Top 10 Lowest Currencies In The World 2023 (Weakest)

Currency weakness can arise from a number of factors including economic sanctions, underperforming economies, counterfeit notes, and so on. The weakest currencies in the world usually earn their status due to underlying factors which must first be addressed before improvements can be seen.

Residents of those countries are usually force to adopt other means of exchange during commerce because they cannot rely on their local currencies. They therefore use barter, foreign currencies, or any other means of doing business.

Looking at the list below one can further associate this trend with migration, the prevalence of crime, and many other ills that happen when the people have no hope, and no confidence that things will improve in some time to come.

Top 10 Lowest Currencies in the World 2023

Rank No. Currency Name Value To $1
1. Iranian Rial IRR 42, 250 /USD
2. Vietnamese Dong VND 23,712.47/ USD
3. Laotian Kip LAK16,867.05/USD
4. Indonesian Rupiah IDR 15,180.40 / USD
5. Sierra Leonean Leone SLL 13,314 /USD
6. Uzbek Sum UZS 11,330 /USD
7. Guinean Franc GNF 8,614.12/USD
8. Paraguayan Guarani PYG 7,304.49/USD
9. Colombian Peso COP 4,911 /USD
10. Cambodian Riel KHR 4,081 /USD

Details on Each Currency

List Of Top 10 Lowest Currencies In The World 2023

1. Iranian Rial

Exchange Rate: IRR 42, 250 /USD

Iran presently has the most devalued currency in the world; it exchanges for around IRR42,250 to one Dollar. It must be stated that there is considerable improvement when you study the chart; there is a slow and steady rise, indicating that in some time to come this currency can recover its long lost glory.

The glory was lost in the period circa 1979 when many businesses fled the country as a result of the Islamic Revolution which occurred around that time. More recently the situation has been worsened by tensions arising from Iran’s desire to develop nuclear technology.

Without going into the politics; this desire has resulted in a series of tensions which have meant that most foreign powers have decided not to buy Iranian products. This means Iran has no demand for its currency on the international market, and then declining currency value forced residents to source foreign currencies on the black market.

2. Vietnamese Dong

Exchange Rate: VND 23,712.47/ USD

Vietnam has not had it easy over the last few decades of its modern history. However, the country is working hard to turn away from a centralized economy to a free and open one. It is therefore opening up its economy to investors in the area of manufacturing, tourism, retail commerce, and so many other areas.

This means there is hope that in the long term, this country will enjoy a better economy, and the people will enjoy a better quality of life. Vietnam has shown that it can match its more affluent Asian neighbors.

3. Lao or Laotian Kip

Exchange Rate: Laotian Kip 16,867.05/USD

Laos is a very small country landlocked Asian country with lots of mountains and forests. Laos is a Socialist country with a small population; there are less than 8 million people living there.

Laos has many economic challenges facing it; even at the time when the currency was first issued it was done with a very low rate. However, studying the price chart shows that there has been considerable improvement within the last few years; the Laotian Kip is expected to improve in value over the course of the next few years.

4. Indonesian Rupiah

Exchange Rate: IDR 15,180.40 / USD

Indonesia is a country in Asia. It has quite a stable and developed economy; some of the economic activities include manufacturing, retail commerce, agriculture, finance, and so many other sectors. Despite this sound economic structure, Indonesia still has a very low exchange rate for its currency.

In September 5, 2016 the government added 7 new banknotes of higher denominations from 1 thousand to 100 thousand rupiahs. This was done in a desperate bid to raise the value of the currency, but has not really yielded any fruit. In fact some would argue that things are in fact much worse.

5. Sierra Leonean Leone

Exchange Rate: SLL 13,314 /USD

Sierra Leone is a very poor West African country, one that has had a difficult time since independence. The country also fought a long and bloody civil war, during which it saw devastation on a large scale. More recently, Sierra Leone has been the epicenter of deadly outbreaks of disease, resulting in casualties on a grand scale.

The economy is just not developed enough to support a strong currency; many of the people survive on subsistence agriculture, and they still exchange goods and services through barter.

6. Uzbek Sum

Exchange Rate: UZS 11,330 /USD

Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia; it is traditionally related to Turkey.  Aside from its rich history there is not much to talk about regarding this country.

