Recent reports indicate that the Uzbek som has been included in a list of devalued currencies, reflecting significant weakening against the US dollar over the past decade.
According to data compiled and released by wealth management company Creative Planning, the Uzbek somranks eighth among the most devalued national currencies compared to the US dollar.
Over the span of the last 10 years, the Uzbek som has experienced a substantial depreciation of 82.3%, with its value dropping from 2,200 soms to 12,300 soms per US dollar. This drastic decline marks the most significant negative indicator among currencies within post-Soviet countries. For context, during the same period, the Ukrainian hryvnia depreciated by 77.5%, the Kazakh tenge by 65.4%, the Russian ruble by 61.3%, the Tajik somoni by 56.3%, and the Kyrgyz som by 43.3%.
Interestingly, the Turkmen manat emerged as the most stable currency in Central Asia, experiencing a relatively modest depreciation of only 18.4%. On the contrary, the Armenian dram and the Swiss franc are notable exceptions, having strengthened against the US dollar by +1.1% and 3.1%, respectively, over the past decade.
Notably, the Venezuelan bolivar experienced the most severe depreciation globally, losing a staggering 99.9998% of its value over the same period. Other currencies in the top five for depreciation include the Syrian pound (99.1%), the Argentine peso (99.1%), the Turkish lira (92.3%), and the Surinamese dollar (91.2%).
