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The Sierra Leonean Leone has concluded the year as the second weakest currency on the African continent, trading at nearly 21,000 to the United States dollar, according to year-end financial data released this week.
In a ranking of the ten African countries with the weakest currencies at the close of 2025, Sierra Leone placed second only to São Tomé & Príncipe. According to data cited from the Forbes Calculator, the Leone ended the year trading at 20,970 per US dollar.
This valuation places the Leone in a significantly more precarious position than regional peers.While São Tomé & Príncipe’s Dobra traded at 22,282 to the dollar, the gap between Sierra Leone and the third-ranked country, Guinea, is stark. The Guinean Franc ended the year trading at 8,741 to the dollar—less than half the exchange rate of the Leone.
For nations like Sierra Leone, such a depressed exchange rate frequently exacerbates daily hardships for citizens. The report notes that weak currencies tend to “increase inflation, deepen poverty, discourage investment, and impair a state’s ability to withstand shocks.”
While the report highlighted specific crises in South Sudan and Ethiopia regarding rapid depreciation and oil export reliance, the absolute value of the Leone against the dollar remains among the lowest on the continent. This devaluation makes imports significantly more expensive, hampering local businesses that struggle to plan or grow when operating costs fluctuate wildly.
The data reveals a challenging financial landscape for several East and West African nations. Following Sierra Leone, the top five weakest currencies were rounded out by the Guinean Franc, the Malagasy Ariary, and the Ugandan Shilling.
Top 5 Weakest African Currencies (End of 2025):
São Tomé & Príncipe Dobra: 22,282 per USD
Sierra Leonean Leone: 20,970 per USD
Guinean Franc: 8,741 per USD
Malagasy Ariary: 4,577 per USD
Ugandan Shilling: 3,610 per USD
As the country moves into 2026, the data suggests that stabilizing the Leone will be critical to restoring investor confidence and curbing inflationary pressures that affect the average Sierra Leonean household.
