Most Devalued Currencies in the World: Analysis of the 10 Worst Depreciations in 2025

When a salary that should last a month loses 30% of its purchasing power in weeks, you understand why the world’s most devalued currencies have become symbols of economic fragility. Throughout 2025, while the Brazilian real struggled against a 21.52% devaluation (the worst performance among major currencies), dozens of countries faced currency crises that redefined what “weak economy” means.

The phenomenon of the most devalued currencies is no coincidence. It results from a perfect storm of factors that destroy confidence in monetary systems. This article explores the 10 currencies that in 2025 reached the most critical depreciation levels, what causes these historic drops, and how they impact everything from tourists to international investors.

Structural Causes: Why Do Currencies Devalue?

Understanding why certain currencies become the most devalued in the world requires looking beyond the numbers. There is always a set of factors working together, undermining investor and public confidence.

Galloping inflation is the first culprit. When prices don’t rise 7% annually like in Brazil, but jump 50%, 100%, or more monthly, we’re talking hyperinflation. This is the reality in some countries on our list. Savings literally evaporate, wages lose value between receipt and spending, and the population desperately seeks to convert to dollars or euros.

Chronic political instability amplifies the problem. Coups, civil wars, governments changing every election—when legal security is absent, capital flees, and investors simply avoid the local currency. It’s predictable: without political trust, monetary trust collapses.

International economic sanctions cut access to the global financial system. Sanctioned countries lose external liquidity, making normal imports and international trade impossible. The local currency becomes just colored paper with no function. Several economies with the most devalued currencies face this situation.

Insufficient foreign reserves leave the Central Bank defenseless. Without dollars in reserve to defend the currency, it crashes. It’s like a company without cash that can’t pay its bills.

Capital flight is the final symptom. When even locals prefer to stash dollars “under the mattress” rather than keep their national currency in banks, you know the situation is dire. Confidence has hit rock bottom.

Each of these factors alone harms. Combined, they turn a currency into an instrument of mass poverty.

Ranking of the Most Devalued Currencies of 2025

Based on international exchange data and economic reports, here are the most devalued currencies in 2025 that reached their most critical levels:

1. Lebanese Pound (LBP) — Uncontested Champion

The Lebanese Pound is the most devalued in the ranking, with such a sharp drop that the country has essentially abandoned its own currency. Officially, the rate is 1,507.5 pounds per dollar, but this rate has not existed in the real world since 2020. On the black market, you need over 90,000 pounds for a dollar. Banks limit dollar withdrawals, and many merchants refuse to accept pounds. In Beirut, Uber drivers ask for payment in dollars. The equivalent of R$61 in Lebanese pounds requires over 1 million units.

2. Iranian Rial (IRR)

American sanctions turned the rial into a zero-reserve currency. With just R$100, you become a millionaire in rials—literally. Multiple parallel rates exist on the streets, reflecting the disconnect between official and real rates. The most interesting phenomenon: young Iranians have migrated en masse to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and Ethereum have become the most trusted store of value, surpassing the national currency. Investing in cryptocurrencies has become a survival strategy to maintain purchasing power.

3. Vietnamese Dong (VND)

Vietnam’s case is peculiar. The economy grows, but the dong remains historically weak by monetary policy choice. The rate hovers around 25,000 VND per dollar, creating an absurd visual: withdrawing 1 million dong from an ATM looks like pulling money from a board game. For tourists, it’s great (US$50 makes you feel a millionaire), but for Vietnamese, it means imports are expensive and international purchasing power is limited.

4. Lao Kip (LAK)

Laos faces a small economy, dependence on imports, and persistent inflation. The kip, about 21,000 per dollar, is so weak that border traders with Thailand prefer to accept Thai baht. A clear reflection of how small, isolated economies have more devalued currencies.

5. Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)

Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy, but the rupiah has never strengthened. Since 1998, it remains among the most devalued currencies worldwide, around 15,500 per dollar. Tourist advantage: Bali is extremely cheap for Brazilians. With R$200 a day, you live like royalty.

6. Uzbek Sum (UZS)

Uzbekistan has implemented significant economic reforms, but the sum still carries decades of isolated economy baggage. Around 12,800 per dollar, the currency reflects an ongoing transition. The country seeks to attract investments, but the weak currency remains an obstacle.

7. Guinean Franc (GNF)

A classic paradox: abundant natural resources, weak currency. Guinea has gold and bauxite, but political instability and corruption prevent this wealth from strengthening the currency. About 8,600 GNF per dollar.

8. Paraguayan Guarani (PYG)

Our neighbor Paraguay has a relatively stable economy, but the guarani is traditionally weak—about 7.42 per Brazilian real. For Brazilian consumers, Ciudad del Este remains a shopping paradise. The devalued currency turns the border into a commercial hotspot.

9. Malagasy Ariary (MGA)

Madagascar, one of the poorest nations, has the ariary as a direct reflection of that reality. Around 4,500 per dollar, imports become prohibitively expensive, and the population’s international purchasing power is virtually zero.

10. Burundian Franc (BIF)

Closing the ranking, the Burundian franc is so devalued (about 550 per real) that significant purchases require carrying literal volumes of notes. Chronic political instability in Burundi directly reflects on the currency. It’s practically just colored paper in international transactions.

What These Most Devalued Currencies Reveal to Investors

The ranking of 2025’s most devalued currencies is more than a financial curiosity. It’s an economic warning that teaches practical lessons:

Fragile economies = huge risks. Devalued currencies may seem like bargains, but they signal deep crises. Investing in these markets requires careful hedging.

Tourism benefits. Destinations with devalued currencies become extremely cheap. Brazil, with its currency depreciated in 2025, experienced increased international tourism. Conversely, Brazilians found affordable Asian destinations.

Monetary stability is the foundation of prosperity. Watching currencies collapse and populations suffer is a vivid lesson on the importance of good governance, institutional trust, and consistent economic policies. Without these pillars, no currency can withstand.

Asset diversification transcends borders. In countries with devalued currencies, populations that understand economics seek Bitcoin, gold, US dollars—anything that preserves value. The universal lesson: concentrating wealth in a weak currency is a recipe for poverty.

The future of the most devalued currencies depends on structural political and economic changes, which in most cases take decades to materialize. Until then, the populations of these countries continue to deal with the reality of a currency losing value faster than they can spend.