yemen currency

The currency of Yemen is the Yemeni rial (ISO code: YER), symbol ﷼.

Basics of Yemen’s currency

• The Yemeni rial is the official legal tender across Yemen and is divided into 100 fils, though fils are no longer used in daily transactions due to inflation.

• Banknotes commonly used include 100, 200, 250, 500, and 1,000 rial denominations, with designs highlighting mosques, agriculture, and cultural landmarks.

Brief history

• After the unification of North and South Yemen in 1990, both the northern rial and the southern Yemeni dinar circulated side by side, with an official rate of 1 dinar = 26 rials.

• The dinar was fully withdrawn on 11 June 1996, leaving the Yemeni rial as the sole currency of the Republic of Yemen.

Banknotes and coins today

• Coins (1, 5, 10, 20 rial) exist but are rarely seen in everyday trade because of the currency’s low purchasing power; most transactions use banknotes.

• Newer 500 and 1,000 rial notes with updated security features and different sizes were issued from 2017 onward by the Central Bank in Aden.

Economic situation and value

• The Yemeni rial has experienced long‑term depreciation, moving from relatively stable levels in the 1990s to significantly weaker rates, driven by war, political fragmentation, and loss of foreign reserves.

• Exchange rates and even which notes are accepted can differ between areas controlled by different authorities, reflecting a de facto monetary split inside the country.

Recent and “latest news” angles

• Local economic observers and NGOs have warned that issuing additional banknotes without solid economic backing risks fueling further inflation and undermining confidence in the rial.

• International and domestic criticism has also targeted attempts by de facto authorities to introduce their own versions of currency or alter circulation rules, amid fears this could deepen Yemen’s financial and regional divides.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.