By Pascal Ibe
Claim
Users on the X platform claimed that the Ghana Cedi is not the best-performing currency in the world at the moment.
Verdict
This claim is FALSE. Although the Ghana cedi currency jumped more than 40% versus the U.S. dollar this year, far outperforming its African and emerging market peers, it has shrunk the cost of the country’s foreign debt and given it more fiscal breathing room. However, available credible statistics have shown that Russia’s ruble is the world’s best-performing currency so far this year, according to Bank of America, with gains of over 40%. The ruble’s stunning rally in 2025 marks a sharp reversal from the past two years when the currency had depreciated dramatically.
Full Text
Users on the X platform have claimed that the Ghana Cedi is not the best-performing currency in the world.
@firstladyship on X, said claimed that the Ghana Cedi is the best-performing currency in the world. She added that the Cedi is up by 50%.
The social media influencer stated that it took the new Ghanaian president just 5 months to make it happen.
Another X user, @FinPlankKaluAja1 also made the same claim.
Background
President John Dramani Mahama was elected in the December 2024 elections.
Upon resuming, Mr. Mahama’s administration faced a challenging environment in leading Ghana on a path of debt sustainability by enhancing fiscal discipline, expanding tax revenue, and completing the debt restructuring with external creditors under the IMF program.
Verification
Although the Ghana cedi currency jumped more than 40% versus the U.S. dollar this year, far outperforming its African and emerging market peers, it has shrunk the cost of the country’s foreign debt and given it more fiscal breathing room.
However, available credible statistics have shown that Russia’s ruble is the world’s best-performing currency so far this year, according to Bank of America, with gains of over 40%. The ruble’s stunning rally in 2025 marks a sharp reversal from the past two years when the currency had depreciated dramatically.
Market watchers told CNBC, a US-based media organization, that the strength in the ruble has less to do with a sudden jump in foreign investors’ confidence than with capital controls and policy tightening.
Brendan McKenna, international economist and foreign exchange strategist at Wells Fargo, lists three reasons for the ruble’s rally. “The central bank has opted to keep rates relatively elevated, capital controls and other FX restrictions have tightened a bit, and there’s been some progress or attempt at progress in finding a peace between Russia and Ukraine.”
Russia’s central bank has maintained a restrictive stance to curtail high inflation, keeping domestic interest rates high at 20% and tightening credit. The steep borrowing costs are deterring local businesses from importing goods, in turn reducing demand for foreign currency among Russian businesses and consumers, said industry watchers.
Check out a similar report of this here.
Ghana cedi surge
An analysis by Reuters which was cited by FACTWATCH Nigeria, showed that the rally, which has surprised some investors, is another much-needed boost for the West African nation as it claws its way back from debt default and a punishing economic crisis.
In all the cedi has gained 42% against the dollar since January, changing hands near 10.20 to the greenback in May according to LSEG data.
How a strong currency is measured
According to Nasdaq1, a strong currency is:
“A currency whose value compared to other currencies is improving, as indicated by a decrease in the direct exchange rates for the currency”.
Decreases in exchange rates are not the only factor here. As currency strength relates to the value of a currency, which can fluctuate, and is dependent on many factors, including economic performance, how stable it is, and interest rates, to name a few.
But to put it simply, a ‘strong currency’ is when a currency is worth more than another country’s currency. ‘Currency strength’ refers to how strong or weak a currency is at any given time. It expresses the value of the currency.
Strong currencies
Forbes ranked the strongest currencies (along with their accepted currency symbol), based on the number of units of foreign currency you’d receive in exchange for one US dollar. The exchange rates as of May 2025 are sourced from its currency converter, which is based on data from Open Exchange.
It ranked the Kuwaiti dinar as the strongest currency in the world, with 1 dinar buying US$ $3.26.
Placing it second, Forbes data disclosed that one Bahraini dinar is currently worth $2.65. That makes $1 worth 0.38 Bahraini dinars.
Bahrain is an island nation in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
The country is home to one of the most diversified economies in the Gulf region, to the extent that the contribution from its non-oil sector to real gross domestic product stood at 85.9% in 2024. The Bahraini dinar entered circulation in 1965 and is pegged to the US dollar.
Omani rial (OMR), Jordanian dinar (JOD), Gibraltar pound (GIP), Swiss franc (CHF), Cayman Islands dollar (KYD), Euro (EUR), and US dollar (USD) were placed from third to tenth as the strongest currencies in the world.
An update by Capex.com and the Wise payment platform corroborated Forbes statistics.
Conclusion
With the recent surge in Ghana cedis and ease of inflation in Ghana, X users made a FALSE claim that the currency is the best-performing in the world currently.
