The Bank of Tanzania has issued a clarification regarding a Bloomberg report titled World’s Worst Currency Status Haunts Tanzanian Shilling as Debt and Imports Soar.

The article which was published on March 19, 2025 highlights: “The Tanzanian shilling has dropped 8.9% this year, making it the worst-performing currency in the world. On Tuesday, it slipped another 0.2% to 2,645.10 per dollar, its lowest closing level since late November.”

The BoT argued that, over the past twelve months, the Tanzanian Shilling has depreciated by 3.6 percent against the United States Dollar contrary to the report.

“It is worth noting that, intra-period, from July to December 2024, the Shilling steeply appreciated by 9.51 percent, becoming the best-performing currency in the world before reversing its trend from the beginning of January 2025. This is consistent with the seasonal nature of foreign exchange flows in the country and the Bank’s foreign exchange policy, which allows exchange rate flexibility,” the Bank of Tanzania explained.

“Under this policy regime, the exchange rate continues to be determined by the demand and supply of foreign exchange in the market with minimal intervention from the Bank,” it emphasized.

The BoT also highlighted that the debt-to-GDP ratio remained low at 41.1 percent in 2023/24, well below the IMF-recommended threshold of 50 percent.

While the BoT consistently intervened in the market from 2022 to 2024, the Bank has since shifted its policy following its program with the International Monetary Fund. Under the new foreign exchange regulations, the Bank now intervenes only in abnormal circumstances to correct market imbalances.