Central African CFA Franc (XAF) Profile

Central African CFA franc XAF converter to world currencies »

Fr

1/100, centime (No centime denominations have been issued)
1 franc, 2 francs, 5 francs, 10 francs, 25 francs, 50 francs, 100 francs, 500 francs
 
500 francs, 1000 francs, 2000 francs, 5000 francs, 10000 francs
 
Bank of Central African States (www.beac.int)

1.Nicknames: céfa, franc
2.Central African CFA franc is pegged with euro at 1EUR=655.957 XAF

Central African CFA franc users

The Central African CFA franc is the currency of six independent states in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six states are all members of CEMAC (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa). The Central African CFA franc is issued by BEAC (Bank of the Central African States).

The CFA franc is the name of two currencies, the Central African CFA franc and the West African CFA franc.  The two currencies are at par and currently pegged with euro at 1 EUR=655.957 XAF =655.957 XOF. The eight countries using the Central African CFA franc are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire(Ivory Coast), Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo.

The CFA franc users are mostly former French colonies except Equatorial Guinea from Spain (which adopted the Central African CFA franc in 1984) and Guinea-Bissau from Portugal (which adopted the West African CFA franc in 1997).

CFA franc users
Nations Currency name Code Independence Notes
Cameroon Central African CFA franc XAF from France in 1960 Cameroon (officially the Republic of Cameroon) is a country in central Africa.
Central African Republic Central African CFA franc XAF from France in 1960 The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in central Africa.
Chad Central African CFA franc XAF from France in 1960 Chad (officially the Republic of Chad) is a landlocked country in central Africa.
Republic of the Congo Central African CFA franc XAF from France in 1960 The Republic of the Congo (also referred to as Congo-Brazzaville) is a country in central Africa.
Equatorial Guinea Central African CFA franc XAF from Spanish in 1968 Equatorial Guinea (officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea) is a country in central Africa.
Gabon Central African CFA franc XAF from France in 1960 Gabon (officially the Gabonese Republic) is a country on west coast of central Africa.
Benin West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Benin (officially the Republic of Benin) is a country in west Africa.
Burkina Faso West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Burkina Faso, also known as Burkina, is a landlocked country in west Africa.
Côte d'Ivoire(Ivory Coast) West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Côte d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast (officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire) is a country in west Africa.
Guinea-Bissau West African CFA franc XOF from Portugal in 1973 Guinea-Bissau (officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau) is a country in west Africa.
Mali West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 1. Mali (officially the Republic of Mali), is a landlocked country in west Africa.
2. Mali left CFA franc and rejoined in 1984.
Niger West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Niger (officially the Republic of Niger) is a landlocked country in western Africa.
Senegal West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Senegal (officially the Republic of Senegal) is a country in west Africa.
Togo West African CFA franc XOF from France in 1960 Togo (officially the Togolese Republic) is a country in west Africa.

Notes:
1. The CFA franc was introduced on 26 December 1945, along with the CFP franc.
2. The CFA francs peg with euro at 1 EUR =655.957 CFA francs.
3. The West African CFA franc and the central African CFA franc are the two CFA francs, effectively interchangeable.

Central African CFA franc history

CFA franc was issued on December 26, 1945 and used among French African territories. It was pegged with French franc (FRF) until 1999 the French franc (FRF) was replaced by the euro (EUR).

The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate with French franc, initially in 1945 at 1 CFA = 1.70 FRF and then at 1 CFA =2.0 FRF in 1948. French franc was redenominated with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc in 1960. So since 1960, 1 CFA franc = 0.02 CFA until 1994 when the CFA franc devaluated to 1 CFA =0.01 FRF. This rate remained four years until 1999 the euro replaced the French franc at a rate of 1 EUR =6.55957 FRF. Hence the CFA franc is now pegged with the euro at a rate of 1 EUR =655.957 CFA.

Also during World War II, another French franc, the CFP franc was created in December 1945 used among the French Pacific territories. It was initially set a fixed exchange rate with the U.S. dollar at 1 USD= 49.6 XPF and later shifted pegging with the French franc at 1 XPF=5.50 FRF from 1949 to 1959. The French franc was redenominated with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc in 1960. So from 1960 to 1998, the exchanged rate between CFP franc and the French franc was 1 XPF=0.055 FRF. The CFP franc fixed the exchange rate with euro since January 1, 1999 at 1 XPF=0.00838 Euro.

Central African CFA franc coins and banknotes

The Central African CFA franc is divided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued.

Currently in circulation coins are in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs, and banknotes are in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs.

Central African CFA franc and the French franc

The French franc was used among French colonies from nineteenth century until the late decades of twentieth century when after most countries were independent and issued their own currencies.

The CFA franc was issued in 1945 pegging with the French franc until 1999.

