10 Most Expensive Currency In The World

This is the current list dated 11th February'2014 and is ranked per their value against US Dollar. Most valuable currency doesn't necessarily mean that the currency is better investment option or that it represents a better economic health of a nation. Please find below the list of expensive currency in their order of expensiveness:

1. Kuwaiti Dinar (1 KWD= 3.54 USD)

In an area slightly smaller than New Jersey, lies the home of the world’s most valuable currency. Kuwait has been involved in talks this year with five other Gulf Arab monarchies to form a single currency. The Kuwait currency is currently pegged to the dollar.

2. Bahrain Dinar (1 BHD= 2.65 USD)

A small island nation, approximately 3.5 times the size of Washington DC, Bahrain is geographically central in relation to its Persian Gulf neighbors. Its industry relies on petroleum production and refining, as well as financial services and construction. With an exchange rate to the US dollar at around $2.65 for one Bahraini Dinar, it’s the third most valuable currency in the world. It’s also expected to be relatively steady, as it was officially pegged to the dollar in 2001.

3. Omani Rial (1 OMR = 2.60 USD)

Oman, officially called the Sultanate of Oman, is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It has a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf., has had its currency exchange rate pegged to the dollar at a rate of 1 OMR = $2.60 US since 1986. With that pegged relationship holding firm, seems as though the Rial’s fate remains tied to the fate of the dollar.

4. Latvian Lats (1 LVL= 1.97 USD)

One Lats is currently worth $1.97 US. The country, about the size of West Virginia, has entered the process to phase out the Lat in favor of the Euro, which is expected to be the official currency around 2012.

5. UK Pound Sterling (1 GBP = 1.64 USD)

This holiday season, it seems now more than ever, citizens of the UK are taking advantage of their favorable exchange rate and coming to the US, where for them everything is half-off.

6.  Jordanian Dinar (1 JOD =1.41 USD)

Jordan may lack water and crude oil but the Mideast kingdom has one thing going for it – a strong currency. From 1927 to 1950, the Palestine Currency Board issued Palestine pound as the official currency in both Palestine and the Trans-Jordan Emirate, according to Wikipedia. When Jordan became independent in 1946, the country wanted its own currency and Jordanian dinar became the kingdom’s official currency.

7. European Euro (1 EUR = 1.37 USD)

Officially introduced in 1999, the multinational Euro didn’t begin changing hands until January 2001. After a rocky start, the Euro has gained on the dollar for years. The currency is the official currency of eurozone that comprises of 17 countries. Some these include Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The currency is the second largest reserve currency as also the second most traded in the world.

8. Azerbaijan Manat (1 Manat = 1.28 USD)

After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, commercial banks and non-banking credit organizations.

9. Cayman Islands Dollar (1 KYD = 1.22 USD)

With no direct taxation, the islands thrive as an offshore financial center, with hundreds of banks, insurers and mutual funds. One Cayman Islands Dollar equals $1.22 US. The earlier currency used in Cayman Islands was Jamaican dollar, which was replaced in 1972. On the islands, the US dollar is accepted as legal currency.

10. Switzerland franc (1 Franc = 1.12 USD)

Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech economy. In 2011, it was ranked as being the wealthiest country in the world in per capita terms (with 'wealth' being defined to include both financial and non-financial assets). It has the world's nineteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the twentieth largest exporter, despite its size. Switzerland has the highest European rating in the Index of Economic Freedom 2010, while also providing large coverage through public services.