The countries using the CFA franc

The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, or just franc in everyday conversation if no ambiguity is possible) is a currency used in 12 formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (former Spanish colony). modified version of Image:Africa-western-countries. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ...

It has a fixed rate compared to the euro: 100 CFA francs = 0.152449 euro, or 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs. The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ...

Name

CFA stood for Colonies françaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa") between 1945 and 1958, and then for Communauté française d'Afrique ("French community of Africa") between 1958 (establishment of the French Fifth Republic) and the independence of these African countries at the beginning of the 1960s. Since the time of their independence, CFA can have two meanings (see Institutions below). 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on October 5, 1958. ...

History

Creation

The CFA franc was created on December 26, 1945, along with the CFP franc. The reason for the creation of these francs was the weakness of the French franc immediately after the Second World War. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation of December 1945. René Pleven, the French minister of finance, was quoted saying: "In a show of her generosity and selflessness, metropolitan France, wishing not to impose on her far-away daughters the consequences of her own poverty, is setting different exchange rates for their currency." December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The CFP franc (in French: franc Pacifique or franc CFP ; CFP stood for Colonies françaises du Pacifique (i. ... French Franc. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... French Franc. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency (most often the US dollar), to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... René Pleven, French prime minister René Pleven (April 1901 - January 13, 1993) was a notable French politician of the Fourth Republic. ...

Exchange rate

The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate vs. the French franc. The exchange rate vs. the French franc was changed only twice: in 1948 and in 1994. French Franc. ... French Franc. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Exchange rate:

• December 26, 1945 to October 16, 1948 – 1 CFA franc = 1.70 FRF (FRF = French franc). This 0.70 FRF premium is the consequence of the creation of the CFA franc which spared the French African colonies the devaluation of December 1945 (before December 1945, 1 local franc in these colonies was worth 1 French franc).
• October 17, 1948 to December 31, 1959 – 1 CFA franc = 2.00 FRF (the CFA franc had followed the French franc's devaluation vs. the US dollar in January 1948, but on October 18, 1948 the French franc devalued again and this time the CFA franc was revalued against the French franc to offset almost all of this new devaluation of the French franc; after October 1948 the CFA was never revalued again vs. the French franc and followed all the successive devaluations of the French franc)
• January 1, 1960 to January 11, 1994 – 1 CFA franc = 0.02 FRF (January 1, 1960: the French franc devalued, with 100 'old' francs becoming 1 'new' franc)
• January 12, 1994 to December 31, 1998 – 1 CFA franc = 0.01 FRF (sharp devaluation of the CFA franc to help African exports)
• January 1, 1999 onward – 100 CFA franc = 0.152449 euro or 1 euro = 655.957 CFA franc. (January 1, 1999: euro replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF for 1 euro)

The 1960 and 1999 events are merely changes in the currency in use in France: the relative value of the CFA franc vs. the French franc / euro changed only in 1948 and 1994. December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 17 is the 290th (in leap years the 291st) day of the year according to the Gregorian calendar. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

The value of the CFA franc has been widely criticized as being too high, which many economists believe favors the urban elite of the African countries which can buy manufactured goods cheaply at the expense of the farmers who cannot easily export agricultural products. The devaluation of 1994 was an attempt to reduce the value of the CFA franc. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

Countries and other territories

• 1949: French Somaliland (Djibouti) leaves
• 1960: Guinea leaves
• 1962: Mali leaves
• 1967: Réunion leaves for French franc
• 1973: Madagascar leaves (1972 according to another source)
• 1973: Mauritania leaves
• 1974: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon leaves
• 1984: Mali rejoins (1 franc = 2 Malian francs)
• 1985: Equatorial Guinea joins (1 "franco" = 4 bipkwele)
• 1997: Guinea-Bissau joins (1 franc = 65 pesos)

The Republic of Djibouti (جيبوتي) is a country in eastern Africa, located in the Horn of Africa. ... Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (French Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) 46°47′N 56°12′W is a French overseas collectivity consisting of several small islands off the eastern coast of Canada near Newfoundland. ... The franc was the independent currency of Mali between 1962 and 1984. ... The ekwele or ekuele was the currency of Equatorial Guinea between 1975 and 1985. ... The peso was the currency of Guinea Bissau from 1975 to 1997. ...

European Monetary Union

In 1998 in anticipation of European Monetary Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France has with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that: In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency among them. ... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ...

• the agreements are unlikely to have any material effect on the monetary and exchange rate policy of the Euro zone
• in their present forms and states of implementation, the agreements are unlikely to present any obstacle to a smooth functioning of economic and monetary union
• nothing in the agreements can be construed as implying an obligation for the European Central Bank (ECB) or any national central bank to support the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs
• modifications to the existing agreements will not lead to any obligations for the European Central or any national central bank
• the French Treasury will guarantee the free convertibility at a fixed parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
• the competent French authorities shall keep the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Economic and Financial Committee informed about the implementation of the agreements and inform the Committee prior to changes of the parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs
• any change to the nature or scope of the agreements would require Council approval on the basis of a Commission recommendation and ECB consultation

Monetary policy is the process of managing money supply to achieve specific goals—such as constraining inflation, achieving full employment or economic growth. ... The exchange rate regime is the way a country manages its currency in respect to foreign currencies and the foreign exchange market. ... The Eurozone (also called Euro-area or Euroland) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the Euro (€) currency, creating a currency union. ... The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany is the central bank of the eurozone, in charge of monetary policy for the 12 countries that use the euro currency. ... The Comorian franc (ISO 4217 currency code KMF) is the official currency of the nation of Comoros. ... The euro (symbol: €; banking code: EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ...

