| ريال يمني (Arabic) | |
|---|---|
 1000 Yemeni rial banknote | |
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | YER (numeric: 886) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Symbol | ﷼ or YRl/YRls |
| Denominations | |
| Superunit | |
| 10 | dinar |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄100 | fils |
| Banknotes | YRls 50, YRls 100, YRls 200, YRls 250, YRls 500, YRls 1,000 |
| Coins | YRl 1, YRls 5, YRls 10, YRls 20 |
| Demographics | |
| Replaced | North Yemeni rial Yemeni dinar |
| User(s) |  Yemen |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Central Bank of Yemen |
| Website | www |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 16.8% |
| Source | 2023[1] |
Therial (Arabic:ريال يمني;sign:﷼; abbreviation:YRl (singular) andYRls (plural) inLatin,[2],ر.ي inArabic;ISO code:YER) is the official currency of theRepublic of Yemen. It is technically divided into 100fils, although coins denominated in fils have not been issued sinceYemeni unification. Due to the ongoingpolitical instability, the value of the Yemeni rial has fallen significantly.
TheYemeni civil war has caused the currency to diverge. In southern Yemen, which is primarily controlled by UAE-backedseparatists and the former government backed bySaudi Arabia, ongoing printing has caused the currency's value to plummet. However, in northern Yemen, which is primarily controlled byAnsar Allah with support fromIran, banknotes printed after 2017 are not considered legal tender. Therefore, the exchange rate has remained stable.[3] The differences in banknotes printed before and after 2017 can be determined by its size.
In the 18th and 19th century, therial was traditionally associated with theMaria Theresa thaler, a currency that was widely used in Yemen owing to the Mocha coffee trade with the French, and a Yemeni request that its produce be paid for in thalers.[4]
As Yemen progressed, it developed its own legal currency. After the union between the North (theYemen Arab Republic) and the South (thePeople's Democratic Republic of Yemen) in 1990, both thenorthern rial and thesouthern dinar remained legal tender during a transitional period, with an exchange rate set at 1 dinar to 26 rials. On 11 June 1996, the dinar was withdrawn from circulation. In 1993, the first coins were issued for theRepublic of Yemen. The value of the Yemeni rial against theUnited States dollar dropped significantly, compared to 12.01 rials per dollar in the early 1990s.
Since the mid-1990s, the Yemeni rial has been freely convertible. Though it dropped from YRls 20 to approximately YRls 215 against the US dollar since then, the rial was stable for several years. However, since 2010 the Central Bank of Yemen has had to intervene many times to protect the currency's value, resulting in a serious decline of foreign reserves.[5] Due to thewar, the exchange rate for the Yemeni rial has hovered between 250 and 500 Yemeni rials for 1 US dollar.
In January 2025, the currency further deteriorated to a historic low point, where 1 USD was traded at 2150 Yemeni rials due to the lack of foreign currency availability in exchange markets and the failure of government authorities to intervene with solutions for this issue. This decline was observed in areas under the control of the internationally-supportedPresidential Leadership Council, while the Yemeni rial exchange rate remained stable in areas controlled by theHouthis, where the dollar was approximately 530 rials.[6]
Before unification, North Yemen issued coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 fils, and 1 rial. The fils denominations have all disappeared from circulation. In 1993, new coins were introduced by theCentral Bank of Yemen in denominations of 1 and 5 rials. These were followed by 10-rial coins in 1995 and 20-rial coins in 2004.
For the first time in nearly a decade,Yemen's Houthi-led de facto government has announced the issuing of a newly minted 100 riyal coin, a move which has prompted outcry from the internationally recognised government and its central bank based inAden as a “dangerous escalation.”[7]
| YRl 1 | YRls 5 | YRls 10 | YRls 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
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At the time of unification, the Central Bank of Yemen issued banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 rials. In 1993, the 1 and 5 rial notes were replaced by coins, with the same happening to the 10 rial notes in 1995, and 20 rial notes in 2004. In 1996, 200 rial notes were introduced, followed by 500 rials in 1997 and 1,000 rials in 1998. A 250 rial banknote was issued in 2009.[8][9]
In 2017, the Central Bank of Yemen, now relocated inAden, its interim capital due to thecivil war, issued 500 and 1,000 rial banknotes with revised security features and different dimensions. In 2018, the Central Bank of Yemen reintroduced the 200 rial banknote and has issued a new 100 rial banknote.
| Image | Value | Main Colour | Description | Date of | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | Printing | Issue | ||
 |  | YRls 1 | Green | Al-Bakiriyya Mosque | Coffea arabica | 1990 | |
 |  | YRls 5 | Light red | Buildings inOld Sana'a | Al-Qahira Castle inTaiz | ||
 |  | YRls 10 | Blue and black | Al-Bakiriyya Mosque | Marib Dam | 1992 | |
 |  | YRls 20 | Dark brown | Sculpture ofDionysus with grapes | Adhow inAden Harbor | 1995 | |
 |  | YRls 50 | Olive-green | Bronze statue of Ma'adkarib, ancient king ofHaram | Shibam city,Hadramaut | 1993 | |
 |  | YRls 100 | Purple | Cisterns of Tawila,Aden | City view ofSana'a with mosque minaret and mountains | 1993 | |
_-_Obverse.jpg) | _-_Reverse.jpg) | YRls 200 | Green | Alabaster sculpture | Mukalla | 1996 | |
 |  | YRls 250 | Orange & blue | Al-Saleh mosque, Sana'a | Khor Al-Mukalla | 2009 | November 14, 2009 |
 |  | YRIs 500 | Purple | Central Bank building, Sana'a | Throne ofQueen Bilqis inMa'rib | 1997 | |
 |  | YRls 500 | Blue | Dar al-Hajr (Palace of the Rock) | Al-Muhdhar Mosque, Tarim | 2001 | |
 |  | YRls 500 | Cyan | Dar al-Hajr (Palace of the Rock) | Al-Muhdhar Mosque, Tarim | 2007 | |
 |  | YRls 1,000 | Green & yellow | Seiyun Palace,Hadhramaut | Bab al-Yaman, San'a | 1998 2004 | August 2010 |
| Image | Value | Main Colour | Description | Date of | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | Printing | Issue | ||
 |  | YRls 100 | Red and violet | Dragon Blood Tree ofSocotra. Qamariya stained glass window art. Outline of a mosque as a latent image. | Terraced agricultural farming fields. Queen Arwa Mosque Mihrab decorated niche | 2018 | |
 |  | YRls 200 | Yellow | Zabid fortress,Al Hudaydah Governorate | Hawf,Al Mahrah Governorate | 2018 | August 2018 |
 |  | YRls 500 | Light Cyan | Al-Muhdhar Mosque, Tarim | Dar al-Hajar | 2017 | |
|  | YRls 1,000 | Green | Seiyun Palace,Hadhramaut | Bab al-Yaman, San'a | 2017 | |
| Current YER exchange rates | |
|---|---|
| FromGoogle Finance: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| FromYahoo! Finance: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| FromXE.com: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| From OANDA: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| Preceded by: South Yemeni dinar Location:South Yemen Ratio: 1 dinar = 26 rials Note: Use of the Yemeni rial started in 1990, Yemeni dinar was withdrawn from circulation in 1996. | Currency ofYemen 1990 – | Succeeded by: Current |
| Preceded by: North Yemeni rial Location:North Yemen Ratio: at par |
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