The least valued currency unit is the currency in which a single unit buys the least number of any given other currency or the smallest amount of a given good. Most commonly, the calculation is made against a major reserve currency such as the United States dollar (USD) or the euro (EUR). Sub-units are not considered when looking for the least valued currency: for example, while a British pound sterling might be considered, a British penny would not be.
Contents |
As of January 23, 2011, there were 42 currencies for which 1 USD was worth over 100 units.
In addition:
| No. | State | Currency | Abbr | 1 US dollar = (as of Jan 1, 2011) |
1 Euro = (as of Jan 1, 2011) |
Highest valued coin (if any) |
Highest valued banknote | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Somalia | shilling | SOS | 33,300[2] | 44,600 | None in use | 1,000 (3¢) | Official rate: 1 USD = 1,625.62 SOS (as of 6/11/2011) [3] |
| 2. | Vietnam | đồng | VND | 19,487.70 | 26,093.06 | 5,000 (26¢) | 500,000 ($25.66) | |
| 3. | São Tomé and Príncipe | dobra | STD | 18,260.00 | 24,449.23 | 2,000 (11¢) | 100,000 ($5.48) | |
| 4. | Iran + | rial | IRR | 10,349.59 | 13,857.58 | 5000 (48¢) | 100,000 (legal tender; $9.66) 2,000,000 ("cash cheque"; $193.26) |
To be redenominated in 2011 |
| 5. | Indonesia + | rupiah | IDR | 8765.01 | 12,421.76 | 1,000 (11¢, uncommon) 500 (5¢, common) |
100,000 ($11.41) | |
| 6. | Laos | kip | LAK | 8,051.30 | 10,780.29 | None in use | 50,000 ($6.21) | |
| 7. | Guinea | franc | GNF | 6,925.00 | 9,272.23 | None in use | 10,000 ($1.44) | |
| 8. | Zambia | kwacha | ZMK | 4,797.51 | 6,423.63 | None in use | 50,000 ($10.42) | |
| 9. | Paraguay + | guaraní | PYG | 4,642.55 | 6,216.14 | 1,000 (22¢) | 100,000 ($21.54) | To be redenominated in 2011[4] |
| 10. | Sierra Leone | leone | SLL | 4,120.00 | 5,516.47 | 500 (12¢, uncommon) 100 (2¢) |
10,000 ($2.43) | |
| 11. | Cambodia | riel | KHR | 4,037.86 | 5,516.47 | None in use | 100,000 ($24.77) | |
| 12. | Belarus | ruble | BYR | 2,999.14 | 4,015.70 | None in use | 100,000 ($33.34) | |
| 13. | Uganda | shilling | UGX | 2,308.28 | 3,090.67 | 500 (22¢) | 50,000 ($21.66) | |
| 14. | Madagascar | ariary | MGA | 2,120.00 | 2,838.57 | 50 (2¢) | 10,000 ($4.72) | |
| 15. | North Korea | won | KPW | 2,050[5] | 2,750 | 1 (0.05¢) | 5,000 ($2.44) | Official rate: 1 USD = 143 KPW |
| 16. | Colombia + | peso | COP | 1,850 | 2,526 | 500 (27¢) | 50,000 ($27.02) | |
| 17. | Uzbekistan | som | UZS | 1,640.15 | 2,196.08 | 100 (6¢) | 1,000 ($0.61) | |
| 18. | Tanzania | shilling | TZS | 1,504.22 | 2,014.08 | 200 (13¢) | 10,000 ($6.65) | |
| 19. | Lebanon | pound | LBP | 1,504.22 | 2,009.35 | 500 (33¢) | 100,000 ($66.64) | Pegged to USD |
| 20. | Mongolia | tögrög | MNT | 1,230.00 | 1,646.91 | 500 (41¢) | 20,000 ($16.26) | |
| 21. | Burundi | franc | BIF | 1,218.86 | 1,631.99 | None in use | 10,000 ($8.20) | |
| 22. | Iraq + | dinar | IQD | 1,168.69 | 1,564.82 | 100 (9¢) | 25,000 ($21.39) | |
| 23. | South Korea | won ‡ | KRW | 1,120.90 | 1,500.83 | 500 (45¢) | 50,000 ($44.61) | |
| 24. | Democratic Republic of the Congo | franc | CDF | 915.07 | 1,225.23 | None in use | 500 (55¢) | |
