Cambodian riel
| រៀលកម្ពុជា or រៀលខ្មែរ (Khmer) | |
|---|---|
Cambodian banknotes | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | KHR (numeric: 116) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Unit | riel |
| Symbol | ៛ |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄10 | kak (កាក់ kăk) (no longer used) |
| 1⁄100 | sen (សេន sén) (no longer used) |
| Banknotes | |
| Freq. used | 100៛, 200៛, 500៛, 1,000៛, 2,000៛, 5,000៛, 10,000៛, 20,000៛, 50,000៛ |
| Rarely used | 50៛ (no longer printed but still legal tender); 15,000៛ (commemorative); 30,000៛ (commemorative); 100,000៛ (commemorative); 200,000៛ |
| Coins | |
| Rarely used | 50៛, 100៛, 200៛, 500៛ |
| Demographics | |
| Replaced | French Indochinese piastre |
| User(s) | Cambodia |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | National Bank of Cambodia |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 1.4% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2015 est. |
| Pegged with | U.S. dollar at 1 USD ≈ 4,100 KHR |
| Cambodian riel | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | |
| Khmer | រៀលកម្ពុជា UNGEGN: Riĕl Kâmpŭchéa ALA-LC: Rial Kambujā IPA: [riəl kampuciə] រៀលខ្មែរ UNGEGN: Riĕl Khmêr ALA-LC: Rial Khmaer IPA: [riəl kʰmae] |
The riel (/riˈɛl/; Khmer: រៀល, romanized: riĕl [riəl]; 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 20 March 1980. Since the late 1990s, the riel has had an unofficial fixed exchange rate of 4,100:1 with the United States dollar, Cambodia's second de facto currency for commercial transactions.[1]
Popular belief suggests that the name of the currency comes from the Mekong river fish riĕl ("small fish" in Khmer). It is more likely that it derives from the high-silver content Spanish-American dollar, whose value is eight reales, a coin widely used for international trade in Asia and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.[2]
- ^ "Cambodia's riel survives alongside the dollar – BBC News". BBC News. 30 March 2011.
- ^ Filippi, Jean-Michel. "The strange adventure of the Cambodian currency". Phenom Penh Post. Retrieved 16 March 2012.