South African rand South African rand The rand (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the currency of South Africa. The Rand is subdivided into 100 cents (sign: "c"). The ISO 4217 code is ZAR, from Dutch "Zuid-Afrikaanse Rand" (South African Rand). The Rand is legal tender in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Swaziland (Eswatini), Lesotho, and Namibia, although the last three countries do have their own currencies pegged at par with rand. Before 1976, the rand was legal tender in Botswana. The Rand takes its name from the WitwatersRand ("white waters' ridge" in English), the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and
Optimum currency area Optimum currency area In economics, an optimum currency area (OCA), also known as an optimal currency region (OCR), is a geographical region in which it would maximize economic efficiency to have the entire region share a single currency. The underlying theory describes the optimal characteristics for the merger of currencies or the creation of a new currency. The theory is used often to argue whether or not a certain region is ready to become a currency union, one of the final stages in economic integration. An optimal currency area is often larger than a country. For instance, part of the