Angolan kwanza

The kwanza (sign: Kz; ISO 4217 code: AOA) is the currency of Angola. Four different currencies using the name kwanza have circulated since 1977. The currency derives its name from the Kwanza River (also spelled Cuanza, Coanza, Quanza).

Overview

Start date	Finish date	ISO 4217	Currency unit	Subunit	Notes
1958	8 Jan 1977		Angolan escudo	100 centavos
8 Jan 1977	24 Sep 1990	`AOK`	Kwanza	100 lwei	1 kwanza = 1 Angolan escudo
25 Sep 1990	30 Jun 1995	`AON`	Novo kwanza	none	1 novo kwanza = 1 kwanza
1 Jul 1995	30 Nov 1999	`AOR`	Kwanza reajustado	none	1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas
1 Dec 1999	present	`AOA`	Kwanza	100 cêntimos	1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

First kwanza, AOK, 1977–1990

The kwanza was introduced following Angolan independence. It replaced the escudo at par and was subdivided into 100 lwei. Its ISO 4217 code was AOK. Following a change in currency, a confiscation took place. Individuals could convert up to 200,000 escudos for kwanzas and corporations up to 1,500,000 escudos. This kwanza had a remarkably stable exchange rate of 29.918 kwanzas to the U.S. dollar for the entire period.

Coins

The first coins issued for the kwanza currency did not bear any date of issue, although all bore the date of independence, "11 de Novembro de 1975". They were in denominations of 50 lwei, 1, 2, 5 and 10 kwanzas. 20 kwanza coins were added in 1978. The last date to appear on these coins was 1979.

First kwanza coins
Image	Value	Composition	Diameter	Weight	Thickness	Edge	Issued
	50 lwei	copper-nickel	16 mm	2 g	1.5 mm	Reeded	1977-1979
	1 kwanza	copper-nickel	20.9 mm	3.91 g	1.8 mm	Reeded	1977-1979
	2 kwanzas	copper-nickel	23.2 mm	5 g	1.82 mm	Reeded	1977
	5 kwanzas	copper-nickel	25.5 mm	7 g	2.05 mm	Reeded	1977
	10 kwanzas	copper-nickel	27.5 mm	7.7 g	2 mm	Reeded	1977-1978
	20 kwanzas	copper-nickel	29 mm	10 g	1.9 mm	Reeded	1978

Banknotes

On 8 January 1977, banknotes dated 11 DE NOVEMBRO DE 1975 were introduced by the Banco Nacional de Angola (National Bank of Angola) in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 kwanzas. The 20 kwanza note was replaced by a coin in 1978.

Novo kwanza, AON, 1990–1995

In 1990, the novo kwanza was introduced, with the ISO 4217 code AON. Although it replaced the kwanza at par, Angolans could only exchange 5% of all old notes for new ones; they had to exchange the rest for government securities. This kwanza suffered from high inflation.

Coins

Novo kwanza coins
Image	Value	Composition	Diameter	Weight	Thickness	Edge	Issued
	50 kwanzas	copper	24 mm	5.5 g		Reeded	1991
	50 kwanzas	copper-plated steel	23.3 mm	5 g		Reeded	1992
	100 kwanzas	copper	27.3 mm	8 g		Reeded	1992

Banknotes

This currency was only issued in note form.[contradictory] The first banknotes issued in 1990 were overprints on earlier notes in denominations of 50 (report not confirmed), 500, 1000 and 5000 novos kwanzas (5000 novos kwanzas overprinted on 100 kwanzas). In 1991, the word novo was dropped from the issue of regular banknotes for 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 and 500,000 kwanzas.

Kwanza reajustado, AOR, 1995–1999

In 1995, the kwanza reajustado (plural kwanzas reajustados) replaced the previous kwanza at a rate of 1,000 to 1. It had the ISO 4217 code AOR. The inflation continued and no coins were issued.

Banknotes

Despite the exchange rate, such was the low value of the old kwanza that the smallest denomination of banknote issued was 1000 kwanzas reajustados. Other notes were 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000, 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 kwanzas.

