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Mapped: Where British travellers have been hit hardest in the pocket since Brexit vote

Over the last six months, the pound has had a pretty torrid time. But where in the world have British holidaymakers been hit hardest by the weakening pound after the Brexit vote?

The map below reveals all - how the pound has fared, rising or falling, since the country went to the polls. 

Differences between exchange rates on June 23, 2016 - the day of the referendum - and February 1 this year, were measured as percentage changes by currency providers Travelex.

With this data we are able to show the strength of British spending power in every world currency that the foreign exchange company tracks.

Unfortunately, we found that in nearly every country, the pound will now buy you less.

We can see that Brexit has had the most impact on holidaymakers heading to parts of Africa, Russia and Brazil. In Namibia, a growing destination for safaris, travellers currently get 21 per cent less of the local dollar than they would have done before Britain decided to leave the European Union.

The four countries where sterling has gained ground

  1. Syria

  2. Egypt

  3. Turkey

  4. Mongolia

The same drop in the pound was recorded in South Africa, but travellers shouldn’t be too downhearted as last January returns on sterling were at a record high. Then, £1 bought 24.5 rand and although those gains have now been diminished, the pound still buys around 16 rand and Britons will find that meals out and drinks are still surprisingly affordable.

A 21 per cent drop in sterling was also recorded in Swaziland, while Lesotho saw the biggest drop of all the currencies analysed, of 24 per cent over the last six months.

The countries where the pound has been hardest hit

  1. Lesotho

  2. Swaziland

  3. Namibia

  4. South Africa

  5. Brazil

  6. Russia

  7. Iceland

  8. Chile

  9. Kazakhstan

Russia and Brazil were joint third in terms of where the pound was hit the hardest, with falls in both of 20 per cent. Exchanging £500 today buys 1,920 Brazilian reals as opposed to 2,400 reals on June 23, 480 reals less.

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British holidaymakers will also be able to afford less in Iceland - the next worst hit country with a fall recorded of 19 per cent - and in Chile and Kazakhstan, which both saw drops of 18 per cent.

In the US, the gloom continues, as Britons will have 15 per cent less in their pockets now, with £500 worth $88 (£70) less than last year.

Australia offers less value too, with sterling also falling 15 per cent in six months.

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In Europe the pound has suffered less but it has still shrunk 11 per cent since the day of the Brexit vote, with Britons currently getting €76 (£65) less in return for £500.

The map shows however that there are a handful of countries where the pound has in fact strengthened over the same period. It’s not a holiday destination for obvious reasons but the pound has gone up 102 per cent in Syria, while also strengthening by 81 per cent against the Egyptian pound, which was devalued so the Egyptian government could receive help from the IMF.

There is good news at least for British tourists in instability-stricken Turkey, where the pound rose by 11 per cent in six months. Exchanging £500 now gives you 2245 lira, 222.5 (£50) more than before.

“The value of the Turkish lira has hit historic lows over the past few months, driven by the ramifications of political and economic circumstances," said said Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of FairFX, a travel money company.

Britons can afford more now in Mongolia too, where a 7 per cent rise was recorded. In Burma the pound took only a very slight tumble of 1 per cent.

“Mongolia is in the midst of an economic crisis which has spurred a freefall in the value of its currency," said Mr Strafford-Taylor. "Economic uncertainty, falling commodity prices, a slowdown in growth and this month’s $5.5bn bailout by the IMF has also contributed to continued currency volatility.”