Finance:Qatari riyal

Short description: Currency of Qatar

Qatari riyal

ريال قطري (Arabic)
ISO 4217
Code	QAR (numeric: 634)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Symbol	QR and ر.ق‎
Denominations
Subunit
​1⁄100	dirham
Banknotes
Freq. used	QR 1, QR 5, QR 10, QR 50, QR 100, QR 200, QR 500
Rarely used	QR 22 (commemorative)
Coins
Freq. used	25, 50 dirhams
Rarely used	1, 5, 10 dirhams
Demographics
User(s)	Qatar
Issuance
Central bank	Qatar Central Bank
Website	www.qcb.gov.qa
Valuation
Inflation	5.42%
Source	Qatar Central Bank, 2022.
Pegged with	United States dollar (USD) US$1 = QR 3.64

The Qatari riyal (sign: QR in Latin, ر.ق in Arabic; ISO code: QAR) is the currency of the State of Qatar. It is divided into 100 dirhams (Arabic: درهم).

History

Until 1966, Qatar used the Indian rupee as its currency, in the form of Gulf rupees. When India devalued the rupee in 1966, Qatar, along with the other states using the Gulf rupee, chose to introduce its own currency.

Before doing so, Qatar briefly adopted the Saudi riyal, then introduced the Qatar and Dubai riyal following the signing of the Qatar-Dubai Currency Agreement on 21 March 1966. The Saudi riyal was worth 1.065 Gulf rupees, whilst the Qatar and Dubai riyal was equal to the Gulf rupee prior to its devaluation. Initially pegged with sterling at one shilling and six pence (1s. 6d.) per riyal, its value was changed to one shilling and nine pence (1s. 9d.) when sterling was devalued in 1967, maintaining its value in relation to gold.

Following Dubai's entry into the United Arab Emirates, Qatar began issuing the Qatari riyal separate from Dubai on 19 May 1973. The old notes continued to circulate in parallel for 90 days, at which time they were withdrawn.

For a wider history surrounding currency in the region, see the history of British currency in the Middle East.

Coins

In 1966, coins were introduced in the name of Qatar and Dubai for 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 dirhams. In 1973, a new series of coins was introduced in the same sizes and compositions as the earlier pieces but in the name of Qatar only. Only 25 and 50 dirham coins are now circulated, although smaller coins remain legal tender.

Coins (Qatar)
Image		Value	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Year of
Obverse	Reverse								first minting	withdrawal			25 dirhams	20 mm	3.2 g	Nickel-clad Steel	Reeded	Dates on top. Emblem of Qatar consisting of two crossed bent swords, and between them a sailing ship (dhow) sailing on waves beside an island with two palm trees	Value	2000				50 dirhams	25 mm	5.8 g	Nickel-clad Steel	Reeded	Dates on top. Emblem of Qatar consisting of two crossed bent swords, and between them a sailing ship (dhow) sailing on waves beside an island with two palm trees	Value	2000

Banknotes

On September 18, 1966, the Qatar & Dubai Currency Board introduced notes for 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 riyals. These were replaced on 19 May 1973 by notes of the Qatar Monetary Agency in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100, and 500 riyals; a 50 riyal note was issued in 1976. The Qatar Central Bank was established by decree 15 on 5 August 1973. All coins and notes issued by the Qatar Monetary Agency became the property of the bank but continued to circulate for several years. In 2003, the Fourth Series was issued and on September 26, 2007, the revised of 100 and 500 riyal was issued, follow the revised of the 1, 5, 10, 50 on September 15, 2008. On December 13, 2020, the Qatar Central Bank issued its fifth series of banknotes for circulation. Included in this series is the 200 riyal banknote. The front side of the notes share a common design based on traditional geometric patterns, the Flag of Qatar, Qatari flora and a gate representing historic Qatari architecture.

