Angolan kwanza

This article is about the currency kwanza. For the river in Angola, see Cuanza River. For the American holiday, see Kwanzaa.

Angolan kwanza
ISO 4217 code	AOA
Central bank	Banco Nacional de Angola
Website	www.bna.ao
User(s)	Angola
Inflation	13.1%
Source	The World Factbook, 2009 est.
Subunit
1/100	cêntimo
Symbol	Kz
Coins
Freq. used	1, 2, 5, 10 kwanzas
Rarely used	10, 50 cêntimos
Banknotes	10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 kwanzas

The kwanza (sign: Kz; ISO 4217 code: AOA) is the currency of Angola. Four different currencies using the name kwanza have circulated since 1977.

Start date	Finish date	ISO 4217	Currency unit	Subunit	Notes
01977-01-08January 8, 1977	01990-09-24September 24, 1990	AOK	Kwanza	100 lwei	1 kwanza = 1 Angolan escudo
01990-09-25September 25, 1990	01995-06-30June 30, 1995	AON	Novo kwanza	none	1 novo kwanza = 1 kwanza
01995-07-01July 1, 1995	01999-11-30November 30, 1999	AOR	Kwanza reajustado	none	1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas
01999-12-01December 1, 1999	02013-05-1717 May 2013present	AOA	Kwanza	100 cêntimos	1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

First Kwanza, AOK, 1977-1990

Kwanza was introduced following Angolan independence. It replaced the escudo at par and was subdivided into 100 lwei. Its ISO 4217 code was AOK.

Coins

The first coins issued for the kwanza did not bear any date, although all bore the date of independence, 27 December 1975. They were in denominations of 10, 20, 50 lwei, 1, 2, 5 and 10 kwanzas. 20 kwanza coins were added in 1978. The last date to appear on coins was 1979.

Banknotes

On 8 January 1977, banknotes dated 11 DE NOVEMBRO DE 1976 were introduced by the Banco Nacional de Angola (National Bank of Angola) in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 kwanzas. The 20 kwanza note was replaced by a coin in 1978.

Novo kwanza, AON, 1990-1995

In 1990, the novo kwanza was introduced, with the ISO 4217 code AON. Although it replaced the kwanza at par, Angolans could only exchange 5% of all old notes for new ones; they had to exchange the rest for government securities. This kwanza suffered from high inflation.

Banknotes

This currency was only issued in note form. The first banknotes issued in 1990 were overprints on earlier notes in denominations of 50 (report not confirmed), 500, 1000 and 5000 novos kwanzas (5000 novos kwanzas overprinted on 100 kwanzas). In 1991, the word novo was dropped from the issue of regular banknotes for 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 kwanzas.

Kwanza reajustado, AOR, 1995-1999

In 1995, the kwanza reajustado replaced the previous kwanza at a rate of 1,000 to 1. It had the ISO 4217 code AOR. The inflation continued and no coins were issued.

Banknotes

Despite the exchange rate, such was the low value of the old kwanza that the smallest denomination of banknote issued was 1000 kwanza reajustado. Other notes were 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 kwanzas.

Second kwanza, AOA, 1999-

In 1999, a second currency was introduced simply called the kwanza. Unlike the first kwanza, this currency is subdivided into 100 cêntimos. The introduction of this currency saw the reintroduction of coins. Although it suffered early on from high inflation, its value has now stabilized.

Coins

Coins
Value	Technical parameters			Description			Date of first minting
	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
10 cêntimos	15 mm	1.5 g	Copper plated steel	Reeded	State title, Coat of arms, year	Value	1999
50 cêntimos	18 mm	3 g
1 kwanza	21 mm	4.5 g	Cupronickel	Reeded	State title, Coat of arms, year	Value	1999
2 kwanzas	22 mm	5 g
5 kwanzas	26 mm	7 g
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Coins in 10 and 50 cêntimo denominations are no longer used, as the values are minuscule.

Banknotes

Banknotes
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description			Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
[1]	[2]	1 kwanza	Pink	Agostinho Neto, José Eduardo dos Santos	Women picking cotton	Sculpture	October 1999	1 December 1999
[3]	[4]	5 kwanzas	Light green		Serra da Leba
[5]	[6]	10 kwanzas	Red		2 antelopes
[7]	[8]	50 kwanzas	Lime		Off-shore oil rig
[9]	[10]	100 kwanzas	Yellow-brown		Banco Nacional de Angola
[11]	[12]	200 kwanzas	Lilac		Aerial view of Luanda		November 2003	19 July 2004
[13]	[14]	500 kwanzas	Orange		Cotton
[15]	[16]	1000 kwanzas	Rose		Coffee plantation
[17]	[18]	2000 kwanzas	Lime		Sea shore			2006

The banknotes are quite similar in design, with only different colours separating them.

The Banco National de Angola issued a new series of kwanza banknotes on March 22, 2013 in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 kwanzas. The other denominations (1000, 2000 and 5000 kwanzas) are planned to be issued on May 31, 2013.

Historical exchange rates

This table shows the historical value of one U.S. dollar in Angola kwanzas:

Date	Currency code and Name	Rate
1994	AON novo kwanza	34,200 to 850,000
January to June 1995	AON novo kwanza	1,000,000 to 2,100,000
1 July 1995		1000 AON -> 1 AOR (kwanza reajustado)
July to December 1995	AOR kwanza reajustado	2,100 to 13,000
1996	AOR kwanza reajustado	13,000 to 210,000 to 194,000
1997	AOR kwanza reajustado	194,000 to 253,300
1998	AOR kwanza reajustado	253,300 to 594,000
1999	AOR kwanza reajustado	594,000 to 5,400,000
1 December 1999		1 million AOR -> 1 AOA (kwanza)
2000	AOA kwanza	5.4 to 16.3
2001	AOA kwanza	16.3 to 31.12
2002	AOA kwanza	31.12 to 57.47
2003	AOA kwanza	57.47 to 86.88 to 78.61
2004	AOA kwanza	78.61 to 85.90
2005	AOA kwanza	85.90 to 88.97 to 80.58
2006	AOA kwanza	80.58 to 89.01 to 80.57
2007	AOA kwanza	80.57 to 74.78 to 75.16
2008	AOA kwanza	75.16 to -

For several times in the 1990s, Angola's currency was the least valued currency unit in the world.

Current AOA exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From XE.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From OANDA.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD INR CNY KRW

See also

• Economy of Angola

External links

• Coin Types from Angola Lists, pictures, and values of Angola coin types
• Collection of coin - Angola
• New Angola coin family for 2013

Kwanza

Preceded by: Angolan escudo Reason: independence (in 1975) Ratio: at par

Currency of Angola 1977 – 1990

Succeeded by: Novo kwanza Reason: government seized part of the money supply Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)

Novo kwanza

Preceded by: Kwanza Reason: government seized part of the money supply Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)

Currency of Angola 1990 – 1995

Succeeded by: Kwanza reajustado Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas

Kwanza reajustado

Preceded by: Novo kwanza Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas

Currency of Angola 1995 – 1999

Succeeded by: Kwanza Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

Kwanza

Preceded by: Kwanza reajustado Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

Currency of Angola 1999 –

Succeeded by: Current