10 Francs CFA – Western African States

In 1981, the currency situation in West Africa was largely defined by the operations of two distinct monetary unions, each with its own challenges. The most prominent was the West African CFA franc zone, comprising seven former French colonies (including Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Niger). This currency, pegged to the French franc and guaranteed by France, provided notable monetary stability and facilitated trade with Europe. However, it also symbolized continued French economic influence and offered limited independent monetary policy for member states, a point of growing political debate.

Alongside the CFA zone, the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) managed the shared currency, but the broader region was also home to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), founded in 1975. By 1981, ECOWAS was actively discussing its own ambitious monetary integration project, envisioning a single currency for its wider, more diverse membership, which included Anglophone giants like Nigeria and Ghana. This created a parallel narrative of potential future regional unity, contrasting with the existing Francophone-centric system.

The year unfolded against a backdrop of global economic turbulence from the oil crises of the 1970s, which heavily impacted both oil-importing and oil-exporting West African nations. While the CFA peg provided a buffer against inflation for its members, other states with independent currencies, like Nigeria’s naira or Ghana’s cedi, faced severe devaluation pressures and economic instability. Thus, the region presented a patchwork of monetary experiences: a relatively stable but externally anchored CFA zone, ambitious plans for pan-ECOWAS integration, and several major economies struggling with severe national currency crises.