The West African CFA franc used by 8 independent countries and the Central African franc used by 6 different countries are the two notable ones amongst the different national currencies that are circulated across the African continent. The fixed exchange rate guarantees the relative stability of the currency and at present both of these have been pegged to the Euro. Placed at the end in the list of top 20 most traded currencies of the world is the South African rand which is the only local currency of Africa to be placed in the list. Over the years the African currency system has evolved to the currencies in the form of paper money from the barter system.
Also read: African countries, colonial rulers and their Independence Days.
Prior to the colonization of Africa, there were multiple forms of currencies used within the continent and these involved some or the other materials, animals and even the people. However, the European colonists introduced a new form of the monetary system in the very beginning of the 17th century. After Africa got its independence in the 20th century, the majority of the countries retained the same currency that the colonial powers had brought here or introduced whilst others had renamed it. By the end of the year 2013, the currency Zambian Kwacha or ZMW was identified as the strongest of all the currencies in Africa.
Also read: All capital cities in Africa listed by country
| Country | Capital City | Name of Currencies |
| Algeria | Algiers | Algerian Dinar |
| Angola | Luanda | Angolan Kwanza |
| Benin | Porto-Novo | West African CFA franc |
| Botswana | Gaborone | Pula (BWP) |
| Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | West African CFA franc |
| Burundi | Bujumbura | Burundi Franc |
| Cameroon | Yaounde | West African CFA francs |
| Cape Verde | Praia | Cape Verdean Escudo |
| Central African Rep. | Bangui | Central African CFA franc |
| Chad | N’Djamena | Central African CFA franc |
| Comoros | Moroni | Comorian franc (KMF) |
| Congo (DRC) | Kinshasa | Congolese Franc (CDF) |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | West African CFA franc |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | Franc (DJF) |
| Egypt | Cairo | Egyptian pound (EGP) |
| Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | Central African CFA franc |
| Eritrea | Asmara | Nakfa (ERN) |
| Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Birr (ETB) |
| Gabon | Libreville | Central African CFA franc |
| Gambia | Banjul | Dalasi (GMD) |
| Ghana | Accra | Ghana cedi |
| Guinea | Conakry | Guinea Franc |
| Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | West African CFA franc |
| Kenya | Nairobi | Kenyan shilling |
| Lesotho | Maseru | Lesotho loti |
| Liberia | Monrovia | Liberian Dollar |
| Libya | Tripoli | Libyan Dinar |
| Madagascar | Antananarivo | Malagasy ariary |
| Malawi | Lilongwe | Kwacha |
| Mali | Bamako | West African CFA franc |
| Mauritania | Nouakchott | Ouguiya |
| Mauritius | Mauritius | Mauritian rupee |
| Morocco | Rabat | Moroccan Dirham |
| Mozambique | Maputo | Mozambican metical |
| Namibia | Windhoek | Namibian dollar |
| Niger | Niamey | West African CFA franc |
| Nigeria | Abuja | Naira |
| Rwanda | Kigali | Rwanda Franc |
| Sao Tome & Principe | Sao Tome | Dobra |
| Senegal | Dakar | CFA franc |
| Seychelles | Victoria | Seychellois rupee (SCR) |
| Sierra Leone | Freetown | Sierra Leonean leone (SLL) |
| Somalia | Mogadishu | Somali Shilling |
| South Africa | Pretoria | South African Rand (ZAR) |
| South Sudan | Juba | South Sudanese pound (SSP) |
| Sudan | Khartoum | Sudanese pound (SDG) |
| Swaziland | Mbabane | Lilangeni |
| Tanzania | Dodoma | Tanzanian Schilling |
| Togo | Lomé | Central African CFA franc |
| Tunisia | Tunis | Tunisian Dinar |
| Uganda | Kampala | Uganda Shilling |
| Western Sahara | Laayoune | Moroccan Dirham (The majority of the territory of Western Sahara is currently administered by the Kingdom of Morocco.) |
| Zambia | Lusaka | Zambian Kwacha (ZMK) |
| Zimbabwe | Harare | Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWD) |