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Top 10 African countries where it is easiest to get U.S. Dollars

Access to the US dollar can be beneficial to the fiscal stability and economic prosperity, of numerous African states.

The US dollar is the world’s major reserve currency, with significant use in international trade, investment, and foreign debt payments.

An African country with easy access to US currency has various advantages, including increased economic stability, greater trade links, and investor trust.

However, limiting access to the dollar can result in currency devaluation, inflation, and financial hardship.

Many African countries depend on imports for necessities like refined petroleum, equipment, and medications.

Easy access to dollars allows businesses to pay for these imports without excessive costs or delays.

Additionally, it makes it easier for exporters to settle disputes with foreign businesses, which promotes economic growth and trade expansion.

When an African country struggles to get dollars, its indigenous currency stands the risk of depreciating, which in turn makes imports more expensive. This situation spurs higher inflation rates, reducing citizens’ buying power.

Easy access to dollars helps to stabilize prices by assuring a consistent flow of essential products into any given country at affordable costs.

According to the Absa Africa Financial Markets Index 2024, foreign investors may be discouraged from participating in African interbank FX markets due to insufficient liquidity and conversion risk between local and hard currencies.

“This issue can be compounded by inconsistent price discovery due to limited exchange rate flexibility,” the report states.

The report ranks the accessibility, transparency, and openness of financial markets across 29 African countries, and for this, it considers 6 primary indicators, one of which is access to foreign exchange.

With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the easiest access to the dollars, as per the report’s index.

Rank Country Access to foreign exchange index

1.

South Africa

87

2.

Madagascar

79

3.

Mauritius

76

4.

Kenya

70

5.

Botswana

68

6.

Egypt

67

7.

Uganda

67

8.

Morocco

65

9.

Cape Verde

65

10.

Tanzania

60

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