Nigerian Naira

The Nigerian naira (NGN) is the money of Africa's most populous country. Nigeria earns most of its foreign currency from oil, so the naira suffers when oil prices or output drop. For years the country kept an official rate far stronger than the street rate, rationing dollars to keep up the illusion.

In 2023 and 2024 authorities moved to unify those rates and let the currency find its level, and the naira lost much of its value against the dollar in a short time. It is a vivid lesson in what happens when a managed rate drifts too far from reality.