Central African CFA franc
| Franc CFA de l'Afrique centrale (French) فرنك م ف أ وسط أفريقيا (Arabic) Franco CFA de África Central (Spanish) Franco CFA da África Central (Portuguese) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| ISO 4217 | |||||
| Code | XAF (numeric: 950) | ||||
| Unit | |||||
| Symbol | F.CFA | ||||
| Nickname | céfa, franc | ||||
| Denominations | |||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1⁄100 | centime theoretical (unused) | ||||
| Symbol | |||||
| centime | c | ||||
| Banknotes | 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 francs | ||||
| Coins | 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| User(s) | |||||
| Issuance | |||||
| Central bank | Bank of Central African States | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| Valuation | |||||
| Pegged with | €1 = F.CFA 655.957 | ||||
The Central African CFA franc (French: franc CFA or simply franc; ISO code: XAF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency used in six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. These six countries had a combined population of 55.2 million in 2020, and their total GDP exceeded US$100 billion (as of 2021).
CFA originally stood for Colonies françaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa"); after these states gained independence, its name was changed to Communauté financière africaine ("African Financial Community"). The currency is issued by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC; Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC; Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale). Although the franc is officially divided into 100 centimes, no centime-denominated coins have been issued. Since 1945, the Bank of France has been producing CFA franc notes in Chamalières.
In several west African states, the West African CFA franc, which is of equal value, is also in circulation.