Today's African black market exchange rates
Many African currencies trade at two prices: the official exchange rate set or managed by the central bank, and the parallel (“black market”) rate at which dollars actually change hands. This page measures the second one, every hour, for 24 currencies across 39 countries: sampled from live order books on public P2P markets, filtered for bait offers, and published next to the official rate so the gap is visible. Measured, not estimated.
| Currency | Buy | Sell | Official | Premium | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇲🇺MURMauritian Rupee | 48.2004 | — | 47.5043 | +1.5% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇲🇦MADMoroccan Dirham | 10.2185 | 10.3346 | 9.8155 | +4.7% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇿🇦ZARSouth African Rand | 16.5152 | 17.8251 | 16.5235 | +3.9% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇪🇬EGPEgyptian Pound | 53.6750 | 53.7431 | 53.4645 | +0.5% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇲🇷MRUMauritanian Ouguiya | 43.6474 | 43.8791 | 40.3099 | +8.6% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇨🇲XAFCentral African CFA Franc | 608.56 | 618.79 | 584.89 | +4.9% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇲🇿MZNMozambican Metical | 74.6202 | 74.9443 | 63.9100 | +17.0% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇹🇿TZSTanzanian Shilling | 2,583 | 2,669 | 2,633 | -0.3% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇧🇯XOFWest African CFA Franc | 604.04 | 607.62 | 584.89 | +3.6% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇰🇪KESKenyan Shilling | 129.40 | 129.90 | 129.75 | -0.1% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇬🇳GNFGuinean Franc | 9,944 | 10,138 | 8,799 | +14.1% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇳🇬NGNNigerian Naira | 1,357 | 1,363 | 1,331 | +2.2% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇧🇼BWPBotswana Pula | 13.8795 | 15.6397 | 13.9068 | +6.1% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇬🇭GHSGhanaian Cedi | 11.8383 | 12.0760 | 11.6650 | +2.5% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇬🇲GMDGambian Dalasi | 76.0274 | 77.4265 | 74.5730 | +2.9% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇺🇬UGXUgandan Shilling | 4,028 | 4,150 | 4,000 | +2.2% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇱🇷LRDLiberian Dollar | 170.42 | 184.10 | 170.78 | +3.8% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇩🇿DZDAlgerian Dinar | 251.95 | 255.85 | 134.57 | +88.7% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇷🇼RWFRwandan Franc | 1,448 | 1,494 | 1,478 | -0.5% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇧🇮BIFBurundian Franc | 6,140 | 6,146 | 3,001 | +104.7% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇲🇬MGAMalagasy Ariary | 4,404 | 4,572 | 4,520 | -0.7% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇿🇲ZMWZambian Kwacha | 20.0542 | 20.8598 | 20.0453 | +2.1% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇹🇳TNDTunisian Dinar | 3.2332 | 3.4062 | 3.0080 | +10.4% | 4h 50m ago |
| 🇨🇩CDFCongolese Franc | 2,092 | 2,500 | 2,311 | -0.6% | 4h 50m ago |
Today's picture
- The largest measured gap today is the Burundian Franc, trading about +104.7% above its official rate.
- 7 of the 24 tracked currencies currently trade 5% or more above their official rate; the rest track it closely.
- The Algerian Dinar trades at +88.7% above official.
- The Mozambican Metical trades at +17.0% above official.
- The Guinean Franc trades at +14.1% above official.
What is the parallel market rate?
The parallel market rate, often called the black market rate or the “aboki” rate in Nigeria, is the price at which a currency actually trades between private buyers and sellers, outside official banking channels. It exists because in many countries dollars are rationed at the official price: banks cannot supply everyone who wants them, so importers, travellers and savers meet at a market price instead. The parallel rate is usually the better guide to what a currency is really worth day to day.
Why the two rates differ
The gap, called the parallel premium, widens when a central bank holds its official rate below what the market will pay, and narrows when a currency is allowed to float. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda float freely, so their premiums today sit near zero. Countries that manage their exchange rate more tightly show double-digit premiums: Algeria, Burundi, Mozambique, Guinea, Tunisia. The premium is one of the most direct, real-time indicators of dollar scarcity in an economy.
The two CFA francs do not trade the same
West Africa's CFA franc (XOF, used in 8 countries) and Central Africa's CFA franc (XAF, used in 6) are both pegged to the euro at exactly 655.957. On paper they are the same currency. On the street they are not: today XOF trades at +3.6% above its reference rate while XAF trades at +4.9%, a gap that reflects tighter dollar liquidity in Central Africa. Few sources publish this difference at all.
How these rates are measured
Every hour, the live USDT order books on Binance P2P, OKX P2P and Bybit P2P are sampled for each currency: the venues where parallel price discovery actually happens today. Offers from merchants with under 90% completion, fewer than 20 completed orders, or under $200 available are discarded. The published rate is the volume-weighted price of the largest cluster of independent offers agreeing within 1.5%. When no such cluster exists, no rate is published; a wrong number is worse than no number. A row marked crossed means that market's buy quotes sit above its sell quotes; it is published as quoted. The official column is the central bank's rate where we collect it directly, and a market reference rate otherwise.
Rates by country
This data is also available as a JSON API for applications: documentation here. Rates are observed market data from public venues, published for information; they are not a quote, an offer to exchange, or financial advice.