Second kwanza, AOA, 1999–

In 1999, a second currency was introduced simply called the kwanza. It replaced the kwanza reajustado at a rate of 1,000,000 to 1. Unlike the first kwanza, this currency is subdivided into 100 cêntimos. The introduction of this currency saw the reintroduction of coins. Although it suffered early on from high inflation, its value became stable until 2016, when the currency started devaluing again. The currency suffered a devaluation of nearly 40% against the US dollar between May and June 2023 to a record low of 825 kwanzas to the US dollar.

Coins

First series

Coins
Value	Technical parameters	Description	Date of first minting
Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
10 cêntimos	15 mm	1.5 g	Copper-plated steel	Plain	State title, Coat of arms, year	Value	1999
50 cêntimos	18 mm	3 g
1 kwanza	21 mm	4.5 g	Cupronickel	Reeded	State title, Coat of arms, year	Value	1999
2 kwanzas	22 mm	5 g
5 kwanzas	26 mm	7 g
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Coins in 10 and 50 cêntimo denominations are no longer used, as the values are minuscule. Coins of this series lost their legal tender status on 1 January 2015.

Second series

Coins
Value	Technical parameters	Description	Date of first minting
Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse
50 cêntimos	20.6 mm	3.8 g	Copper-nickel-plated steel	Plain	State title, Coat of arms, year	Value	2012
1 kwanza	22.1 mm	5.0 g	Brass-plated steel	Plain
5 kwanzas	25 mm	7.0 g	Bi-metallic nickel-brass centre in copper-nickel ring	Reeded
10 kwanzas	27 mm	8.0 g	Bi-metallic copper-nickel centre in nickel-brass ring	Reeded
20 kwanzas	28 mm	11.64 g	Bi-metallic steel centre in brass ring	Interrupted reeded	Rainha Njinga	2014
50 kwanzas	26 mm	7.6 g	Copper-nickel-clad steel	Partially reeded	40 years of independence	2015
100 kwanzas	26.5 mm	8.6 g	Brass-clad steel	Partially reeded
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

During 2012–14, new coins were introduced in denominations of 50 cêntimos, 1, 5, 10 and 20 kwanzas.

Banknotes

First Series

The banknotes are quite similar in design, with only different colours separating them.

Banknotes of the Angolan Kwanza (1999-2011 series)
Image	Value	Main Colour	Description	Date of
Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
		1 kwanza	Pink	Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos	Women picking cotton	Sculpture	October 1999	1 December 1999
		5 kwanzas	Light green	Serra da Leba
		10 kwanzas	Red	2 antelopes
		50 kwanzas	Lime	Off-shore oil rig
		100 kwanzas	Yellow-brown	Banco Nacional de Angola
		200 kwanzas	Lilac	Aerial view of Luanda	November 2003	19 July 2004
		500 kwanzas	Orange	Cotton
		1000 kwanzas	Rose	Coffee plantation
		2000 kwanzas	Lime	Sea shore

Second series

The Banco Nacional de Angola issued a new series of kwanza banknotes on March 22, 2013, in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 kwanzas. The other denominations (1000, 2000 and 5000 kwanzas) were issued on May 31, 2013. In 2017, the Banco Nacional de Angola issued 5 and 10 kwanzas banknotes as part of the family of banknotes first introduced in 2012.

Banknotes of the Angolan Kwanza (2012 "Waterfalls" series)
Image	Value	Main Colour	Description	Date of
Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
		5 kwanzas	Gray	Embroidery; Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos	Ruacana waterfall		October 2012	2017
		10 kwanzas	Red	Luena waterfall
		50 kwanzas	Yellow-orange	Carvings; Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos	Cuemba waterfalls		22 March 2013
		100 kwanzas	Light brown	Binga waterfalls
		200 kwanzas	Light violet	Embroidery; Agostinho Neto and José Eduardo dos Santos	Tchimbue waterfalls
		500 kwanzas	Orange	Aundulo waterfalls
		1,000 kwanzas	Light red	Kalandula waterfalls		31 May 2013
		2,000 kwanzas	Lime green	Dande waterfalls
		5,000 kwanzas	Light purple	Kapanda hydroelectric dam, Kwanza River
		10,000 kwanzas	Teal	Giant sable antelopes		Not issued

Third series

In 2020, the Banco National de Angola introduced a new family of kwanza banknotes in denominations of 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 kwanzas. The new banknotes have a portrait of the first president of Angola, António Agostinho Neto. Banknotes of 200 to 2,000 kwanzas are printed on polymer substrate, while the 5,000 and 10,000 kwanzas banknotes are printed on cotton paper, with a 10,000-kwanza note to only be issued if necessary.

