Central African CFA franc
franc CFA BEAC (French) | |||||
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ISO 4217 | |||||
Code | XAF (numeric: 950) | ||||
Unit | |||||
Symbol | FCFA | ||||
Nickname | céfa, franc | ||||
Denominations | |||||
Subunit | |||||
1/100 | centime | ||||
Symbol | |||||
centime | c | ||||
Banknotes | 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs | ||||
Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 100, 500 francs | ||||
Demographics | |||||
User(s) | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
Issuance | |||||
Central bank | Bank of Central African States | ||||
Website | www | ||||
Valuation | |||||
Pegged with | 1 euro = CFA 655.957 |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/CFA_Franc_map.svg/350px-CFA_Franc_map.svg.png)
West African CFA franc
Central African CFA franc
The Central African CFA franc (French: franc CFA or simply franc, ISO 4217 code: XAF) 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 countries have a combined population of 48.0 million people (as of 2014),[1] and a combined GDP of US$88.2 billion (as of 2012).[2]
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, "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the members of the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale, "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"). The franc is nominally subdivided into 100 centimes but no centime denominations have been issued.
In several west African states, the West African CFA franc, which is of equal value to the Central African CFA franc, is in circulation.
History
The CFA franc was introduced to the French colonies in Equatorial Africa in 1945, replacing the French Equatorial African franc. The Equatorial African colonies and territories using the CFA franc were Chad, French Cameroun, French Congo, Gabon and Ubangi-Shari.
The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence. Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA franc in 1984, replacing the Equatorial Guinean ekwele at a rate of 1 franc = 4 bipkwele.
Coins
In 1948, coins were issued for use in all the colonies (not including French Cameroun) in denominations of 1 and 2 francs. This was the last issue of a 2-franc coin for nearly 50 years. In 1958, 5-, 10- and 25-franc coins were added, which were also used in French Cameroun. These bore the name Cameroun in addition to États de l'Afrique Equatoriale. In 1961, nickel 50-franc coins were introduced, followed by nickel 100-franc pieces in 1966.
From 1971, the 100-franc coins were issued by the individual states. In 1976, cupro-nickel 500-franc coins were introduced. From 1985, these were also issued by the individual states. That year also saw the introduction of 5-, 25-, 50- and 100-franc coins for use in Equatorial Guinea.
In 1996, centralized production of the 100-franc coin was resumed, with a single 500-franc coin reintroduced in 1998. In 2006, a steel 2-franc coin was introduced.
Banknotes
When the CFA franc was introduced, notes issued by the Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer ("Central Cashier of Overseas France") in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 francs were in circulation. In 1947, a new series of notes was introduced for use in French Equatorial Africa, although the notes did not bear the name of the colonies. Notes were issued in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 francs, followed by those of 500 francs in 1949, and 5000 francs in 1952. In 1957, the Institut d'Emission de l'Afrique Equatoriale Française et du Cameroun took over paper money production, issuing all of the earlier denominations except for the 5000-franc bill.
In 1961, the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique Equatoriale et du Cameroun took over banknote production, with notes below 100 francs ceasing to be issued. The name of the bank changed to Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique Equatoriale in 1963. 10,000-franc notes were introduced in 1968, whilst the 100-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1971.
In 1975, the bank name changed again to the Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale and the individual states began issuing notes in their own names, in denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 francs. This practice ended in 1993. Since then, the banknotes have been issued with only a letter prominently displayed to distinguish between the issues of the different states. 2000 franc notes were introduced in 1993.
