The decline in the dollar’s value has become a favorite topic – and not just in political or economic gatherings.
Whether your granny tells you a story of how much stuff she used to get with nickel during her youth, or you remember how cheap your rent was six to ten years ago.
Concerns about what a dollar could get you are becoming as popular as the dollar itself, coupled with how many the Federal Reserve seems to be printing nowadays.
However, the value of the US dollar is still relatively high, especially when compared with these.
1. Iranian Rial
The tourism industry in Iran has been gaining massive recognition for the past few years. A sector that is almost certain to boom in the coming years whether certain world powers like it or not.
Unfortunately, the country’s parliament has barred some actions to re-denominate its currency, so the Iranian rial will remain a poor performer even as the country’s tourism sector is on the winning end of the stock market.
As of the time of this publication, one US dollar would buy you 42,105 Iranian Rial. However, you could get more than that from money changers in the street if you offer them crisp, new $100 notes.
Aside from being one of the world’s most worthless currencies, it also bags the award for one of its most confusing currencies. Indigenes often bargain prices in (toman), translating to one Iranian Rial with one zero removed.
But the resulting figures are still too high for sanity – imagine paying 7000 of any currency for a cup of coffee.
2. Vietnamese Dong
Compared to the Iranian Rial, the Vietnamese dong is worth slightly more. As of January 2019, a US dollar would buy around 23,204 dongs.
One significant factor that sets both currencies apart – both countries actually – is that, unlike the isolated Iranian banking system, the Vietnamese banking system is connected to the rest of the world.
This means you could become an instant millionaire when you withdraw from any Vietnamese ATM.
Withdrawing $50 worth of dong (1,160,225 dong) will make you a millionaire as long as you’re in Vietnam.
Currently, the smallest Vietnamese note you can officially get is 10,000 dong (approximately 43 cents), though there was a time when 500 dong notes used to circulate.
3. Indonesian Rupiah
Indonesia claims the third spot on the list of the world’s weakest currencies. Although the country is experiencing rapid development, resulting in increased costs in tourism with hot spots like Yogyakarta and Bali, its money is still one of the weakest, as you’ll need about 13,940 Rupiah to get a dollar.
This means that you could spend six figures on your next Indonesian breakfast. However, Indonesia is rapidly becoming a tech-friendly country as more merchants begin to accept electronic payments.
The good news is that you won’t spend as many banknotes as you’ll often do in Iran and Vietnam.
At the same time, the introduction of Uber in many major cities across the country will not only reduce price haggling.
Still, it will also reduce the chances of being scammed due to miscounting your massive notes.
4. Laos Kip
Just because a currency doesn’t have value doesn’t mean that transportation will be cheap in the country it is used in.
For instance, while the baht of Thailand’s neighboring country is significantly more valuable than the Laotian Kip (1 USD = 31.30 BHT while 1 USD = 8,560 LAK), many tourists find prices in Laos higher even though the country is significantly poorer than Thailand.
Admittedly, there’s another reason for this. Due to the low value of the Laotian currency, the country’s economy is partially “dollarized.”
This implies that prices are often quoted in dollars, and dollars are frequently accepted for settling bills.
5. Paraguayan Guarani
Coupled with the fact that remarkably more popular countries surround Paraguay (although you can travel to the famous Iguazu Falls through Paraguay, almost every tourist goes through Brazil or Argentina), the Paraguayan Guarani is one of the world’s most worthless currency.
To be exact, you’ll need 6,050 Guarani to get a dollar; this implies that regardless of bootlegged electronics in Ciudad del Este being cheap, you still have to disburse hundreds of thousands ( or even millions) Guarani to be able to purchase them.
6. Colombian Peso
Another less valuable currency in South America is Colombia’s. To be sure, the Colombian Peso is slightly higher in value than the Guarani (each Colombian peso trades at 3,089 to the dollar, making it worth twice the Guarani).
But travelers are likelier to visit Colombia than Paraguay, with tourist-favorite locations like the Coffee Triangle, Medellin, the city of flowers, and the walled colonial city of Cartagena.
A fun fact about pesos is that they are the currency of many Latin American countries, including Mexico and Argentina.
The less fun fact is that exchange rates differ in each country, so be familiar with the peso exchange rate you’ll be using to avoid getting scammed.
7. Tanzanian Shilling
Tanzania is another developing country with a less valuable currency. However, its shilling is still rather expensive, trading for $2,311 per dollar.
But then, if you’ve ever visited Sub-Saharan Africa (which is remarkably one of the world’s most high-priced and lowest-value destinations despite the country’s poverty level), this won’t come as a surprise to you.
But what might come as a shock to you (or at least a useful insight) is why most African countries are costly whether or not their currencies are one of the world’s worthless. The problem is two-fold.
One reason is that there isn’t much competition within the African travel industry. Most popular Safari destinations have only a handful of companies running tours, while even larger cities like Nairobi have so few luxury hotels that no one is forced to compete for your business.
Another reason is that many African countries don’t have middle classes, so the travel industry has a huge vacuum between the extremely high class and the extremely low budget.
You can travel like locals so long you’re willing to wait hours (or even days in some remote locations) to get a cramped vehicle that night breaks down along the way.
