| Cambodian riel | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Khmer) | |||||
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| ISO 4217 code | KHR | ||||
| User(s) | Cambodia (alongside the U.S. dollar) | ||||
| Inflation | 19.7% | ||||
| Source | The World Factbook, 2008 est. | ||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1/10 | kak | ||||
| 1/100 | sen | ||||
| Symbol | |||||
| Coins | 50, 100, 200, 500 riel | ||||
| Banknotes | |||||
| Freq. used | 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, 100,000 riel | ||||
| Rarely used | 50, 100, 500 riel | ||||
| Central bank | National Bank of Cambodia | ||||
| Website | nbc.org.kh | ||||
For earlier Cambodian currencies, see Cambodian tical and Cambodian franc.
The riel (Khmer: រៀល, sign: ៛; code: KHR) is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currency, also named "riel", has been issued since April 1, 1980. However, this currency has never gained public acceptance, with most Cambodians preferring gold or foreign currency.[1] The UN peacekeeping operation of 1993 injected a large quantity of U.S. dollars into the local economy. As a result, the dollar has become the country's common currency.[1] Riel notes are used for fractional dollar amounts as U.S. coins are not in circulation. The symbol is encoded in Unicode at U+17DB ៛ khmer currency symbol riel (HTML: ៛ ).
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In 1953, the Cambodia branch of the Institut d'Emission des Etats du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam issued notes dual denominated in piastre and riel with the riel being at par with the piastre.[2] At the same time, the two other branches had similar arrangement with the đồng in South Vietnam and the kip in Laos. This means that the first Cambodian riel was a direct lineal descendant of the Spanish pieces of eight. The riel was at first subdivided into 100 centimes (abbreviated to cent. on the coins) but this changed in 1959 to 100 sen (សេន). For the first few years, the riel and piastre circulated alongside each other. Indeed, the first riel banknotes were also denominated in piastres.
First Issue 1955-56 - 1 Riel, 5 Riel, 10 Riel, 50 Riel
Second Issue 1956 - 1 Riel, 20 Riel, 50 Riel, 100 Riel, 500 Riel
Third Issue 1963 - 5 Riel, 10 Riel, 100 Riel
Fourth Issue 1972 - 100 Riel[*], 500 Riel, 1000 Riel[*], 5000 Riel[*][3]
[*] Unissued
The 10, 20 and 50 centime of 1953 and sen coins were minted in aluminium and were the same size as the corresponding att and xu (su) coins of Laos and South Vietnam (though without the holes in the Lao coins). Riel coins available are 50 riels, 100 riels, 200 riel. A 1 riel coin about the size of a U.S. nickel was to be issued in 1970 but was not released, perhaps due to the overthrow of the government of Norodom Sihanouk by Lon Nol.
Although the Khmer Rouge printed banknotes these notes were not issued as money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country.
Fifth Issue 1975 - 0.1 Riel (1 Kak), 0.5 Riel (5 Kak), 1 Riel, 5 Riel, 10 Riel, 50 Riel, 100 Riel[3]
After the Vietnamese invasion in 1978, the riel was re-established as the Cambodian currency on April 1, 1980, initially at a value of 4 riel = 1 U.S. dollar. It is subdivided into 10 kak (កាក់) or 100 sen. Because there was no money for it to replace and a severely disrupted economy, the central government gave away the new money to the populace in order to encourage its use.
In rural areas the riel is used for virtually all purchases, large and small. However, the United States dollar is also used, particularly in urban Cambodia and tourist areas. In Battambang and other areas near the Thai border, like Pailin, the Thai baht is also accepted.
Sixth Issue 1979 - 0.1 Riel (1 Kak), 0.2 Riel (2 Kak), 0.5 Riel (5 Kak), 1 Riel, 5 Riel, 10 Riel, 20 Riel, 50 Riel
Seventh Issue 1987 - 5 Riel, 10 Riel
Eighth Issue 1990-92 - 50 Riel, 100 Riel, 500 Riel
Ninth Issue 1992-93 - 200 Riel, 1000 Riel[*], 2000 Riel[*]
Tenth Issue 1995 - 1000 Riel, 2000 Riel, 5000 Riel, 10,000 Riel, 20,000 Riel, 50,000 Riel, 100,000 Riel
Eleventh Issue 1995-99 - 100 Riel, 200 Riel, 500 Riel, 1000 Riel
Twelfth Issue 2001-08 - 50 Riel, 100 Riel, 500 Riel, 1000 Riel, 2000 Riel, 5000 Riel, 10,000 Riel, 20,000 Riel, 50,000 Riel
Current Issued Banknotes
50 Riel - 2002
100 Riel - 2001
500 Riel - 2002/04
1000 Riel - 2005/07
2000 Riel - 2007
5000 Riel - 2001/02/04/07
10,000 Riel - 2001/05/06
20,000 Riel - 2008
50,000 Riel - 2001[3]
[*] Unissued
| Image | Value | Dimensions | Main Colour | Description | Date of | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | printing | issue | withdrawal | lapse | |||
| 50 Riels | Yellow | 13th | current | |||||||
| 100 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 500 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 1000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 2000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 5000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 10000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 20000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| 50000 Riels | 13th | current | ||||||||
| These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | ||||||||||
The first coins were 5 sen pieces, minted in 1979 and made of aluminum. No more coins were minted until 1994, when denominations of 50, 100, 200, and 500 riel were introduced. However, these are no longer commonly found in circulation.
| Current KHR exchange rates | |
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| From Google Finance: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY |
| From Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY |
| From OzForex: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY |
| From XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY |
| From OANDA.com: | AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD CNY |
| Preceded by: French Indochinese piastre Location: French Indochina Reason: independence Ratio: at par Note: piastre not used in self-declared North Vietnam since 1946 |
Currency of Cambodia 1953 – 1970 Note: transitional notes dual denominated in piastre and riel were used until 1955 |
Currency of Khmer Republic 1970 – 1975 |
Succeeded by: Moneyless economy Location: Kampuchea Reason: The Khmer Rouge attempted to implement the Marxist vision of a money-less society Note: The Khmer Rouge did print a series of riel. Some sources say they were never issued. Some say they were issued one month before they were abolished. |
| Preceded by: Vietnamese đồng Reason: reintroduction of a national currency Ratio: 1 riel = 3 đồng = 0.25 U.S. dollar = 1 kg rice |
Currency of Cambodia 1980 – |
Succeeded by: Current |
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