The riel (; ;

sign A sign is an object, quality, event, or entity whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. A natural sign bears a causal relation to its object—for instance, thunder is a sign of storm, or me ...

: ៛;

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communicati ...

: KHR) is the

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. 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 In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...

of 4,100:1 with the

United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

, Cambodia's second ''de facto'' currency for commercial transactions. Popular belief suggests that the name of the currency comes from the

Mekong river The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

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.

Concurrent use with foreign currencies

In rural areas the riel is used for virtually all purchases, large and small. However, the

is also used, particularly in urban Cambodia and tourist areas. In areas near the Thai border, the

Thai baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

is also accepted. Dollarization started in the 1980s and continued to the early 90s when the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

contributed humanitarian aid, refugees began sending remittances home, and inflation as high as 177% per year eroded confidence in the riel. From 1991 to 1993, the

United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Cambodia in 1992–93 formed following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords. This was the first occasion in which the UN directly assumed re ...

stationed 22,000 personnel throughout Cambodia, whose spending represented a large part of the Cambodian economy. While the riel remains in common use in the provinces, the major cities and tourist areas heavily use the U.S. dollar. The latter is dispensed in ATMs, accepted in virtually all purchases, and USD quotations are required to price hotel rooms, airline tickets and significant financial transactions. The exchange rate of 4,000 KHR/US$ is widely known and employed frequently in retail trade, with riel paid out for change in fractions of a dollar. In June 2020, the National Bank of Cambodia announced the phaseout from wide circulation of small U.S. dollar banknotes of $1, $2 and $5. This is aimed at reducing the cost of keeping the smaller US notes in circulation, as well as increasing the use of the riel in lieu of these notes. No fees were to be charged to collect these small notes before 31 August 2020, but after that date banks were expected to incur costs of transporting these notes.

History

Cambodian tical

Prior to the year 1875, the tical was the currency of

as well as

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. However, as a result of French intervention in the region, the tical in Cambodia was replaced in 1875 by the Cambodian franc.

Cambodian franc

The

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 century ...

was the currency of

between 1875 and 1885. It was equal to the

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

and was similarly subdivided into 100 centimes. It replaced the tical and was replaced by the

piastre The piastre or piaster () is any of a number of units of currency. The term originates from the Italian for "thin metal plate". The name was applied to Spanish and Hispanic American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Le ...

French Indochinese piastre

The

was introduced in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

in 1885 at par with the Spanish-American silver dollar, and was in use until 1952.

First riel (1953–1975)

In 1953, the Cambodia branch of the Institut d'Émission des États du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viet-nam issued notes dual denominated in

and riel with the riel being at par with the piastre. At the same time, the two other branches of the ''Institut'' had similar arrangements with the đồng in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

and the kip in

. The piastre itself was derived from Spanish pieces of eight (

peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...

s). The riel was at first subdivided into 100 ''centimes'' (abbreviated to cent. on the coins) but this changed in 1959 to 100 ''sen'' (). For the first few years, the riel and piastre circulated alongside each other. The first riel banknotes were also denominated in piastres. * First issue, 1955–56: 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 50 riels. * Second issue, 1956: 1 riel, 20 riels, 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels. * Third issue, 1956: 100 riels, 500 riels. * Fourth issue, 1963: 5 riels, 10 riels, 100 riels. * Fifth issue, 1972: 100 riels*, 500 riels, 1,000 riels*, 5,000 riels*.Cambodian Currency Collectio
Cambodian Currency Collection
(* ''Unissued.'') Banknotes of Cambodia. 1 riel.jpg, 1 riel Banknotes of Cambodia 1 riel.jpg, 1 riel Banknotes of Cambodia 10 riel.jpg, 10 riels Banknotes of Cambodia. 10 riel.jpg, 10 riels Banknotes of Cambodia 500 riel.jpg, 500 riels Banknotes of Cambodia. 500 riel.jpg, 500 riels Coins: The 10, 20 and 50 centimes of 1953 and sen coins were minted in

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

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). A 1 riel coin about the size of a U.S. nickel was to be issued in 1970, as part of the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

's coin program, but was not released, perhaps due to the overthrow of the government of

Norodom Sihanouk Norodom Sihanouk (; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a member of the House of Norodom, Cambodian royal house who led the country as Monarchy of Cambodia, King, List of heads of state of Cambodia, Chief of State and Prime Minister of Cambodi ...

Lon Nol Marshal Lon Nol (, also ; 13 November 1913 – 17 November 1985) was a Cambodian military officer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cambodia twice (1966–67; 1969–71), as well as serving repeatedly as defence minister and provi ...

Khmer Rouge (1975–1980, 1993–1999)

Although the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

printed banknotes, they were not issued as money was abolished after the Khmer Rouge took control of the country. * Sixth issue, 1975: 0.1 riel (1 kak), 0.5 riels (5 kaks), 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 50 riels, 100 riels. In 1993, the Khmer Rouge printed a series of coloured banknotes for limited use in territories under their control. * Regional issue, 1993: 5 riels, 10 riels, 20 riels, 50 riels, 100 riels.

Second riel (1980–present)

After the Vietnamese attacked Khmer Rouge in 1978, the riel was re-established as Cambodia's national currency on 20 March 1980, initially at a value of 4 riels = 1 U.S. dollar. It is subdivided into 10 kaks (from the

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

''kak'') or 100 sens (from the French ). 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. Near the same time, the United Nations gave humanitarian aid to Cambodia in U.S. dollars, and placed people in Cambodia to get it started, and the populace prefer the more stable U.S. dollar. As the supply of riels grew rapidly during the early 1990s, the riel devalued from 4 riels to 1 dollar in 1980 to a rate of around 4000 KHR/USD in the 2000s and around 4100 KHR/USD in the 2020s, where it has remained stable ever since. * Seventh issue, 1979: 0.1 riel (1 kak), 0.2 riels (2 kaks), 0.5 riels (5 kaks), 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 20 riels, 50 riels. * Eighth issue, 1987: 5 riels, 10 riels. * Ninth issue, 1990–92: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels. * Tenth issue, 1992–93: 200 riels, 1,000 riels*, 2,000 riels*. (* ''Unissued.'') * Eleventh issue, 1995: 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels. * Twelfth issue, 1995–99: 100 riels, 200 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels. * Thirteenth issue, 2001–07: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 50,000 riels. * Fourteenth issue; 2008: 20,000 riels * Fifteenth issue; 2012–22: 100 riels, 200 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels. * Commemorative issue; 2012-2024: 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 15,000 riels, 30,000 riels, 200,000 riels

Banknotes

* * 100 riels (2001-08-09 and 2015-01-14) * 200 riels (1995 and 2022-11-14) * 500 riels (2002-04-04 and 2014-01-14) * 1,000 riels (2006-01-06 and 2017-10-25) * 2,000 riels (2008-01-03, 2013-11-09 and 2022-11-14) * 5,000 riels (2001-04-06 and 2017-10-25) * 10,000 riels (2001-04-06 and 2015-05-07) * 15,000 riels (2019) * 20,000 riels (2008-05-12 and 2018) * 30,000 riels (2021-10-18) * 50,000 riels (2001-04-06 and 2014-05-06) * 100,000 riels (1995 and 2013-05-14)

Coins

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 riels were introduced. However, these are rarely found in circulation.

References

* *

External links

Cambodian Currency Collection – Depicts every banknote issued in Cambodia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambodian Riel Circulating currencies Economy of Cambodia Currency symbols Currencies of Cambodia Currencies introduced in 1953 Currencies introduced in 1980 Currencies of Asia