Currency

Currency is the unit of money used by the people of a country or Union for buying and selling goods and services.
Certain currencies are said to be "pegged" or "fixed" to something, usually another currency. A fixed or pegged currency is one that has a constant value compared to what it is pegged to. For example, the Cape Verdian escudo is pegged to the Euro. If the value of the Euro goes up 1% compared to another form of currency, the value of the escudo also goes up 1% compared to that same currency. Many countries have used systems where their money was pegged to something other than currency, for example gold. When they do this, as the value of gold increases, so does the value of their money. Doing this is commonly called using the "Gold standard". Most countries stopped using the Gold standard in the 20th century.
Some well-known currencies are:
- the United States dollar
- the Euro
- the British Pound sterling
Currency names of the world, in order of the first letter, by currency name:
- Afghani - Afghanistan
- Baht - Thailand
- Balboa - Panama (U.S. dollar used for paper money)
- Birr - Ethiopia
- Bolívar - Venezuela
- Boliviano - Bolivia
- Cedi - Ghana
- Colón - Costa Rica
- Cordoba - Nicaragua
- Crown - Czech Republic (koruna), Denmark (krone), Estonia (kroon), Iceland (króna), Norway (krone), Sweden (krona). See also: British Crown (coin)
- Dalasi - The Gambia
- Dinar - Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Serbia, Tunisia
- Dirham - Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Qatar, Jordan
- Dollar - Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Canada, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kiribati, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Republic of China (Taiwan), United States, Zimbabwe
- Dong - Vietnam
- Drachma - (Greece--now uses euro)
- Dram - Armenia
- Escudo - Cape Verde, (Portugal--now uses euro)
- Euro
- European Union (as an organisation; the euro is not legal tender in every EU country.)
- EU members: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France (except Pacific territories using CFP Franc), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain.
- Countries that have made legal agreements with the EU to use the euro: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City.
- Countries that unilaterally use the euro: Montenegro and Kosovo.
- Currencies pegged to the euro: Cape Verdian escudo, CFA franc, CFP Franc, Comoran francs, Bulgarian lev, Estonian kroon, Lithuanian litas, the convertible marka of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Forint - Hungary
- Franc
- Swiss franc - Switzerland, Liechtenstein.
- CFA franc - Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Republic of the Congo,
- CFP Franc - France's Pacific territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna.
- Comoran francs - Comoros (pegged to the French franc, then the euro).
- Djiboutian franc - Djibouti (pegged to the US dollar since 1973).
- Formerly using Begian-luxembourgish franc - Belgium, Luxembourg.
- Formerly using French franc: Andorra, Monaco, France (including: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and La Réunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Mayotte).
- Gourde - Haiti
- Guilder - Aruba, Netherlands Antilles (Netherlands--now uses euro)
- Iranian real - Iran
- Kina - Papua New Guinea
- Koruna - Czech Republic (Slovakia now uses euro)
- Kroon - Estonia
- Krona - Iceland, Sweden
- Krone - Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Norway
- Kuna - Croatia
- Kwacha - Zambia and Malawi
- Kwanza - Angola
- Kyat - Burma
- Lari - Georgia
- Lats - Latvia
- Lek - Albania
- Lempira - Honduras
- Leone - Sierra Leone
- Leu - Romania, Moldova
- Lev - Bulgaria
- Lira - (Cyprus, Italy, San Marino, Vatican City--now use euro)
- Turkish lira - Turkey
- Litas - Lithuania
- Manat
- Azerbaijani manat - Azerbaijan
- Turkmen manat - Turkmenistan
- Mark - (Germany-- now uses euro)
- Marka - Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Markka - (Finland now uses euro)
- Nakfa - Eritrea
- Namibian dollars - Namibia
- Ngultrum - Bhutan
- Pataca - Macau
- Peseta - (Andorra, Spain--now use euro)
- Peso - Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic (Dominican peso, Mexico, Philippines, Uruguay
- Pound - Cyprus, Egypt, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, United Kingdom (Ireland--now uses euro)
- Pula - Botswana
- Quetzal - Guatemala
- Rand - South Africa
- Real - Brazil
- Renminbi - People's Republic of China
- Riel - Cambodia
- Ringgit - Malaysia
- Riyal - Saudi Arabia
- Rouble - Belarus, Russia
- Rufiyah - Maldives
- Rupee - Republic of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka
- Rupiah - Indonesia
- Schilling - (Austria--now uses euro)
- Shekel - Israel, Gaza Strip, West Bank
- Shilling - Kenya
- Sol - Peru
- Som - Kyrgyzstan
- Sucre - Ecuador
- Taka - Bangladesh
- Tenge - Kazakhstan
- Tolar - Slovenia
- Toman - Iran
- Vietnam ~ Dong (DVN)
- Won - North Korea, South Korea
- Yen - Japan
- Yuan - People's Republic of China
- Zloty - Poland