What currency is used by South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini?

The South African rand is used by South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini.

South Africa introduced the rand in 1961, replacing the South African pound when the country became a republic and left the sterling area. The name comes from the Witwatersrand, the geological ridge associated with Johannesburg and major gold discoveries.

The rand is South Africa’s official currency and is also part of the Common Monetary Area. Lesotho and Eswatini issue their own currencies, the loti and lilangeni, but those currencies are maintained at parity with the rand. Namibia likewise has the Namibian dollar, which is pegged one-to-one with the rand, and rand notes and coins circulate there.

The rand is divided into 100 cents and has the ISO code ZAR. The code comes from “Zuid-Afrikaanse rand,” the Dutch and Afrikaans form of “South African rand.”