The currency of Angola: description, history and exchange rate

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The currency of Angola is the Angolan kwanza. The monetary unit is practically unknown outside the country. It does not arouse interest among traders, and tourism in the country is still poorly developed. However, the currency is quite interesting and exotic for Russians.

Description

International code designation for AOA. Previously, 1 kwanza was divided into 100 tokens, which were called levei. But since 1999, when the financial reform was carried out, the levei was replaced by 100 centimos.

Now in the country there are metal coins in denominations of 10 and 50 centimos, as well as 1, 5, 10 and 20 kwanzas. Banknotes are presented in denominations from 1 to 5000 AOA.

The National Bank of Angola is in charge of issuing banknotes in the country.

History

The current currency of Angola was put into circulation in 1977. It marked the country's attainment of sovereignty in 1975. Previously, for several centuries, Angola was a colony of Portugal.

The former currency of Angola was called the Angolan escudo and was established on the territory of the state by the metropolis. The first kwanza, which had the abbreviation AOK, was used until 1990. The updated version received the code value AON.

Modern version of AOA Kwanza introduced in 1999. Permanent monetary reforms are associated with a weak economy, high inflation rates and large state debts.

Currency, exchange and cashless payments

The cost of the national currency of Angola, as of October 8, 2018, is approximately 0.22 rubles. That is, one Russian ruble contains about 4.5 AOA. For one dollar you can get almost three hundred Angolan kwanzas.

Foreign money can be exchanged at the airport, large hotels, banks and other financial institutions. It is better to have American dollars with you. If desired, you can exchange euros or South African rand. It is almost impossible to change other currencies.

Cashless payment is possible only in large restaurants, hotels and shops. It is also extremely difficult to withdraw money from an ATM, since it can only be found in large tourist cities. But even here there are not very many of them. Therefore, it is recommended to prepare enough cash in advance to be able to pay anytime and anywhere.

Angola's popularity as a tourist destination has been growing steadily in recent years. The country's authorities and entrepreneurs have realized the prospects of this industry, so they are actively investing in it. With the growing interest of foreigners in the country, the demand for local currency also increases.