Banknotes of the Angolan Kwanza (2020 series)
Image	Value	Main Colour	Description	Date of
Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark	printing	issue
		200 kwanzas	Blue	Agostinho Neto	Pedras Negras de Pungo a Ndongo, Malange			20 July 2020
		500 kwanzas	Brown	Tundavala gap, Huila			17 September 2020
		1,000 kwanzas	Violet	Planalto Central mountain range, Huambo			1 October 2020
		2,000 kwanzas	Green	Leba mountain range, Huila			11 November 2020
		5,000 kwanzas	Purple	Ruins of the Cathedral of São Salvador do Congo			4 February 2021

Historical exchange rates

1977–1990: 29.918 kwanzas (AOK) or novos kwanzas (AON) per US dollar

Date	Currency code and Name	Rate (currency units per USD)
1994	AON novo kwanza	34,200 to 850,000
January to June 1995	AON novo kwanza	1,000,000 to 2,100,000
1 July 1995		1000 AON → 1 AOR (kwanza reajustado)
July to December 1995	AOR kwanza reajustado	2,100 to 13,000
1996	AOR kwanza reajustado	13,000 to 210,000 to 194,000
1997	AOR kwanza reajustado	194,000 to 253,300
1998	AOR kwanza reajustado	253,300 to 594,000
1999	AOR kwanza reajustado	594,000 to 5,400,000
1 December 1999		1 million AOR → 1 AOA (kwanza)
2000	AOA kwanza	5.4 to 16.3
2001	AOA kwanza	16.3 to 31.12
2002	AOA kwanza	31.12 to 57.47
2003	AOA kwanza	57.47 to 86.88 to 78.61
2004	AOA kwanza	78.61 to 85.90
2005	AOA kwanza	85.90 to 88.97 to 80.58
2006	AOA kwanza	80.58 to 89.01 to 80.57
2007	AOA kwanza	80.57 to 74.78 to 75.16
2008	AOA kwanza	75.16
2017	AOA kwanza	165.09
2018	AOA kwanza	238.801 to 308.61
2019	AOA kwanza	308.61 to 482.23
2020	AOA kwanza	482.23 to 649.49

On several occasions during the 1990s, Angola's currency was the least valued currency unit in the world.[citation needed]

Current AOA exchange rates
From Google Finance:
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From XE.com:
From OANDA:

Production

The Angolan kwanza banknotes have been produced by De La Rue in England.[better source needed]

External links

Lists, pictures, and values of Angola coin types
– Current exchange rates from 18 Angolan commercial banks and the informal market

Kwanza
Preceded by: Angolan escudo Reason: independence (in 1975) Ratio: at par	Currency of Angola 1977 – 1990	Succeeded by: Novo kwanza Reason: government seized part of the money supply Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)

Novo kwanza
Preceded by: Kwanza Reason: government seized part of the money supply Ratio: at par (see article for more detail)	Currency of Angola 1990 – 1995	Succeeded by: Kwanza reajustado Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas

Kwanza reajustado
Preceded by: Novo kwanza Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza reajustado = 1000 novos kwanzas	Currency of Angola 1995 – 1999	Succeeded by: Kwanza Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados

Kwanza
Preceded by: Kwanza reajustado Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 kwanza = 1,000,000 kwanzas reajustados	Currency of Angola 1999 –	Succeeded by: Current

Angolan kwanza

Overview

First kwanza, AOK, 1977–1990

Coins

Banknotes

Novo kwanza, AON, 1990–1995

Coins

Banknotes

Kwanza reajustado, AOR, 1995–1999

Banknotes

Second kwanza, AOA, 1999–

Coins

First series

Second series

Banknotes

First Series

Second series

Third series

Historical exchange rates

Production

See also

External links