Banknotes of the Central African CFA franc | ||||
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Image | Value | Obverse | Reverse | Remark |
[3] | 500 francs | Zebus; man | Antelope | C (Republic of the Congo; 1993-2002 issue); E (Cameroon; 1993-2002 issue); F (Central African Republic; 1993-2000 issue); L (Gabon; 1993-2002 issue); N (Equatorial Guinea; 1993-2000 issue); P (Chad; 1993-2000 issue) |
[4] | 500 francs | Classroom scene | Woman; huts | T (Republic of the Congo; 2002 issue); U (Cameroon; 2002 issue); M (Central African Republic; 2002 issue); A (Gabon; 2002 issue); F (Equatorial Guinea; 2002 issue); C (Chad; 2002 issue) |
[5] | 1000 francs | Coffee harvest; man | Raft | C (Republic of the Congo; 1993-2002 issue); E (Cameroon; 1993-2002 issue); F (Central African Republic; 1993-2000 issue); L (Gabon; 1993-2002 issue); N (Equatorial Guinea; 1993-2000 issue); P (Chad; 1993-2000 issue) |
[6] | 1000 francs | Logging; man | Fieldwork | T (Republic of the Congo; 2002 issue); U (Cameroon; 2002 issue); M (Central African Republic; 2002 issue); A (Gabon; 2002 issue); F (Equatorial Guinea; 2002 issue); C (Chad; 2002 issue) |
[7] | 2000 francs | Tropical fruit; woman | Harbor scene | C (Republic of the Congo; 1993-2002 issue); E (Cameroon; 1993-2002 issue); F (Central African Republic; 1994-2002 issue); L (Gabon; 1993-2002 issue); N (Equatorial Guinea; 1993-2000 issue); P (Chad; 1993-2000 issue) |
[8] | 2000 francs | Hydroelectric dam; girl | Mining scene | T (Republic of the Congo; 2002 issue); U (Cameroon; 2002 issue); M (Central African Republic; 2002 issue); A (Gabon; 2002 issue); F (Equatorial Guinea; 2002 issue); C (Chad; 2002 issue) |
[9] | 5000 francs | Oil rig workers | Cotton harvest | C (Republic of the Congo; 1994-2000 issue); E (Cameroon; 1994-2002 issue); F (Central African Republic; 1994-1999 issue); L (Gabon; 1994-2000 issue); N (Equatorial Guinea; 1994-2000 issue); P (Chad; 1994-2000 issue) |
[10] | 5000 francs | Port; man | Oil pumping station | T (Republic of the Congo; 2002 issue); U (Cameroon; 2002 issue); M (Central African Republic; 2002 issue); A (Gabon; 2002 issue); F (Equatorial Guinea; 2002 issue); C (Chad; 2002 issue) |
[11] | 10,000 francs | Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (Bank of the Central African States) building (Yaoundé, Cameroun), woman | Fishery | C (Republic of the Congo; 1994-2002 issue); E (Cameroon; 1994-2002 issue); F (Central African Republic; 1994-2000 issue); L (Gabon; 1994-2002 issue); N (Equatorial Guinea; 1994-2000 issue); P (Chad; 1994-2000 issue) |
[12] | 10,000 francs | Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale building (Bank of the Central African States) (Yaoundé, Cameroun), woman | Transport and communication | T (Republic of the Congo; 2002 issue); U (Cameroon; 2002 issue); M (Central African Republic; 2002 issue); A (Gabon; 2002); F (Equatorial Guinea; 2002 issue); C (Chad; 2002 issue) |
Current XAF exchange rates | |
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From Google Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
From Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
From XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
From OANDA: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
See also
- African Central Bank
- African and Malagasy Union (AMU)
- Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU)
- Economic Community of West African States
- French Equatorial African franc
- West African CFA franc
General:
- Monetary union
- Economy of Cameroon
- Economy of the Central African Republic
- Economy of Chad
- Economy of the Republic of the Congo
- Economy of Equatorial Guinea
- Economy of Gabon
References
- ^ Population Reference Bureau. "2014 World Population Data Sheet" (PDF). Prb.org. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
- ^ World Bank. "Gross domestic product 2012" (PDF). Databank.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
- ^ "P-101C". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-106T". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-202E". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-207U". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-203E". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-208U". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-204E". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-209U". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-205E". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "P-210U". banknote.ws. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Template:Fr icon Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale (Official Site of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa)
- Central African CFA franc Banknotes
Preceded by: French Equatorial African franc |
Currency of French Equatorial Africa (Chad, Ubangi-Shari, French Congo, Gabon, French Cameroun) 1945 – 1960 |
Currency of Chad 1960 – |
Succeeded by: Current | ||
Currency of Central African Republic 1960 – 1965 Note: formerly Ubangi-Shari |
Currency of Central African Empire 1965 – 1979 |
Currency of Central African Republic 1979 – | |||
Currency of Republic of the Congo 1960 – 1970 Note: formerly French Congo |
Currency of People's Republic of the Congo 1970 – 1992 |
Currency of Republic of the Congo 1992 – | |||
Currency of Gabon 1960 – | |||||
Currency of Republic of Cameroon 1 January 1960 – 1 October 1961 |
Currency of Federal Republic of Cameroon 1 October 1961 – | ||||
Preceded by: British West African pound Note: Southern Cameroons joins independent Cameroon | |||||
Preceded by: Equatorial Guinean ekwele Ratio: 1 CFA franc = 4 bipkwele |
Currency of Equatorial Guinea 1984 – |