Currencies of the World

This topic covers country-to-currency matching, one of the most heavily repeated question types in LAT/CSS-style general knowledge sections. The trick in these MCQs is almost never the currency name itself — it's telling apart several countries that could plausibly share it (e.g. many countries use 'Dollar', 'Franc', 'Pound', 'Dinar', or 'Rial').

Currency families that share a name (memorize by group, not one at a time):

Dollar countries: USA, Canada, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brunei, Singapore, New Zealand, Zimbabwe.

Franc countries: Switzerland, Belgium, Burundi — plus the C.F.A. Franc zone used across many West/Central African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, and Togo (a strong signal: if the option list includes an African country alongside European ones, C.F.A. Franc usually points to the African country).

Pound countries: United Kingdom (Pound Sterling), Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt.

Dinar countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kuwait, Sudan, Algeria.

Rial/Riyal countries: Saudi Arabia (Riyal), Iran (Rial), Yemen (Rial) — spelling ('Rial' vs 'Riyal') is often the only distinguishing clue in exam options.

Rouble countries: Russia, Belarus.

Shilling countries: Kenya, Somalia.

Distinctive, single-country currencies (easy marks if memorized directly):

• Afghanistan → Afghani
• Bangladesh → Taka
• India → Rupee
• Pakistan's neighbors: Sri Lanka → Rupee, Nepal → Rupee
• China → Yuan (Renminbi)
• Japan → Yen
• Turkey → Lira
• Thailand → Baht
• Indonesia → Rupiah
• Malaysia → Ringgit
• Vietnam → Dong
• South Korea → Won
• Myanmar → Kyat
• Cambodia → Riel
• Mongolia → Tugrik
• Bhutan → Ngultrum
• Israel → Shekel (a related fact worth knowing even though not directly asked here)

Africa:

• South Africa → Rand
• Nigeria → Naira
• Ghana → Cedi
• Ethiopia → Birr
• Gambia → Dalasi
• Botswana → Pula
• Angola → Kwanza
• Malawi → Kwacha

Europe (many of these are now historical, pre-Euro, but still tested):

• Germany → Deutsche Mark
• Netherlands → Guilder
• Spain → Peseta
• Italy → Lira
• Romania → Lei
• Bulgaria → Lev
• Poland → Zloty
• Czech Republic & Slovakia → Koruna
• Slovenia → Tolar
• Iceland → Krona/Kronur
• Sweden → Krona
• Norway/Denmark → Krone/Kroner
• Hungary → Forint
• Estonia → Kroon
• Ukraine → Hryvnia

Middle East / Gulf:

• Saudi Arabia → Riyal
• UAE → Dirham
• Kuwait → Dinar
• Iran → Rial

Latin America:

• Mexico → Peso
• Brazil → Cruzeiro (historical) / Real (modern)
• Costa Rica → Colon
• El Salvador → Colon
• Ecuador → Sucre (historical, pre-dollarization)
• Panama → Balboa
• Bolivia → Boliviano
• Cape Verde → Escudo

Study tip: Because so many questions repeat the pattern '___ is the currency of: (A) ... (B) ... (C) ...', the fastest way to master this topic is to build a mental map by currency name (not by country name) — for any currency word you see, you should instantly recall which 2–3 countries it could belong to.