Afghanistan Currency: Past and Present

The Currency of Afghanistan: A History

From the Afghani to the Afghani

The currency of Afghanistan has a long and complex history. The first known currency in Afghanistan was the afghani, which was introduced in 1891. The afghani was based on the Indian rupee and was equal to one rupee. In 1925, the afghani was replaced by the new afghani, which was equal to 100 old afghanis. The new afghani was pegged to the British pound sterling at a rate of 1 afghani = 1 shilling. In 1946, the afghani was devalued to 1 afghani = 6 pence.

In 1973, the afghani was renamed the afghani. The afghani was pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 1 afghani = $0.02. In 1996, the Taliban introduced a new currency, the Islamic afghani, which was based on the Saudi Arabian riyal. The Islamic afghani was equal to 1,000 afghanis. In 2002, after the overthrow of the Taliban, the afghani was reintroduced and was pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 1 afghani = $0.005.

Today, the afghani is the official currency of Afghanistan. It is issued by the Da Afghanistan Bank and is available in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 afghanis. The afghani is a convertible currency and is used for all transactions in Afghanistan.