What is the Cheapest Currency in the World? Understand the 2025 Ranking

In 2025, monetary devaluation reached critical levels in various global economies. But which currency is the cheapest facing this scenario? The answer goes far beyond numbers: it reflects economic crises, political instability, and loss of confidence in local financial systems. While Brazil recorded a 21.52% depreciation of the real during 2024—the worst among major currencies—other countries experience much more severe realities, where their monetary units have lost 80%, 90%, or even more of their value.

To put it into perspective: when a tourist withdraws money in certain Asian or African countries, they receive bundles of notes that look like they’re from a board game. With R$ 100, it’s possible to become a “millionaire” in Iranian rials or Syrian pounds. This apparent abundance hides a bitter truth: entire populations see their economies collapse in real time, losing purchasing power and capacity to import essential goods.

Why Currencies Crash: The Factors Behind Monetary Fragility

No currency falls by chance. There is always a combination of structural factors that erode confidence and destroy value:

Uncontrolled hyperinflation: When prices double monthly—not annually like in Brazil—populations abandon the local currency. Savings evaporate in weeks. Salaries become worthless paper the day after they are received.

Chronic political instability: Coups, civil wars, lack of legal security. Without institutional stability, external investors flee, and domestic capital seeks refuge in dollars, euros, or even cryptocurrencies.

International economic sanctions: When a nation is isolated from the global financial system, it loses access to trade and markets. Its currency becomes colorful paper with no utility for international transactions.

Insufficient foreign exchange reserves: A Central Bank without enough dollars cannot defend the currency during crises. It’s like an individual with an empty checking account trying to maintain financial prestige.

Persistent capital outflow: When citizens prefer to keep money informally in foreign currencies—the classic “under the mattress”—it signals a collapse of confidence in the national currency. Even conventional safe investments cannot compete with distrust.

The 10 Currencies Truly at the Bottom of the Devaluation Ranking

What is the cheapest currency currently? Which should you follow? Here is the list of the monetary units that suffered the most devaluation in 2025:

1. Lebanese Pound (LBP) – The Most Critical Case

Parallel rate: over 90,000 LBP per 1 USD

The most extreme devaluation in the world. Officially, it should be 1,507.5 pounds per dollar, but this phantom rate does not exist outside official papers. Since 2020, the Lebanese population has been living in a parallel economy: banks limit withdrawals, shops accept only dollars, ride-hailing drivers demand foreign currency payments. The Lebanese pound has become so worthless that R$ 3.00 equals the bundle of notes that looked like it came from a financial strategy game.

2. Iranian Rial (IRR) – Victim of International Sanctions

Exchange rate: 1 real = 7,751.94 rials

U.S. economic sanctions turned the rial into a symbol of financial isolation. With R$ 100, anyone can become a “millionaire” in rials—an irony that masks the brutal reality. Multiple parallel rates coexist on the streets, while the government artificially tries to control the exchange rate. As a result, the Iranian population, especially young people, has massively migrated to Bitcoin and Ethereum as more reliable stores of value than the state currency.

3. Vietnamese Dong (VND) – Structural Weakness Despite Growth

Exchange rate: approximately 25,000 VND per dollar

A paradoxical case: Vietnam’s economy is growing, but its dong remains historically weak due to monetary policy decisions. ATM withdrawals produce bundles worthy of a heist series. For tourists, it’s excellent—US$ 50 sustains weeks of luxurious consumption. For Vietnamese, it means expensive imports and limited international purchasing power.

4. Laotian Kip (LAK) – Small Economy, Small Currency

Exchange rate: about 21,000 LAK per dollar

Laos faces a reduced economy, dependence on imports, and chronic inflation. The kip is so weak that merchants at the Thai border prefer Thai baht. The currency reflects the country’s macroeconomic fragility.

5. Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) – Southeast Asia’s Largest Economy with a Weak Currency

Exchange rate: approximately 15,500 IDR per dollar

Indonesia is a regional power, but the rupiah has never strengthened. Since 1998, it remains among the weakest globally—a structural pattern for two decades. For Brazilian travelers, Bali offers an extremely low cost of living: R$ 200 daily provides a comfortable life.

6. Uzbek Sum (UZS) – Ongoing Economic Reforms

Exchange rate: about 12,800 UZS per dollar

Uzbekistan has recently implemented important reforms, but the sum still bears the weight of economies closed for decades. Efforts to attract investments have not yet reversed the structural currency weakness.

7. Guinean Franc (GNF) – Natural Wealth, Weak Currency

Exchange rate: approximately 8,600 GNF per dollar

Guinea has abundant gold and bauxite, but political instability and corruption prevent mineral wealth from translating into a strong currency. A classic disconnect between natural resources and monetary value.

8. Paraguayan Guarani (PYG) – The Neighbor with a Weak Exchange Rate

Exchange rate: about 7.42 PYG per real

The Paraguayan economy is relatively stable, but the guarani remains traditionally weak. For Brazilians, it means Ciudad del Este continues to be a paradise for cheap shopping, attracting ongoing tourism.

9. Malagasy Ariary (MGA) – Poverty Reflected in the Currency

Exchange rate: approximately 4,500 MGA per dollar

Madagascar is one of the poorest nations on the planet, and the ariary reflects this reality unfiltered. Imports become prohibitive, and the population’s international purchasing power is practically zero.

10. Burundian Franc (BIF) – Extreme Political Instability

Exchange rate: about 550.06 BIF per real

What is the cheapest currency in terms of the volume of paper needed for transactions? The Burundian franc leads absurdly. For significant purchases, people literally carry bags of money. Chronic political instability directly reflects in monetary fragility.

What These Devaluations Mean in Practice

Devaluation is not just a number on the screen. It’s populations unable to import medicines, international education becoming inaccessible, savings evaporating, and purchasing power disappearing.

For Brazilian investors, the lessons are clear:

First: Cheap currencies may seem like speculative opportunities but represent economies in deep crisis. The risk is proportional to the apparent opportunity.

Second: Destinations with favorable exchange rates offer real advantages for tourism. Consumers arrive with real or dollars and dramatically multiply their purchasing power.

Third: Monitoring monetary devaluations is a practical exercise in macroeconomics. It teaches how inflation, corruption, political instability, and capital flight destroy economies in real time.

Conclusion: Strong Currencies as Protection

The ranking of the cheapest currencies in 2025 is not curiosity; it’s a warning. It demonstrates how confidence, stability, and good governance determine the value of a monetary unit. A strong real, euro, or dollar is no accident—it’s the result of solid institutions, inflation control, and legal security.

To protect wealth and increase prosperity, the strategy remains consistent: understand the factors that strengthen or weaken currencies, diversify across assets that transcend borders, and stay constantly vigilant about global economic cycles. Financial education about monetary devaluation is the best investment someone can make for their economic future.