West African CFA franc
Worldwide use:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Guinea-Bissau
- Mali
- Niger
- Sénégal
- Togo
Description:
The West African CFA Franc is the currency for the eight independent states that make up the African Financial Community: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The Central Bank is based in Dakar, Senegal, and is the issuer for all states. The coinage can be found in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 250 and 500 Francs. With banknotes being issued in 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10000 Franc bills.
The CFA Franc is pegged to the Euro (1 Euro = CFA 655.957). The CFA Franc is subdivided into 100 Centimes, but Centimes are not in circulation.
Origin:
In 1945 the French Government introduced the CFA Franc to the French colonies of West Africa. As with the Central African Franc, the trading area was made up of a number of independent African states. These included Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.Together they formed the Communauté Financiére Africaine (African Financial Community).
Component units:
- Centime (100)
Date introduced:
- 1945
Central bank:
- Central Bank of West African States
Printer:
Mint: