Count of Currencies of the members of the United Nations. (These currencies are legal tender, i.e. can be used to pay internal taxes, and the count is expressed as a minimum. For example, if two currencies can be used in two or more currency areas as legal tender, then the currency count is 1.) 

As of 1 January 2016: ?? currencies for 193 U.N. member countries.

Current, as of January 2015: 139 currencies for 193 U.N. member countries.

Chronological Currency Count-Down to Single Global Currency

"U.N." = Count of U.N. Members

"#" = Count of Currencies

Year  U.N.  #

1994  183  156 (minus the 27 countries which

                       were ‘ized’ or in monetary

                       unions[see list at end of this                         

                   chronological list])

1994  185   156 Palau (ized-USD)

1997            155 Guinea-Bissau joined WAEMU

1999  188   156 Kiribati, (ized-AUD), Nauru (ized-                                                       AUD), Tonga

2000  189   157 Tuvalu (ized-AUD), Serbia &   

                       Montenegro

2000            156 Ecuador(ized-USD)

2001            155 El Salvador (ized-USD)

2002  191   156 Switzlnd, Timor-Leste (ized-USD)

2002           145  European Monetary Union (-11)

2006  192   145  Montenegro (uses euro)

2007            144  Slovenia

2008            142  Malta, Cyprus 

2009            141  Slovakia to EMU

2011            140   Estonia to EMU

2011  193   141   South Sudan into U.N.

2014            140  Latvia to EMU.

2015            139 Lithuania to EMU. 

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

2015?          135? Gulf Cooperation Council (-4, Bahrain,

                             Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia)

2016->>     132? Czech Republic, Hungary,

                               Poland

                         See “Enlargement of eurozone”

2018            122 ? S. African Dvlmt Council (-10)

2024            117 ? East African Monetary Union (-5)

                                Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania,

                               Uganda

2024                 1  ?

 

The 1994 "27" were

5  Eastern Caribbean Currency Union: Antigua and Barbuda,

    Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada (joined 1968), St Kitts and

    Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and The Grenadines. (6 countries

    minus 1 currency = 5)  Two other members of the ECCU,

   Anguilla and Montserrat, are not U.N. members.

6  WAEMU (West African Monetary Union): Benin, Burkima Faso,

   Cote d’Ivoire, Mali (left in 1962 but rejoined in 1984), Niger,

   Senegal and Togo (7 countries minus 1 currency = 6) (Guinea-

    Bissau joined in 1997 to bring the current total to 8.)

5 CAEMC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community):

   Cameroon, the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), Chad, the

   Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea

   (joined in 1985 and is the only non-former-French colony), and

    Gabon. (6 countries minus 1 currency = 5)
1  Singapore/Brunei

3  Ized to U.S. Dollar: Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Panama

3  Ized to pre-euro currencies: Andorra and Monaco (French Franc),

    San Marino (Lira)

1  Ized to the Swiss Franc: Liechtenstein

3  The Common Monetary Area, established in 1974, has four  

   members: Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and

   Swaziland. Each has its own currency, but the Rand is legal

    tender in all four. Botswana was a member until 1976 (4 countries       minus 1 currency = 3)