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.
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.