Institutions

Strictly speaking, there actually exist two different currencies called CFA franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (Trésor public), but the West African CFA franc cannot be used in Central African countries, and the Central Africa CFA franc cannot be used in West African countries. ISO 4217 is an international standard describing three letter codes to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ... ISO 4217 is an international standard describing three letter codes to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ... The Trésor public (Public treasury) is the national administration of the Treasury in France. ...

West African

The West African CFA franc (XOF) is just known in French as the Franc CFA, where CFA stands for Communauté financière d'Afrique ("Financial Community of Africa"). It is issued by the BCEAO (Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, i.e. "Central Bank of the West African States"), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the 8 countries of the UEMOA (Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, i.e. "West African Economic and Monetary Union"): (City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes darrondissement) City proper (commune) Région Dakar Département Dakar Mayor Pape Diop (PDS) (since 2002) Area 82. ... States of UEMOA The West African Economic and Monetary Union (or UEMOA from its name in French, Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine) is an organization of states of West Africa established to promote economic integration among countries that share a common currency, the CFA franc. ...

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Côte d'Ivoire
• Guinea-Bissau
• Mali
• Niger
• Senegal
• Togo

These 8 countries have a total population of 75.5 million inhabitants (2003) and a combined GDP of 36.96 billion USD in 2003. This is about the same population and GDP as Vietnam. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2004, the 1994 series of West African banknotes were switched for a new series. These new notes have updated security features, and are more modern in design. The switch has also been welcomed by some because of the perception that the old bills were dirty and disease-ridden (1). Despite this, there are fears that those living in rural regions will not hear of the changeover, and as a result, will lose their savings when the older series notes are demonetarized. As well, the color of the 5,000 CFA bill was changed from blueish to green, which could leave open the possiblility of the illiterate being shortchanged when switching from the old to the new series. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The anglophone states of Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and the francophone state of Guinea, have formed the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) and will introduce a common currency, the ECO, on 1 December 2009. Liberia is also set to join this monetary zone, and the ultimate goal is to unite the UEMOA and the WAMZ to form a single West African monetary zone. States of WAMZ Light green: interested in joining The Eco is the proposed name for the common currency the West African Monetary Zone plans to introduce by 2009 in the framework of ECOWAS. See Also West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Staates of UEMOA The West African Monetary Union (or UEMOA from its name in French, Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine) is an organization of states of West Africa established to promote economic integration among countries that share a common currency, the CFA Franc. ...

Mauritania, a former French colony in West Africa, uses the Mauritanian ouguiya and not the CFA franc. MRO is also the acronym for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The Mauritanian ouguiya (Arabic: أوقية; ISO 4217: MRO) is the currency of Mauritania. ...

Central African

The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is just known in French as the Franc CFA, where CFA stands for Coopération financière en Afrique centrale ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale, i.e. "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaounde, Cameroon, for the 6 countries of the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale, i.e. "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"): Categories: Africa geography stubs | Capitals in Africa | Cities in Cameroon ... States of CEMAC The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (or CEMAC from its name in French, Communauté Économique et Monétaire de lAfrique Centrale) is an organization of states of Central Africa established to promote economic integration among countries that share a common currency, the CFA franc. ...

• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon

These 6 countries have a total population of 34.15 million inhabitants (2003) and a combined GDP of 28.3 billion USD in 2003. This is about the same population as Tanzania, and the same GDP as Kazakhstan. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA in 1984.

Denominations

Coins in circulation word coinage Coín (a town in Malaga province in Spain) 25¢ Canadian coin A coin is usually a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is issued by a government to be used as a form of money. ...

• 1 franc
• 5 francs
• 10 francs
• 25 francs
• 50 francs
• 100 francs
• 200 francs
• 250 francs
• 500 francs

Banknotes in circulation A £20 Ulster Bank banknote. ...

• 1,000 francs
• 2,000 francs
• 5,000 francs
• 10,000 francs

Current XOF/XAF exchange rates

AUD | CAD | EUR | GBP | INR | NZD | USD

See also

• Economy of Africa
• Comorian franc
• Currencies related to the euro
• CFP franc

The economy of Africa comprises approximately 887 million people as of July 2005 living in 54 different states. ... The Comorian franc (ISO 4217 currency code KMF) is the official currency of the nation of Comoros. ... Currently there are several currencies pegged to the euro, some with fluctuation bands around a central rate and others with no fluctuations allowed around the central rate. ... The CFP franc (in French: franc Pacifique or franc CFP ; CFP stood for Colonies françaises du Pacifique (i. ...

External links

• History of the CFA franc
• Franc zone information at Banque de France (in English)
• Franc zone information at Banque de France (in French, but more extensive than the English version)
• Decision of the Council of Europe on 23 November 1998 regarding the CFA and Comorian francs (Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file)
• "For better or worse: the euro and the CFA franc", Africa Recovery, Department of Public Information, United Nations

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

West African

• Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (Central Bank of West African States)
• Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) (Official Site of the West African Economic and Monetary Union)
• "The Many Varieties of West African States Banknotes" by Weldon D. Burson

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Central African

• Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (Bank of the Central Africa States)
• Communauté Economique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale (Official Site of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa)

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Other

• Central Bank of Madagascar
• Passé et Avenir du Franc C.F.A.
• The CFA franc zone and the EMU
• U.S. Dollar to CFA Franc (BEAC) Exchange Rate - Yahoo! Finance

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...