| 25. | Myanmar | kyat | MMK | 860[6] | 1,150 | 100 (12¢) | 5,000 ($5.81) | Official rate: 1 USD = 6.41 MMK |
| 26. | Rwanda | franc | RWF | 591.69 | 792.24 | 100 (17¢) | 5,000 ($8.45) | |
| 27. | Costa Rica | colón | CRC | 507.58 | 679.62 | 500 (99¢) | 50,000 ($98.51) | |
| 28. | Central Africa | CFA franc | XAF | 489.91 | 655.96 | 500 (102¢) | 10,000 ($20.41) | Pegged rate: 1 € = 655.957 XAF |
| 28. | West Africa | CFA franc | XOF | 489.91 | 655.96 | 500 ($1.02) | 10,000 ($20.41) | Pegged rate: 1 € = 655.957 XOF |
| 29. | Chile | peso | CLP | 467.71 | 626.24 | 500 ($1.07) | 20,000 ($42.76) | |
| 30. | Comoros | franc | KMF | 367.43 | 491.97 | 100 (27¢) | 10,000 ($27.22) | Pegged rate: 1 € = 491.968 KMF |
| 31. | Armenia | dram | AMD | 363.44 | 486.63 | 500 ($1.38) | 100,000 ($275.15) | |
| 32. | Mauritania | ouguiya | MRO | 281.20 | 376.51 | 20 (7¢) | 2,000 ($7.11) | |
| 33. | Yemen | rial | YER | 213.50 | 285.87 | 20 (9¢) | 1,000 ($4.68) | |
| 34. | Hungary | forint | HUF | 207.50 | 285.87 | 200 (96¢) | 20,000 ($96.39) | |
| 35. | Guyana | dollar | GYD | 203.20 | 272.07 | 10 (5¢) | 1,000 ($4.92) | |
| 36. | Djibouti | franc | DJF | 177.71 | 238.00 | 500 ($2.81) | 10,000 ($56.26) | Pegged rate: 1 USD = 177.711 DJF[7] |
| 37. | Nigeria | naira | NGN | 152.07 | 203.61 | 2 (1¢) | 1,000 ($6.58) | |
| 38. | Malawi | kwacha | MWK | 151.52 | 202.88 | 10 (7¢) | 500 ($3.30) | |
| 39. | Kazakhstan | tenge | KZT | 147.29 | 197.21 | 100 (68¢) | 10,000 ($67.89) | |
| 40. | Iceland | krona | ISK | 115.05 | 154.05 | 100 (87¢) | 5,000 ($43.46) | The krona is currently not traded freely, with the last ECB reference rate having been set on 3 Dec 08 [8] |
| 41. | Sri Lanka | rupee | LKR | 110.89 | 148.48 | 10 (9¢) | 2,000 ($18.04) | |
| 42. | Albania | lek | ALL | 104.78 | 140.30 | 100 (95¢) | 5,000 ($47.72) | |
| Data for all other currencies taken from exchange-rates.org & xe.com unless noted otherwise. | ||||||||
| Start Date | Finish Date | Country | Currency Unit | Units per US Dollar | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 21 May 1911 | Portugal | Portuguese real | 900 | new currency: 22 May 1911: 1 escudo = 1,000 réis |
| 22 May 1911 | Mid-1920 | Brazil | Brazilian real | 900 - 5,000 | |
| Mid-1920 | 31 Dec 1921 | Russia | Soviet first ruble | 5,000 - 60,000 | new currency 1 Jan 1922: 1 second Soviet ruble = 10,000 first Soviet rubles |
| 1 Jan 1922 | September 1922 | Austria | Austrian krone | 4,500 - 12,500 | German papiermark inflates |
| September 1922 | 31 Dec 1923 | Weimar Republic | Mark | 12,500 - 4,000,000,000,000 | new currency 1 Jan 1924: 1,000,000,000,000 Papiermark = 1 Rentenmark |
| 1 Jan 1924 | 13 Apr 1924 | Poland | Polish marka | 5,000,000 - 9,324,000 | new currency 14 Apr 1924 1 Polish zloty = 1,800,000 marek |
| 14 Apr 1924 | 19 Dec 1924 | Austria | Austrian krone | 26,000 - 45,000 | new currency 20 Dec 1924: 1 schilling = 10,000 Austrian kronen |
| 20 Dec 1924 | 31 Dec 1926 | Hungary | Hungarian korona | 7,000 - 63,000 | new currency 1 Jan 1927: 1 pengő = 12,500 Hungarian korona |
