonesia heavily depends on its export market for commodities. And with the fall of the commodity prices, the value of the currency has seen a further downfall. 35 to 40 percent of the Rupiah sovereign bonds are held by the overseas investors, making the capital flow vulnerable.

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The Malaysian Ringgit was Asia’s worst-performing currency in 2016, declining by as much as 19 percent. Malaysia’s problems arose when the country’s policymakers restricted trading in offshore ringgit non-deliverable forwards. The government at the time wanted to prevent the currency from sliding. Uzbekistan currency is also found to be among the Lowest Currency in the World List coming in at the seventh spot on our list. The Uzbek Sum is weakened and depreciating because huge debt accrued by the country; also, the country’s financial governing body allows commercial banks to sell dollars over the counter.

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#3: Indonesian Rupiah (IDR):  [1 USD = 14,365.5 IDR]

The nuclear power programs of the country, along with the Iran-Iraq war, caused huge financial expenses. The government’s decision to restrict foreign currency in the nation lifted the black market to a significant level. The withdrawal of the nuclear agreement with Iran by the US government in 2018 severely affected Iran’s export market, eventually resulting in the currency’s current devaluation of 600 percent.

The Uganda Shilling was introduced in 1966 after it replaced the East African Shilling. The currency falls among the least valuable currencies of the world today. A country of East Africa, Uganda has witnessed a severe setback under the governance of Idi Amin. The president developed policies that negatively contributed to the country’s economy, including immigration policies.

Iranian Rial is currently listed as the world’s cheapest currency. The downfall of the currency value can be explained by several factors. To begin with, the end of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 was followed by the withdrawal of foreign investors from the country.

• The currency has shown no improvement in the last 7 years.
• In 2021, the government removed additional zeros from the Bolívar Soberano currency , so one US dollar equals about 16.53 Bolivars .
• This causes a balance of payments deficit and the inflation rate to grow.
• Its devaluation started in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution when many businesses left the country because of the uncertain situation.

The rupiah experienced the highest decline amongst the Asian emerging market in 2012 and 2013. In 2016, it still slumped in the double digits, declining by another 10%. A running theme for most of the bad performing countries is the price of oil. 2016 brought about the biggest slumps in oil prices in recent history and gravely affected oil-exporting countries. Such was the case for Nigeria – an economy that is 70% dependent on oil. Its currency, the Nigerian Naira slumped 37% against the US dollar as a result.

Many perceived the money to be worthless as the exchange rate to the dollar is alarming. More so, poor government policies greatly affected the Venezuelan currencies as well as the decrease in foreign demand for the bolívar to buy Venezuelan oil crashed. Currently, one US dollar equals about 23,000 Vietnamese Dong, signaling a slow process for financial modernization amongst other Asian markets. Still, Vietnam has shown a GDP of 413 billion US , meaning there is great economic potential for this burgeoning Asian power. Changes in market inflation can have an impact on currency exchange rates. If your country has a low rate of inflation, your currency would have a higher value.

This is due mostly to the massive inflation rate of the kip, as well as depreciation against foreign currencies. In fact, it is possible to trace exactly why the country’s Pound performed so badly and took the top spot as the weakest currency in the world. Some local measures estimate the country’s woes to be the result of a 62% annual inflation rate but this number has not been confirmed. According to many measures, the weakest currency of 2016 was the Belarusian Ruble. Belarus is a commodity and energy-dependent economy… and a rather messy economy.

Besides, since its issue in 1952, the currency did strengthen against the US Dollar and continues to improve its value. By May 2020, Iran faced galloping inflation, and its currency was devalued by 600%. That is why the government decided to change Rial to Toman and slash four zeroes from its face value, i.e., 10,000 old Rials will convert to 1 Toman. But while making this list, we found it pretty hard to put the least valuable currencies in proper order, since the economic situation is changing rapidly in all these countries. Theoretically one peso is divided into one hundred centavos; However, due to high inflation in the 1970s and 1980s, the minting of all centavo coins was discontinued in 1984.

Cambodian Riel

Two small islands in West Africa called St. Tome and Principe, are exporters of cacao, coffee, and coconuts. But this is not enough to support the local economy at an appropriate level. Over the past few years, its value hasn’t lost more than 5%.

#2 – Vietnamese Dong (23,376 VND/USD)

The name “rupee” is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, rupyakam. Occasionally, Indonesians also informally use the term “perak” (“silver” in Indonesian) to refer to the rupee in coins. The rupee is subdivided into 100 sen, although high inflation has rendered all coins and banknotes obsolete. Such a small economy relative to many other countries, investors are still very leery about investing any substantial amount of capital into the country. This continues to hold down the value of Vietnam’s national currency.

Meanwhile, the IMF estimates the inflation to have been as much as 400% in mid-2016, anticipating 1,000% inflation in 2017. In short, the country is experiencing the hyperinflation problems akin to Germany’s post World War I. The ringgit has performed so badly recently that Andrew recently announced he was purchasing a home as a “lifestyle investment” and as a way to benefit from future appreciation of the ringgit. The country is also doubling the price of its MM2H residency program.

A disastrous economic downturn resulted in high inflation, corruption, high unemployment rate, and an increase in poverty. All these factors have had a negative influence on the currency. More so, the inability to export crude oil also crippled the country’s economy accruing a deficit on their national budget. So, this and many other factors are reasons why the Iranian Rial is greatly affected to the extent of being among the weakest currency in the world. Vietnam is still on its hard path from a centralized economy to a market one, and consequently, this country’s currency is very devalued today. At the moment, the Dong takes the third place in our „poorest currencies“ list.

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However, in 2018 the U.S. claimed that Iran proceeds its nuclear program. The sanctions were sharpened, restricting the country’s access to the world commodity markets. Iran could no longer export its petroleum, which brought about 69% of income annually. The sanctions also covered other industries, including petrochemistry and metallurgy. In 2015, the Iranian government agreed to sign the nuclear agreement with the U.S., France, UK, China, Russia, and Germany for the sanctions mitigation. It improved the situation and stabilized the local currency.

The Guinean franc has made marginal progress in improvement over the last two years, but still remains one of the lowest currencies in the world. I am a graduate student at the Carlson School of Management with my roots in Banglore. Bookmyforex by far has the best conversion rates with the least hassles and extremely supportive staff. I recommend every prospective student or traveler going aboard to use Bookmyforex and experience their amazing service.

Founder of Nomad Capitalist and the world’s most sought-after expert on global citizenship. All these events have contributed to the weakening of the currency. More so, the country has a weak economy with a high dependency on imported products, especially food items.