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Panama -

Panama was the first Latin American country to adopt the US dollar as official currency. The nation has been using it since 1904.

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Panama -

Panama also has another currency, the balboa. However, unlike the US dollar, only balboa coins are minted, restricting their use for lower-value transactions. 

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Puerto Rico -

Puerto Rico has been a US territory since 1898, and as such, the US dollar is the official currency used in the Caribbean island.

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Puerto Rico -

Nearly half of the island's approximately 3.3 million residents live in poverty, according to the US Census. Puerto Rico got out of bankruptcy in 2022, so the economy is still recovering.

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Ecuador -

Ecuador introduced the US dollar as the official currency in 2000, after years of soaring inflation under the sucre (the country's former currency).

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Ecuador -

The switch to the US dollar brought other problems to the nation, such as a crisis of counterfeit money. 

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Guam -

Located in the Western Pacific, Guam is a US territory and has used the US dollar as currency since 1950. 

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Guam -

As most goods are imported, the cost of living is actually higher than in the US. Groceries, for example, can be over 20% more expensive.  

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El Salvador -

The Central American nation also has the US dollar as its official currency. The USD replaced the cólon in 2001.

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Liberia -

The West African country has two currencies. The  Liberian dollar is the nation's official currency, but the US dollar has legal tender too. 

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United States Virgin Islands -

The US Virgin Islands are also an American territory where the US dollar is the official currency. 

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United States Virgin Islands -

The archipelago in the Caribbean has done so since 1917 when the United States bought it from Denmark.

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British Virgin Islands -

As the name indicates, the British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, but this Caribbean archipelago doesn't use the British pound as currency.  

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British Virgin Islands -

Instead, like their neighbors, the US Virgin Islands, they use the US dollar and have done so since 1959.

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Timor-Leste -

This Southeast Asian nation was invaded by Indonesia in the 1970s, and for many years it used the Indonesian rupiah as currency. 

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Timor-Leste -

This changed in 2000 when it introduced the US dollar as the official currency. The centavo coin was then introduced in 2003.

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Bonaire -

The Dutch Caribbean island used the Netherlands Antillean guilder until 2011. But unlike the Netherlands, it didn't adopt the Euro.

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Bonaire -

Instead, Bonaire adopted the US dollar. This facilitates trading between a number of Caribbean islands.  

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American Samoa -

This unincorporated US territory consists of five islands and two atolls where the US dollar is the official currency.

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Northern Mariana Islands -

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is located in the Pacific Ocean and comprises 14 islands. Being a US territory, it also has the US dollar as currency. 

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Federated States of Micronesia -

The Federated States of Micronesia in Oceania consists of four states (Kosrae, Chuuk, Yap, and Pohnpei) and 607 islands.

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Federated States of Micronesia -

The states have been under Spanish, German, and Japanese rule, until they became governed by the US in 1947. They are a sovereign nation but use the US dollar as official currency. 

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Palau -

The island has one of the highest GDP per capita in the Pacific region. Palau has used the US dollar as currency since 1944.

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Marshall Islands -

The Marshall Islands were under US rule from 1947 to 1986. The island nation still uses the US dollar as its official currency.

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Turks and Caicos Islands -

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory, but they too use the US dollar instead of the British pound. 

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Turks and Caicos Islands -

The United States is the primary trading partner of Turks and Caicos, so having the same currency is advantageous. 

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Zimbabwe -

By the end of 2008, the Zimbabwean economy collapsed under hyperinflation rates. The next step was to adopt the US dollar as the official currency. 

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Zimbabwe -

At the time, one US dollar was equivalent to a 2.6 decillion (1 followed by 33 zeros!) Zimbabwean dollars. The Zimbabwe Gold was introduced in 2024, but the USD is still widely accepted.

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Saba -

Located in the Caribbean, Saba is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. They too used the US dollar as currency. 

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Sint Eustatius -

Sint Eustatius is another small island in the Caribbean Netherlands that uses the US dollar as currency. 

Sources: (Love Money)

See also: Why these European countries don't use the euro as currency

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