Qatar issued a commemorative 22 riyal note for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

First series (1973-76)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Red	Coat of arms of Qatar	Port of Doha	May 19, 1973	Unknown
		QR 5	Brown and Purple		National museum
		QR 10	Green		Qatar Monetary Agency building
		QR 50	Blue		Oil rig	1976
		QR 100	Olive Green		Ministry of Finance	May 19, 1973
		QR 500			Mosque of the Sheikhs

Second series (1981)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Brown	Coat of arms of Qatar	Doha (Then changed to Dhow, Ministry of Finance, Emir's palace since 1985)	July 7, 1981	Unknown
		QR 5	Purple, Red, Green and Blue		Sheeps
		QR 10	Green and Yellow		National museum
		QR 50	Blue		Furnace in steel factory
		QR 100	Olive Green		Qatar Central Bank building
		QR 500	Green and Blue		Oil rig

Third series (1996)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Brown	Coat of arms of Qatar	Dhow, Ministry of Finance, Emir's palace	June 22, 1996	Unknown
		QR 5	Purple, Red, Green and Blue		Sheeps
		QR 10	Green and Yellow		National museum
		QR 50	Blue		Furnace in steel factory
		QR 100	Olive Green		Qatar Central Bank building
		QR 500	Green and Blue		Oil rig

Fourth series (2003)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Gray & Blue	Coat of arms of Qatar	A European bee-eater, a crested lark, and a kentish plover.	June 15, 2003	July 1, 2021
		QR 5	Green		National Museum of Qatar, Camel, oryxes
		QR 10	Orange		Dhow, Sand Dunes
		QR 50	Pink		The Pearl Monument and a view of the Qatar Central Bank building
		QR 100	Green & Gold		Old Mosque and Al-Shaqab Institute		June 15, 2009
		QR 500	Blue		Falcon, with a view of the Amiri Diwan of Qatar which serves as the government building for the State of Qatar

Revised Fourth series (2007-2008)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Gray & Blue	Coat of arms of Qatar	A European bee-eater, a crested lark, and a kentish plover.	September 15, 2008	July 1, 2021
		QR 5	Green		National Museum of Qatar, Camel, oryxes
		QR 10	Orange		Dhow, Sand Dunes
		QR 50	Pink		The Pearl Monument and a view of the Qatar Central Bank building
		QR 100	Green & Gold		Old Mosque and Al-Shaqab Institute	September 26, 2007
		QR 500	Blue		Falcon, with a view of the Amiri Diwan of Qatar which serves as the government building for the State of Qatar

Fifth series (2020)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 1	Green	Flag of Qatar; Dreama flower; gate representing historical Qatari architecture	Traditional Dhow (Bateel) and the Oyster and Pearl Monument	December 18, 2020	Current
		QR 5	Brown		Traditional desert scene comprising fauna (Arab horses, Camel, Oryxes), flora (Al Qataf) and ‘hair tent (buryuut hajar)
		QR 10	Blue		Lusail Stadium, Torch Tower (Aspire Zone), Sidra Medicine and Education City (Qatar Foundation)
		QR 50	Red		Qatar Central Bank building and Ministry of Finance building
		QR 100	Cyan		Abu Al Qubaib Mosque
		QR 200	Orange		Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar National Museum and Museum of Islamic Art
		QR 500	Violet		Ras Laffan LNG refinery and LNG canter ship

Commemorative Banknotes
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawn
		QR 22	Brown, green, blue, orange, and purple	Doha, Lusail Stadium	Tower, dhow, Al Bayt Stadium, globe	November 9, 2022	Current

Fixed exchange rate

The Qatari riyal is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed exchange rate of US$1 = QR 3.64. This rate was enshrined into Qatari law by Royal Decree No.34 of 2001, signed by Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, on 9 July 2001.

Article (1) states that the Qatari riyal exchange rate shall be pegged against the US dollar at QR 3.64, and sets upper and lower limits of QR 3.6415 and QR 3.6385 for the Qatar Central Bank's purchase and sale of dollars with banks operating in Qatar. Article (2) provides the Qatar Central Bank with the authority to determine the volume and the time of sale of US dollars and the associated conditions of such sales and payments. Article (3) cancels the earlier Royal Decree No.60 of 1975, by which the riyal was officially pegged to the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs). Template:Exchange rate

Effect of the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis

In response to the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, banks in the countries blockading Qatar had to stop trading with Qatari banks. This led to a fall in liquidity offshore and a move away from the fixed exchange rate outside of Qatar, with up to QR 3.81 being required to buy 1 US dollar in late June 2017, a situation that continued until December 2017.

This also led to cessation of trading of Qatari banknotes outside of Qatar with certain banks in certain countries such as the UK.

Within Qatar itself, however, the Central Bank of Qatar has continued to buy and sell US dollars at the fixed rate.

See also

• Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
• Economy of Qatar
• Qatar Central Bank

External links

• The banknotes of Qatar (in English and German)

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