The official currency in Angola is the kwanza. The ISO 4217 code of the Kwanza is AOA, its official abbreviation is Kz. The publisher of the Kwanza is the Angolan National Bank, based in Luanda.
1 Kwanza is divided into 100 centimos. There are coins of 10 and 50 centimos and of 1, 2 and 5 kwanza in circulation. Common paper money today are banknotes of 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Kwanza, whereby the 200-, 500- and 1000-Kwanza banknotes did not come into circulation until the summer of 2004.
History of the Angolan currency
The Kwanza (AOK) replaced the Escudo that had been in circulation in 1977. The Angolan escudo had the same value as the Portuguese escudo and had been in use in Angola with brief interruptions since 1914.
In 1990 a new currency reform took place in Angola, during which the Kwanza introduced in 1977 was replaced by the so-called new Kwanza (novo Kwanza, AON). The exchange of the new Kwanza for the old Kwanza was done at a ratio of 1: 1. In order to limit inflation, however, only a certain amount of money was exchanged.
In 1995 there was another currency reform. Now the novo Kwanza (AON) has been exchanged for the Kwanza Reajustado (AOR). 1000 novo Keanza were exchanged for Kwanza Reajustado. The last currency reform in Angola took place in 1999. Here 1,000,000 Kwanza Reajustado were exchanged for the current Kwanza (AOA).
Around 100 Angolan kwanzas are equivalent to 1 euro today. The Angolan Kwanza is clearly plagued by inflation. The inflation rate of the Kwanza is currently around 10.3%.
Exchange into the Angolan currency
It is generally recommended to exchange the Kwanza only in the official exchange offices. Exchange of foreign currency in Kwanza on the Angolese black markets is illegal and therefore prohibited.
Larger restaurants and hotel chains in Angola also accept US dollars as payment. International credit cards are also mostly accepted in Angola. However, it is recommended to inquire about their respective acceptance beforehand.
Traveller’s checks are mostly unknown in Angola and are therefore only exchanged by a few larger banks. The export of the Kwanza from Angola is generally prohibited. It is recommended to exchange euros for US dollars in Germany and to exchange these directly in Kwanza in Angola.
Kwanza should always be exchanged at money dealers who have an official money dealer identification card around their necks. Exchange at banks is often unfavorable.