African nations used French franc previously (exchange rate: February 26th, 2013)
Nations Currency name Code Independence from France 1 USD= Notes
Morocco Moroccan dirham MAD in 1956 8.52378 1. The dirham was used as subdivision the Moroccan rial, with 10 dirham = 1 rial, from 1882 to
1921. It was reintroduced in 1960 and replaced the Moroccan franc at 1 dirham = 100 francs in 1974.
2. Moroccan franc was used in Morocco from 1921 until 1974.
Algeria Algerian dinar DZD in 1962 78.9858 1. The Algerian dinar was introduced on 1 April 1964, replacing the Algerian new franc at par.
2. The Algerian franc was used from 1848, equivalent to the French franc initially. Following the French franc revaluation in 1960 (<see notes <1>), the Algerian franc was revalued accordingly at a rate of 100 old Algerian francs = 1 new Algerian franc.
Tunisia Tunisian dinar TND in 1956 1.5765 1. Tunisian dinar was created in 1958 and replaced the Tunisian franc at a rate of 1000 francs = 1 dinar.
2. Tunisian franc was used in Tunisia from 1891 to 1958 and was equivalent to the French franc.
Mauritania Mauritanian ouguiya MRO in 1960 294.249 The Mauritanian ouguiya was introduced in 1973, replacing the CFA franc at a rate of 1 MRO = 5 CFA francs.
Djibouti Djiboutian franc DJF in 1977 170.624 1. The French franc had been circulated in Djibouti since 1884 until 1949 when the independent Djiboutian franc was introduced pegging to the US dollar at a rate of 1 USD =214.392 DJF.
2. The Djiboutian franc was revalued in 1971 and 1973 and has been pegged with U.S. dollar at 1 USD= 177.721 DJF since then.
Guinea Guinean franc GNF in 1958 7036.69 1. The first Guinean franc was introduced in 1959 to replace the CFA franc but was replaced by syli at a rate of 1 syli = 10 francs in 1971.
2. The Guinean franc was reintroduced in 1985, at par with the syli.
Madagascar Malagasy ariary MGA in 1960 2199.96 1. The Malagasy ariary was introduced in 1961, equaled to 5 Malagasy francs. It replaced the Malagasy franc as the official currency January 1, 2005, replaced rate at 1 MGA =5 Malagasy francs.
2. The Malagasy franc was introduced on July 1, 1925, replaced by Madagascar-Comoros CFA franc in 1945. It was reintroduced on July 1, 1963, initially pegged to the French franc with the same value as the CFA franc (1 FRF = 50 MGF) but later devaluated and floated.
3. Madagascar left the CFA zone effective 1 July 1973.
Comoros Comoro franc KMF in 1975 376.983 1. Comoros started to use French franc since 1886.
2. The Madagascar-Comoros CFA franc was used from 1945 to 1960. It was initially fixed with old French franc at 1.7 but later was changed to 2 French francs and remained until 1979.
3. Comoro franc was created and pegged with new French franc (FRF) at 1 FRF=50 KMF since 1979 until 1994 when it's 1 FRF=75 KMF, currently being pegged with euro at 1EUR= 491.96775 KMF.
Mayotte Euro EUR France overseas region 0.76628 Mayotte is an integral part of France and the European Union.
Reunion Euro EUR France overseas region 0.76628 Reunion is an integral part of France and the European Union.

Notes:
<1>The French franc was revalued on January 1, 1960, with 100 old francs becoming 1 new franc.
<2>The French franc was replaced by euro at a fixed parity of 1 EUR=6.55957 FRF since January 1, 1999.

Central African CFA Franc and which countries are using franc currency?

Most franc currencies are using in most of the Francophone countries of Africa.

Franc currencies currently in circulation (exchange rate refer to: Date of 6 February 2013)
Currencies Code Users 1 USD= 1 EUR= 1 GBP= Notes
Swiss Franc CHF 1. Officially used in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Italy exclave Campione d'ltalla.
2. Also widely used in German exclave Büsingen.		 0.90973 1.23101 1.42429 German exclave Büsingen uses the euro as sole legal currency.
West African CFA franc XOF XOF currency union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'lvoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo 484.757 655.959 758.945 The West African CFA franc is pegged with euro at 1 EUR = 655.9570 XOF since Jan.1st 1999.
Central African CFA franc XAF XAF currency union: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon 484.757 655.959 758.945 The Central African CFA franc pegged with euro at 1 EUR = 655.9570 XAF since Jan 1st, 1999.
CFP franc XPF XPF currency union: French overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna 88.1854 119.331 138.061 The CFP franc is pegged with euro at 1 EUR = 0.00838 XPF since Jan 1st, 1999.
Comorian franc KMF Comoros 363.561 491.967 569.184 The Comorian franc is pegged with the euro at 1 EUR =491.96755KMF since Jan.1st 1999.
Congolese franc CDF Democratic Republic of the Congo 920.728 1245.82 1441.54 The Congolese franc was used during 1908-1962, 1997-present.
Djiboutian franc DJF Djibouti 179.748 243.215 281.424 The Djiboutian franc is pegged with U.S.dollar at 1 USD = 177.721 DJF since 1949.
Guinean franc GNF Guinea 6979.82 9444.29 10928 The Guinean franc was first introduced in 1959, used in 1959-1971, 1985-present.
Rwandan franc RWF Rwanda 632.488 855.688 990.156 Rwandan franc was introduced in 1964.
Burundi franc BIF Burundi 1559.98 2110.49 2442.15 Burundi franc was introduced in 1964.