CFA

The eight autonomous West African nations that make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union utilize the West African CFA franc as their unit of exchange: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. In 2014, the population of these eight nations as a whole was 105.7 million, and their total GDP was $128.6 billion. CFA is an abbreviation for "Communaute Financiere Africaine." The Central Bank of West African States, which is based in Dakar, Senegal, issues the money for the UEMOA members. Although the franc is officially divisible into 100 centimes, no centime-denominated coins or banknotes have ever been produced. Since its founding in 1945, the Bank of France has produced CFA franc banknotes and coins at Chamalieres. In circulation in a number of central African republics, the CFA franc of Central Africa has parity with the CFA franc of West Africa. Both currencies are frequently referred to as the CFA franc. It was announced in December 2019 that the West African CFA franc would undergo reform, which would reduce France's influence over the currency and rename it the eco. The nations of UEMOA are also members of the larger Economic Community of West African States, which wants to launch its own common currency for its members by 2027 and has legally chosen the moniker "eco".