The growth of strong currencies determines the performance of a country’s economy, purchasing power, and balance with other countries in international trade. It is quite important for traveling people, investors, or businesses to know how relatively strong their destination country’s currency is. In this article, we shall discuss the weakest currencies in the world, ranked against the Indian Rupee (INR), and delve into key factors that cause the depreciation of a currency. And we see where Indian Rupee stands among the rest in the global platform and get to know some of the cheapest countries compared to India.
What Determines the Strength of a Currency?
A currency value is dependent upon inflationary rates, general stability of the economy, government policies, political conditions, and foreign exchange reserves. Generally, a country facing such economic challenges such as inflation, political instability, or even a war will have lost the value of its currencies very fast.
The Weakest Currencies in the World
Here is a more comprehensive view of the world’s weakest currencies, based on their exchange rate with USD and INR.
1. Iranian Rial
| Currency | Exchange Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 USD to IRR | 42,000 IRR |
| 1 IRR to INR | 0.0019 INR |
Iranian Rial is currently regarded as the lowest currency in the world. Economic sanction, political unrest and hyperinflation have resulted in significant devaluation of the currency from time to time. The government often failed to keep a balance between exchange rate and internal inflation rates which has made the Rial a currency with low purchasing power.
2. Venezuelan Bolívar (VES)
| Currency | Exchange Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 USD to VES | 31,000 VES |
| 1 VES to INR | 0.0031 INR |
The Venezuelan Bolívar is one of the worst currencies in the world, and it’s majorly because of the country’s economic collapse and hyperinflation, the subsequently created chaos, and for political issues. Economic mismanagement is linked to an overreliance on oil exports and massive corruption that led to the severe fall of Bolívar’s value.
3. Vietnamese Dong (VND)
| Currency | Exchange Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 USD to VND | 24,000 VND |
| 1 VND to INR | 0.0035 INR |
The Dong is one of the cheapest currencies in the world and the Vietnam currency. Although the latter has had fast economic growth in the last few years, the dong was only relatively weak, mainly due to the kind of trade policies of the country and its controlled monetary system.
4. Sierra Leonean Leone (SLL)
| Currency | Exchange Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 USD to SLL | 20,000 SLL |
| 1 SLL to INR | 0.0049 INR |
INR The Leone of Sierra Leone is also one in the weakest currencies in the world since the economy of the country on which it depends is not as developed as it is supposed to be, therefore increased high levels of poverty and dependency on foreign aid. The nation has also faced other factors in the past years-economic stagnation, including civil strife and infrastructure developing at a slow pace. These have worked to its disadvantage in weakening the currency.
5. Laotian Kip (LAK)
| Currency | Exchange Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 USD to LAK | 20,500 LAK |
| 1 LAK to INR | 0.0047 INR |
The Laotian Kip is one other smallest currencies in the world. Laos remains heavily dependent on imports, and the economy of the country, though growing, still suffers from inflation and inefficient production within the country, which makes the Kip weak.
Rank of Indian Currency in the World
Talking about the rank of Indian currency at world level, Indian Rupee (INR) comparatively is much stronger than some of the weakest currencies of the world, but it is not one of the strongest currencies in the world. The economy of India stands fifth in the world, still, Rupee is under pressure due to inflation, fiscal deficit, and reliance on energy imports.
Today, 1 USD = 83 INR.
While INR is stronger than most of the currencies in the list above, it is far less weaker than the strongest money in the world, such as the US Dollar, Euro, and Sterling Pound.
Comparisons When Open-Ended Enough:
NIS to INR – New Israeli Shekel
1 NIS = 21.7 INR
The New Israeli Shekel is one of the strongest currencies of the Middle East and relatively much stronger compared to Indian Rupees. The strength of the currency is partly because the country has advanced tech sectors and a strong export economy.
Afghanistan Currency to INR (Afghani)
1 Afghan Afghani (AFN) = 1 INR
The Afghan Afghani has witnessed tremendous value volatility in the last decade, courtesy the civil warfare that the country is witnessing. However, despite all that, it is placed on an equal footing with the Indian Rupee.
Why Are Some Currencies Weak?
Under normal circumstances, it’s only because of some intrinsic and extrinsic reasons that any currency happens to be weak.
Political Instability: Countries with civil unrest, political corruption and war will be experiencing their currencies devaluing down with loss of investor confidence.
Inflation: High inflation degrees reduce the purchasing powers of any currency in that overtime it gets worthless.
Debt Levels: Over National debt may make the country’s currency go to devaluation with the government printing more money to clear off such debts.
Economic Sanctions: Countries which are under the economic sanctions, as like Iran, will face the value of currency devaluation due to lesser access to international trade and financial markets.
Cheaper Places Than India
Countries that have lower cost of living than India according to lesser value currency than India
1. Vietnam
Vietnam is much cheaper than India with the Vietnamese Dong being one of the world’s weakest currencies.
2. Sri Lanka
The currency of Sri Lanka is Rupee or LKR, which has been weak nowadays, thus it becomes much cheaper for Indian tourists.
3. Nepal
The Nepalese Rupee is weaker than INR, which makes the country inexpensive for Indians who want to visit it.
4. Afghanistan
Even though it’s in a fragile situation, there still exists a place called Afghanistan, but the cost is cheaper compared to India due to its weak currency.
FAQ: Weakest Currencies in the World
1. Who is the weakest currency in the world?
The Iranian Rial is presently the lowest currency in the world because of economic sanctions, inflation, and political unrest in that country.
2. How is Indian Rupee (INR) ranked in the world?
It is relatively stronger than most of the world’s weakest currencies but relatively weaker compared to major global currencies like the USD, Euro, and Pound. Its strength has to be ranked better than those countries whose exchange rate is much lower than Indian Rupee such as Vietnam, Venezuela, and Iran.
3. Which country has the lowest currency compared to the Indian Rupee?
The Iranian Rial is the cheapest of all when valued against the Indian Rupee. 1 Rial = 0.0019 INR.
4. Which country is cheaper than India?
The countries that are believed to be less expensive than India are Vietnam, Nepal and Sri Lanka among others due to low cost of living and weaker currencies.
5. Afghanistan currency in terms of INR goes how much?
Till date, 1 Afghan Afghani = 1 INR and their currency is equal to the Indian Rupee.
6. What is the value of the Vietnamese Dong compared to the Indian Rupee?
The Vietnamese Dong is relatively weaker compared to the Indian Rupee, as 1 VND = 0.0035 INR. Vietnam is one of the cheapest destinations for Indian travelers.
7. Why has the Iranian Rial become the world’s weakest currency?
Considering all of the following factors, it would come to notice that the Iranian Rial is a particularly weak currency for a host of reasons, from severe economic sanctions to hyperinflation and political unrest to significantly devalue it.
Conclusion
Informing us about the prevalence of several factors like inflation, political instability, and almost everything else that could be exerted as an economic policy which differentiates currencies in value, are some of the world’s weakest currencies. Indian Rupee is one currency ranking stronger than most but still depreciating against major currencies worldwide. Indian travelers and businesses will make wiser travel and investment decisions knowing which countries have cheaper standards of living.