If you wish to include some currencies you likely have never heard of, the winner is the Malawian Kwacha, up 6.42 percent against the US dollar this year.

The Somali Shilling, up 2.74%; the Seychelles Rupee, up 2.17%; the Suriname Dollar, up 1.87%, and the Costa Rican Colon, up 1.11% round out the top five.