« Return to currency calculator


Information on currency / exchange Central African CFA franc ( XAF )

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 spanning 740,000,000 acres (3,000,000 km2) in central Africa, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. 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.

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.

Current exchange rate: USD - XAF