The Most Devalued Currencies in the World: The Phenomenon of 2025 and 2026

When looking at the global economic landscape in recent years, it becomes clear that some currencies have not only weakened—they have completely collapsed. The economic reality in many countries shows a scenario where wages lose purchasing power in days, not months. In 2025-2026, while Brazil faced its own exchange rate challenges with the dollar fluctuating, many other countries around the world experienced even more critical situations. The Brazilian real, which ended 2024 as the worst-performing major currency with a devaluation of 21.52%, remains only in the “waiting line” for true monetary catastrophes. This article explores the world’s most devalued currencies, revealing stories of nations where the currency has become almost symbolic and understanding what truly makes them so weak.

The Pillars of Monetary Fragility: Why Some Currencies Crash

A currency doesn’t devalue by chance—it is always the result of a perfect economic storm. Understanding these factors is essential to grasp why certain countries end up with currencies that barely function as a store of value.

Uncontrolled inflation and hyperinflation: When prices of goods and services double every month, the population faces a terrifying reality. While Brazil experiences inflation around 5% per year (according to 2025 reports), some countries face scenarios where purchasing power disappears within weeks. This phenomenon, known as hyperinflation, not only erodes savings—it completely eliminates them.

Chronic political instability: Coups, internal conflicts, frequently changing governments. The lack of legal security turns investors into fugitives. When economic policies lack predictability, capital has no choice but to leave the country.

International economic sanctions: Financial isolation condemns a currency. When the international community shuts the doors to a country, cutting off access to the global banking system, the local currency loses its main tool of value: the ability to be used in global trade.

Insufficient foreign exchange reserves: A Central Bank without enough dollars to defend its currency is like a soldier without ammunition. The situation worsens when even gold reserves, traditionally the last redoubt of value, are compromised.

Capital flight and internal distrust: When even citizens prefer to store foreign currency informally—famous “under the mattress”—instead of trusting the national currency, you know the situation has transcended the economic crisis and entered the realm of structural distrust.

The Ten Currencies That Summarize Global Monetary Collapse

Based on updated exchange rate data and international economic analyses, here are the currencies currently facing the most severe challenges and representing the most extreme cases of devaluation:

1. Lebanese Pound (LBP) — The Champion of Devaluation

The Lebanese Pound is not just the most devalued currency in the world—it’s a symbol of how an entire nation’s monetary system can collapse. The official rate of 1,507.5 pounds per dollar exists only on paper. In reality, especially in the black market where real transactions occur, you need more than 90,000 pounds to buy one US dollar.

The situation in Beirut is so critical that banks strictly limit withdrawals, and an increasing number of businesses refuse to accept the local currency. Reports of ride-share drivers demanding payment exclusively in dollars highlight how monetary collapse penetrates even the simplest daily transactions. With 1 million LBP roughly equivalent to R$ 61, the currency has effectively become a worthless piece of paper.

2. Iranian Rial (IRR) — Victim of Economic Sanctions

The Iranian Rial exemplifies how international sanctions can undermine a currency. Transformed into nearly worthless by financial isolation, the rial has become more of a curiosity than a means of exchange. With R$ 100, a visitor is technically “a millionaire” in rials—a grim backdrop for those living in the country.

Particularly interesting is the population’s response: massive migrations to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum, by their decentralized nature and resistance to state controls, have become more reliable stores of value than the national currency for many Iranians. This phenomenon signals a structural shift in how populations in severe crises seek monetary alternatives.

3. Vietnamese Dong (VND) — Long-standing Structural Weakness

Unlike many countries in economic collapse, Vietnam has a steadily growing economy. However, the dong remains historically weak—deliberately maintained by expansionist monetary policies for decades. The currency trades at about 25,000 VND per dollar.

This is especially visible in everyday behavior: withdrawing 1 million dong from an ATM results in stacks of banknotes that look stolen from a sci-fi movie. For foreigners with foreign currency, it creates a temporary illusion of wealth. For Vietnamese, it means imports are prohibitively expensive and their international purchasing power is severely limited.

4. Lao Kip (LAK) — Fragile Peripheral Economy

Laos faces a challenging economic equation: a small economy, heavy dependence on imports, and persistent inflation. The Lao kip, trading around 21,000 LAK per dollar, reflects this vulnerability.

This is especially evident at borders: Lao traders often prefer to receive Thai baht instead of the local currency. This revealing practice shows how, even internally, distrust in the local currency influences daily trade relations.

5. Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) — Chronic Weakness of a Regional Power

Despite being Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia’s currency has never established strength. The rupiah, at about 15,500 IDR per dollar, remains among the weakest in the world—a condition persisting since the 1998 crisis.

Curiously, this weakness creates an opportunity for Brazilian tourists: Bali and other islands become extraordinarily affordable. With R$ 200 per day, travelers can live comfortably. But for Indonesians, it means high import costs and limitations on wealth accumulation in the national currency.

6. Uzbek Sum (UZS) — Insufficient Reforms to Stabilize

Uzbekistan has implemented significant economic reforms in recent years, aiming to modernize its financial system. However, the sum, at around 12,800 UZS per dollar, still reflects decades of a closed-market economy and relative isolation from the global financial system.

While the country seeks to attract foreign investment, the currency remains weak—a legacy of its Soviet past that has not yet been fully overcome through reformist monetary policies.

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

Guinea presents a classic paradox: abundant natural resources but collapsed currency. The country has significant reserves of gold and bauxite, resources that should support a robust economy. Yet, chronic political instability and widespread corruption prevent this wealth from translating into strong institutions and a valued currency.

The Guinean Franc, around 8,600 GNF per dollar, exemplifies how natural wealth alone is insufficient when institutional governance fails.

8. Paraguayan Guarani (PYG) — Neighbor’s Fragility

Our South American neighbor, Paraguay, maintains a relatively stable political economy. However, the Guarani remains chronically weak, trading at about 7.42 PYG per Brazilian real.

For Brazilians, this weakness perpetuates Ciudad del Este as a shopping paradise—a dynamic that has persisted for decades. The exchange rate advantage benefits those arriving with stronger currencies, creating predictable shopping tourism cycles.

9. Malagasy Ariary (MGA) — Poverty Reflected in Currency

Madagascar, one of the most challenged economies globally, has an Ariary that reflects this reality. Trading at approximately 4,500 MGA per dollar, the currency is a symptom, not a cause, of extreme poverty.

Imports are luxuries for the general population, and international purchasing power is virtually nonexistent. For most Malagasy, foreign currency is as distant and irrelevant as a concept.

10. Burundian Franc (BIF) — Extreme Fragility Visible on the Streets

Closing the list of the most devalued currencies, the Burundian Franc exemplifies a monetary collapse so severe that significant transactions literally require people to carry bags of physical cash. The rate of 550.06 BIF per Brazilian real illustrates the magnitude of the problem.

Continued political instability—including a history of internal conflicts—manifests directly in the collapse of confidence in the national currency. The result is a population that often operates through barter or uses foreign currencies de facto.