Which countries use the West African CFA franc?
The West African CFA franc (XOF Fr) is the official currency of 8 countries and territories.
| Country or territory | Capital | Population |
|---|---|---|
 Benin | Porto-Novo | 14,814,460 |
 Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | 24,074,580 |
 Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | 2,249,515 |
 Ivory Coast | Yamoussoukro | 32,711,547 |
 Mali | Bamako | 25,198,821 |
 Niger | Niamey | 27,917,831 |
 Senegal | Dakar | 18,931,966 |
 Togo | Lomé | 8,591,626 |
How this list is defined
A place is on this list when the West African CFA franc is one of its official currencies in the source dataset, which follows ISO 4217. That includes dependencies and territories, not only sovereign states, which is why the count here (8) is higher than the number of countries you may expect.
It also includes places where the West African CFA franc is legal tender alongside other currencies rather than being the single national currency. Those are listed separately above instead of being silently mixed in or silently dropped, because both would misstate the answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many countries use the West African CFA franc?
What is the symbol for the West African CFA franc?
Other currencies shared by several countries
- Australian dollar (AUD), used by 7 countries
- British pound (GBP), used by 6 countries
- Central African CFA franc (XAF), used by 6 countries
- Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD), used by 8 countries
- United States dollar (USD), used by 20 countries
- Euro (EUR), used by 38 countries
See all shared world currencies, or browse countries by region.
Currency assignments from open datasets following ISO 4217; populations from the World Bank (SP.POP.TOTL). Legal-status groupings for the euro follow the European Commission’s euro-area list and the EU’s monetary agreements. Full sources and vintage on the data page. Last updated . Report a correction.