Currently, about currencies are used across the globe and recognized by the United Nations. However, not all the currencies have equal strength or value; some are stronger and trade frequently in the foreign exchange markets. Besides the US, 22 other countries use different forms of the dollar currency, including Australia and Canada.
Almost every country trades with other countries either within their regions or overseas. Some countries trade more than others. In most cases, barter trade is not practical, so money is used in such circumstances. However, countries have different types of currencies or money with different units of account. Therefore, they cannot buy goods from another country using the local currencies.
The most common solution to this problem is currency exchange. Currency is important to a country because of the exchange rate. Nations use their foreign currency reserves to fix exchange rates to become competitive in the export market, improve investor confidence, and remain liquid during a crisis.
It used British and New Zealand coins tied to the pound sterling until , although Samoa gained independence five years earlier in Today, the tala is the official currency of Samoa. Some countries changed currencies shortly after changing currencies only to change them again—Saudi Arabia is not one of them. The kingdom was a tribal society characterized by instability, poverty, and factional fighting until when the powerful King Abdulaziz Bin Abdul Rahman Alfaisal captured the capital of Riyadh and unified the tribes.
The riyal , however, has been the standard currency since the country was founded. Before, it was one of the most common currencies in the Mediterranean region during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. Issued by the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss franc is also one of the most stable currencies in the world. With a history dating back to the 13th century, the ruble is one of the oldest currencies in the world.
Peter the Great was responsible for sweeping economic reforms in Russia in the early s when all rubles were first minted with the image of the reigning tsarist ruler. When the Russian empire came crashing down in , so, too, did the ruble—between and , the ruble fell from against the U.
However, the union dissolved with the outbreak of World War I. Throughout much of its history, Ukraine was split between rival empires, most notably the Austria-Hungary Empire and the Russian Empire, neither of which survived World War I.
However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the national currency became the hryvnia, which is also used in parts of Russian-annexed Crimea. However, the North Korean won and South Korean won are different currencies with different values.
Most importantly, the won associated with the reclusive and renegade North is not convertible or exchangeable. The authoritarian government created a special convertible won for use by foreigners in the country. The sol emerged in the s but disappeared when Chile occupied the country. It returned in the s but disappeared again in the mids—this time falling victim to severe inflation. The sol was replaced by the inti, which was then replaced by the modern nuevo sol in In the city of Bucharest, the euro and U.
The new leu is the fourth in a series of currencies that first arrived in The new leu replaced the old leu in The Somali shilling has been the official currency of the northeast African nation of Somalia since Longevity, however, should not be mistaken for stability. The country suffered from civil war, natural catastrophes, famines, and political upheaval between that time and now, and along the way, the Somali shilling experienced wild volatility and often unpredictable fluctuations.
The Polynesian island kingdom used the British pound from that year until , when the colonial period ended, and the pa'anga became the national currency. When the Soviet Union fell and Turkmenistan became an independent republic, the natural gas-rich country adopted the manat as the national currency in One year later, in , the archipelago republic replaced the New Hebrides franc and established the vatu as the national currency. The landlocked southeastern African nation of Malawi is one of the least developed countries on Earth —about nine out of 10 residents live in rural areas.
Even still, the country has its own currency. The kwacha replaced the Malawian pound in The Maldives, an island chain nation located in the Indian Ocean, has the rufiyaa. Although it officially replaced the Ceylonese rupee in , the rufiyaa was circulating in the country as early as the 19th century. In , the Mauritanian ouguiya lost a zero. The currency was revalued last year, so a ouguiya coin became a single ouguiya.
Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella overhauled the Spanish monetary system in , and out of that reorganization came the peso. Most Spanish colonies kept the peso when they gained their independence. There was a time when it was equal to the U.
One of the most culturally and biologically diverse countries on Earth, Papua New Guinea, uses the kina. The currency is named for a pearl shell that was historically used for money in the region. In , Papua New Guinea gained independence and launched its own currency. Written by: Andrew Lisa. Republish this story. Can you name the local currency for these 50 countries? Ethiopia: birr. Guatemala: quetzal. Kazakhstan: tenge. Nigeria: naira. Poland: zloty.
Sierra Leone: Leone. Dirk M. Surinam: Surinamese dollar. Serbia: Serbian dinar. Vietnam: dong. South Africa: rand. Afghanistan: afghani. Bangladesh: taka. Georgia: lari. Like the dollar, South Africa's rand comes from the Dutch name for the South African city Witwatersrand, an area rich in gold. Many Scandinavian countries use a currency that derives from the Latin word "corona," meaning "crown.
This is a pretty straightforward truncation of the Latin word "denarius," which was a silver coin used in ancient Rome. The Sanskrit word for wrought silver is "rupya," which lends its name to the Indian and Pakistani rupee, as well as Indonesia's rupiah. When coins were minted in precious metals, thieves would shave off small portions of the metal to create new coins. For you. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options.
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