In the last few years there has been a massive drop in value of the Uzbek Sum against a basket of currencies. It is not exactly what has caused this massive devaluation which has resulted in the Uzbek Sum being one of the weakest currencies in the world, but the government has certainly been at work to find a solution.

On September 5, 2017, the exchange rate of the Sum against the US dollar was set at 1 USD = 8,100 UZS. However, it has not been able to maintain that value; the currency has been going down rather rapidly.

7. Guinean Franc

Exchange Rate: GNF 8,614.12/USD

Guinea is a coastal country in West Africa that has suffered a lot of political instability which has largely resulted in the economy being stunted, and even in some cases going backwards.

The country has a lot of potential; for one thing there is an abundance of natural resources such as gold, diamonds, and aluminum.

Guinea has a lot of work to do to get its society on the right track; gangsters use this country as a route to push drugs in large quantities, and sometimes they control whole communities.

8. Paraguayan Guarani

PYG 7,304.49/USD

Paraguay is a country in South America, where it is one of the poorest countries on the continent. Some of the problems it has suffered include corruption, low education quality, lack of sustainable investments, bad leadership, and the results of these problems include prevalent poverty, high unemployment, and so on.

Paraguay exports cotton and soybeans, and has plenty of potential in cattle production; but this has not been enough to boost the economy.

Paraguay has a lot of work to do to get the economy back on track; the nation’s currency has been falling steadily against a basket of currencies including the USD. This steady fall has been ongoing for at least 5 years without interruption.

9. Colombian Peso

COP 4,911 /USD

Colombia is a Latin American country; it has potential in agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing, but there is a lot of work that has to be done before that potential can be realized.

Studying the price chart of the Colombian Peso against the US Dollar reveals that the Colombian Peso has been dropping dramatically in value against the Dollar for a number of years. It seems that the drop in value has been accelerating within the last five years. Furthermore, it has also dropped against a basket of other currencies.

10. Cambodian Riel

KHR 4,081 /USD

Cambodia; a small country in Asia has not been able to press for economically like some of its richer neighbors. Nevertheless, it has identified opportunities in banking, commerce, tourism, manufacturing, and many other sectors with the hope of boosting its economy.

Studying the price chart shows that Cambodia is fighting currency weakness with everything at its disposal. Against the US Dollar there is evidence of a series of reversals in the general downward trend; this is because the government continues to seek for ways to strengthen its economy and currency.

Other weak currencies in the world include:

Ugandan Shilling

Venezuelan Bolivar

Sao Tomean Dobra

Belarusian Ruble

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Closing

So we just reviewed the top 10 lowest currencies in the World presently and the importance of understanding the exchange rates of the world’s weakest currencies. You could imagine featuring amongst the richest personalities in your country, whereas you’re worth not an iota of another rich man’s money. This might seem incredible to you if you don’t know how valuable your country’s currency is when compared with foreign currencies. And quite humorously, a U.S citizen who works as a cleaner and earns few dollars as part of low-class earners could come to Nigeria or a number of other African countries and pose as a rich person.

This remains so because diverse currencies are more valuable than each other. At the same time, the value a certain currency commands when compared with other prestigious currencies remains the actual determinant of a person’s financial worth.

In the world of today, the monetary arena is undoubtedly dominated by prestigious currencies such as the British Pounds Sterling, the U.S dollar, the Chinese Yen, and many others.

As this post further enlightens you on the worth of your country’s currency, we’re sure you now realized that what seems phantom in one country could turn out to be a piece of debris (or any valueless object you could mention) in another country. As many countries are differentiated by economic systems and the currencies in place, one might find it hard to estimate his worth even when he doesn’t have more than a single token.

Meanwhile, the value of world currencies is greatly determined by factors affecting world trade and exchange activities. Quite frankly, factors such as inflation, recession, etc. are no exceptions.

That’s all on “List Of Top 10 Lowest Currencies in the World”, share your thoughts and suggestions with us through the comment box and like us on Facebook @ facebook.com/9jaquest or follow us on twitter @ twitter.com/NaijaQuest.