Central African Economic and Monetary Community

A monetary union consisting of six West African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. These countries use the CFA franc, or the franc de la Coopération Financiére Africaine, which is issued by the Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale. The CFA franc was pegged, or linked, to the French franc starting 1947, but became pegged to the euro when France adopted that currency in 1999. Only one devaluation has occurred during the history of the currency peg. In January 1994, the CFA was devalued to CFA 100 from CFA 50. The countries using the CFA franc have an arrangement with the French treasury to maintain their currency peg and to take the sole responsibility for guaranteeing convertibility of CFA francs into euros. See also West African Economic and Monetary Union.