What currency is used in South Africa?

The currency used in South Africa is the rand. Its ISO 4217 currency code is ZAR, and the rand is divided into 100 cents.

The rand was introduced in 1961, the same year South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. Its name comes from the Witwatersrand, the gold-rich ridge around Johannesburg that played a major role in the country’s mining history and economic development.

The currency is issued and managed by the South African Reserve Bank. Banknotes commonly feature portraits of Nelson Mandela on the front and images of South Africa’s “Big Five” animals on the reverse: the rhinoceros, elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo.

The rand is also used within the Common Monetary Area. It circulates alongside, and is accepted through monetary arrangements with, the currencies of Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini. A common mistake is to call South Africa’s money the “South African dollar”; that is not the country’s official currency. The symbol is usually written as R, as in R100.