Saudi riyal

Saudi riyal
ريال سعودي
An old one riyal banknote of Saudi
ISO 4217
CodeSAR (numeric: 682)
Subunit0.01
Unit
Symbol‎
Denominations
Subunit
 ​1⁄100halalah
Banknotes5, 10, 50, 100, 500 riyals
Coins0.01, 0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 1 riyal, 2 riyals
Demographics
User(s)Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Issuance
Central bankSaudi Central Bank
 Websitewww.sama.gov.sa
Valuation
Inflation3% (December 2013)
 SourceSaudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Jan 2014 est.

The riyal is the official money used in Saudi Arabia. A shorter name for it is SR (Arabic: ر.س). The riyal is divided into 100 halala (Arabic: هللة).

The riyal has been Saudi Arabia's money since Saudi Arabia became a country. It was the currency of Hejaz before Saudi Arabia was a country.

History

In 2007, Saudi Central Bank created its fifth series of riyal banknote with a picture of King Abdullah from all riyal banknotes expected 500 riyal banknote, which has picture of King Abdulaziz. In December 2016, old currency was removed from market in five years, later, Saudi Arabia will get new designs of both coins and banknotes. In May 2018, Saudi Central Bank replaced one riyal banknote to one riyal coin from market.

On 5 October 2020, Saudi Central Bank changed new five riyal polymer banknote. In October 2020, it created a special 20 riyal banknote with a picture of King Salman to mark G20 presidency. In April 2021, Saudi Central Bank created a special 200 riyal banknote with a picture of King Abdulaziz to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Vision 2030. In February 2025, King Salman approved official Saudi riyal symbol.

Banknotes and coins

There are 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 halala coins; and 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 500 riyal banknotes. The special riyal banknotes are there such as 20 and 200 riyal.

Fixed exchange rate

The riyal is fixed to be the same as 0.266612 United States dollars. It also is fixed to be 0.371361 Canadian dollars.

References

  1. ↑ "Saudi Arabia unveils new family of notes – BanknoteNews". 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  2. ↑ "Saudi Arabia launches new banknotes". Arab News. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
  3. ↑ "New Saudi currencies to be used alongside old ones". Al Arabiya English. 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  4. ↑ "Saudi Arabia Launches Riyal Coins to Replace Banknotes". english.aawsat.com. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  5. ↑ "Saudi Arabia starts withdrawing 1 Riyal notes from market". Al Arabiya English. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  6. ↑ "Saudi Arabia's monetary authority issues new 5 riyal polymer banknote". Arab News. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  7. ↑ "Saudi Arabia issues new twenty-riyal banknote to mark G20 presidency". Al Arabiya English. 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  8. ↑ "Saudi Central Bank issues SR200 banknote to celebrate 5th anniversary of Vision 2030". Saudigazette. 2021-04-24. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  9. ↑ "Saudi Arabia unveils currency symbol to promote financial status". The Economic Times. 2025-02-21. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  10. ↑ "Saudi Arabia unveils new Saudi riyal symbol, design derived from Arabic calligraphy". Al Arabiya English. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  11. ↑ "King Salman approves Saudi riyal symbol". Arab News. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  12. ↑ guagenti, calogero (2025-05-17). "SAR To USD: Convert Saudi Riyal to United States Dollar". Forbes Advisor. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  13. ↑ Saudi Arabia’s Exchange Rate Arrangement
  14. ↑ In this special feature Central Banking presents a survey of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency

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