| 1 Nov 1942 | 9 Nov 1944 | Greece | Greek drachma | 3,500 - 7,500,000,000,000 | new currency : 50,000,000,000 old drachmai = 1 new drachma |
| Nov 10 1944 | August 1945 | Romania | leu | 3,500 - 25,000 | |
| August 1945 | August 1946 | Hungary | pengő | changed daily | Hungarian pengő hyperinflates; new currency 18 Aug 1946: 1 forint = 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengő |
| 19 Aug 1946 | 14 Aug 1947 | Romania | leu | 100,000 - 5,050,000 | new currency 15 Aug 1947: 20,000 leu = 1 new Romanian leu |
| 15 Aug 1947 | 30 Nov 1948 | Republic of China | Fabi | 250,000 - 105,000,000 | new currency 1 Dec 1948: 1 gold yuan = 3,000,000 fabi |
| 1 Dec 1948 | 30 Apr 1954 | Greece | drachma | 20,000 - 30,000 | new currency 1 May 1954: 1,000 drachmai = 1 new drachma |
| 1 May 1954 | 28 Feb 1955 | China | yuan | 24,600 | new currency 1 March 1955: 10,000 First Series Renminbi yuan = 1 Second Series Renminbi yuan |
| 1 Mar 1955 | 5 Jan 1958 | Italy | Italian lira | 625 | |
| 6 Jan 1958 | 31 Dec 1959 | Chile | Chilean peso | 650 - 1,051 | new currency 1 January 1960 : 1,000 pesos = 1 Chilean escudo |
| 1 Jan 1960 | 31 Dec 1962 | Bolivia | Bolivian boliviano | 750 - 11,875 | new currency 1 January 1963: 1,000 bolivianos = 1 Bolivian peso |
| 1 Jan 1963 | 12 Dec 1965 | Indonesia | Indonesian rupiah | 1,205 - 4,995 | new currency 13 December 1965: 1,000 old rupiah = 1 new rupiah |
| 13 Dec 1965 | 12 Feb 1967 | Brazil | Brazilian cruzeiro (BRZ) | 1,950 - 2,710 | new currency 13 February 1967: 1,000 cruzeiros = 1 Cruzeiro novo |
| 13 Feb 1967 | Mid-June 1974 | Italy | Italian lira | 620 - 640 | |
| Mid-June 1974 | 28 Sep 1975 | Chile | Chilean escudo | 640 - 6,000 | new currency 29 Sep 1975 : 1000 escudo = 1 Chilean peso |
| 29 Sep 1975 | November 1978 | Italy | Italian lira | 680 - 850 | |
| November 1978 | 31 May 1983 | Argentina | Argentine peso ley | 850 - 81,105 | new currency 1 June 1983 : 10,000 pesos ley = 1 peso argentino |
| 1 June 1983 | 21 Nov 1984 | Peru | Peruvian sol | 1,494 - 4,969 | Bolivian peso devalues |
| 22 Nov 1984 | 4 January 1987 | Bolivia | Bolivian peso | 8,786 - 2,000,000 | new currency 5 January 1987 : 1,000,000 pesos = 1 boliviano |
| 5 January 1987 | 31 January 1988 | Nicaragua | Nicaraguan córdoba | 6,000 - 50,000 | new currency 1 February 1988 : 10,000 old córdobas = 1 new córdoba |
| 1 February 1988 | June 1988 | Vietnam | Vietnamese đồng (VND) | 1,700 - 4,500 | Dong devalued from 900 to 3000 [1] |
| June 1988 | 31 December 1989 | Yugoslavia | Yugoslav dinar (YUD) | 4,500 - 40,000 | new currency 1 January 1990 : 10,000 hard dinar = 1 convertible dinar |
| 1 January 1990 | 30 April 1991 | Nicaragua | Nicaraguan córdoba | 40,000 - 25,000,000 (official) 350,000 - 30,000,000 (parallel) |
new currency 1 May 1991 : 5,000,000 1988 cordóbas = 1 hard córdoba |
| 1 May 1991 | 30 June 1991 | Peru | Peruvian inti (PEI) | 705,000 - 835,000 | new currency 1 July 1991 : 1,000,000 intis = 1 nuevo sol (inti valid until 31 December 1991) |
| 1 July 1991 | October 1993 | Zaire | Zairean Zaire (ZRN) | 61,900 - 7,915,000 | new currency October 1993 : 3,000,000 Old Zaire = 1 New Zaire |
