Kuwaiti dinar | |
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دينار كويتي (Arabic) | |
1 Dinar of the sixth edition (2014-)
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ISO 4217 | |
Code | KWD |
Denominations | |
Subunit | |
1⁄1,000 | fils |
Symbol | د.ك or KD |
Banknotes | 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 5, 10, 20 dinars |
Coins | 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 fils |
Demographics | |
User(s) | Kuwait |
Issuance | |
Central bank | Central Bank of Kuwait |
Website | www |
Valuation | |
Inflation | 4.7% |
Source | The World Factbook, 2011 est. |
Pegged with | Undisclosed currency basket $1 USD = 0.29963 KD |
The Kuwaiti dinar (Arabic: دينار, code: KWD) is the currency of Kuwait. It is sub-divided into 1,000 fils. The Kuwaiti dinar is the world's highest-valued currency unit.
The dinar was introduced in 1960 to replace the Gulf rupee, equal to the Indian rupee. It was initially equivalent to one pound sterling. As the rupee was fixed at 1 shilling 6 pence, that resulted in a conversion rate of 13 1⁄3 rupees to the dinar.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the Iraqi dinar replaced the Kuwaiti dinar as the currency and large quantities of banknotes were stolen by the invading forces. After liberation, the Kuwaiti dinar was restored as the country's currency and a new banknote series was introduced, allowing the previous notes, including those stolen, to be demonetized.
The following coins were first introduced in 1961:
Six series of the Kuwaiti dinar banknote have been printed.
The first series was issued following the pronouncement of the Kuwaiti Currency Law in 1960, which established the Kuwaiti Currency Board. This series was in circulation from 1 April 1961 to 1 February 1982 and consisted of denominations of 1⁄4, 1⁄2, 1, 5 and 10 and 20 dinars.
After the creation of the Central Bank of Kuwait in 1969 as a replacement to the Kuwaiti Currency Board, new 1⁄4, 1⁄2 and 10 dinar notes were issued from 17 November 1970, followed by the new 1 and 5 dinar notes of the second series on 20 April 1971. This second series was withdrawn on 1 February 1982.