The Ruanda-Urundi franc was a currency issued for the Belgian mandate territory of Ruanda-Urundi in 1960–62 which continued to circulate within its

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

s of Rwanda and Burundi until 1964. The currency replaced the Belgian Congo franc which had also circulated in Ruanda-Urundi from 1916–60 when the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

became independent, leaving Ruanda-Urundi as the sole Belgian colonial possession in Africa. With the independence of Rwanda and Burundi in 1962, the shared Ruanda-Urundi franc continued to circulate until 1964 when it was eventually replaced by two separate national currencies.

History

The franc became the currency of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, when the two countries were occupied by Belgium and the Belgian Congo franc replaced the

German East African rupie The Rupie was the currency of German East Africa between 1890 and 1916, continuing to circulate in the Tanganyika Territory until 1920. History The Indian rupee was the dominant currency used along the East African coast during the second half ...

. In 1960, the Belgian Congo franc was replaced by the Ruanda-Urundi franc, issued by the "Issuing Bank of Rwanda and Burundi" (''Banque d'Emission du Rwanda et du Burundi'', BERB). This circulated after independence until January 1964, when Rwanda and Burundi introduced their own currencies, the

Burundian franc The franc (ISO 4217 code is BIF) is the currency of Burundi. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''centimes'', although coins have never been issued in centimes since Burundi began issuing its own currency. Only during the period when Burundi used ...

and the

Rwandan franc The Rwandan franc (sign: FRw,National Bank of Rwanda.Currency characteristics" Accessed 2017-02-20. and possibly RF or R₣; ISO 4217: RWF) is the currency of Rwanda. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.National Bank of Rwanda.Legal tender." Acces ...

Coins

A single denomination was issued, the 1 franc, between 1960 and 1964.

Banknotes

From 1960 to 1963, the BERB issued notes in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 francs. In 1964, Burundi overprinted all of these denominations for use in Burundi, whilst Rwanda overprinted all but the 5 and 10 franc notes for use in Rwanda. Some notes were overprinted in 1961 for use as

Katangese franc The Katangese franc (french: franc katangais), was the currency of the unrecognized State of Katanga between 1960 and 1963 during its brief period of independence from the Republic of the Congo. It replaced the Congolese franc at par and was con ...

s in the successionist state of Katanga in the Congo.

References

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Franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of Africa Currencies of Rwanda Currencies of Burundi 1960 establishments in Ruanda-Urundi 1964 disestablishments in Rwanda 1964 disestablishments in Burundi 1960s economic history {{Burundi-stub