| October 1993 | 10 Jan 1994 | Angola | Angolan novo kwanza (AON) | 34,200 | - |
| 11 Jan 1994 | 23 Jan 1994 | Yugoslavia | Yugoslav "1994 dinar" | 46,000 - 6,850,000 | Changed daily due to hyperinflation new currency 24 Jan 1994: 10~13 million "1994 dinara" = 1 novi dinar (YUM) (pegged to 1 German mark) |
| 24 Jan 1994 | 30 June 1995 | Angola | Angolan novo kwanza (AON) | 34,200 - 2,100,000 | new currency 1 July 1995: 1,000 novos kwanzas (AON) = 1 new kwanza reajustado (AOR) |
| 1 Jul 1995 | 1 Sep 1996 | Ukraine | Ukrainian karbovanets (UAK) | 147,300 - 176,000 | new currency 2 Sep 1996: 100,000 karbovanets (UAK) = 1 hryvnia (UAH) |
| 2 Sep 1996 | 30 Nov 1999 | Angola | Angolan kwanza reajustado (AOR) | 150,000 - 5,400,000 | new currency 1 Dec 1999: 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados (AOR) = 1 new Angolan kwanza (AOA) |
| 1 Dec 1999 | 31 Dec 2004 | Turkey | Turkish lira (TRL) | 518,000 - 1,339,000 | new currency 1 Jan 2005: 1,000,000 old Turkish lira (TRL) = 1 new Turkish lira (TRY) (old lira valid to end of 2005) |
| 1 Jan 2005 | 30 June 2005 | Romania | Romanian leu (ROL) | 29,110 - 29,850 | new currency 1 July 2005: 10,000 old Romanian lei (ROL) = 1 new Romanian leu (RON) (old leu valid to 30 June 2006) |
| 1 July 2005 | 24 Aug 2005 | Mozambique | Mozambican metical (MZM) | 24,400 | new currency 1 July 2006: 1,000 old Mozambique meticais (MZM) = 1 new Mozambique metical (MZN) (old metical valid to end of 2006) |
| 24 Aug 2005 | 31 Jul 2006 | Zimbabwe | Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) | 25,000-101,000 (official) 45,000-550,000 (parallel) |
Changed daily due to hyperinflation Redenominated currency 1 Aug 2006: 1,000 first Zimbabwean dollars = 1 second Zimbabwean dollar |
| 1 Aug 2006 | ca. 21 Mar 2007 | Vietnam | Vietnamese đồng (VND) | 16,000 - 16,736 | - |
| ca. 21 Mar 2007 | ca. 6 Apr 2007 | Zimbabwe | Second Zimbabwean dollar (ZWN) | 250 (official) 16,000 - 30,000 (parallel) |
Changed daily due to hyperinflation |
| ca. 6 Apr 2007 | 8 Apr 2007 | Vietnam | Vietnamese đồng (VND) | 16,022 | Zimbabwean dollar briefly rose in value |
| ca. 8 Apr 2007 | 31 Jul 2008 | Zimbabwe | Second Zimbabwean dollar (ZWN) | 250 - 69,484,070,056 (official) 20,000 - 751,089,467,956 (parallel) |
Changed daily due to hyperinflation. Redenominated currency 1 Aug 2008: 10,000,000,000 second Zimbabwean dollars = 1 third Zimbabwean dollar |
| 1 Aug 2008 | 21 Sep 2008 | Somalia | Somali shilling (SOS) | 35,000 | |
| 22 Sep 2008 | 2 Feb 2009 | Zimbabwe | Third Zimbabwean dollar (ZWR) | 96 - 12,336,416,667 (official) 80,000 - 300,000,000,000,000 (parallel/cash) |
Changed daily due to hyperinflation. Redenominated currency 2 Feb 2009: 1,000,000,000,000 third Zimbabwe dollars = 1 fourth Zimbabwe dollar |
| 3 Feb 2009 | present | Somalia | Somali shilling (SOS) | 28,250 - 33,000 |
Many currencies are not permitted to float on the foreign exchange market, to prevent capital flight or for political reasons. As a result, the parallel market (black market) price of a currency may deviate substantially from its official value.