| ISO 4217 | |
|---|---|
| Code | MRU (numeric: 929) before 2017: MRO[1] |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Plural | ouguiya |
| Symbol | UM |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1⁄5 | khoums |
| Banknotes | 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 ouguiya[2] |
| Coins | |
| Freq. used | 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 ouguiya[3] |
| Rarely used | 1 khoums |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |  Mauritania Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie |
| Website | www |
| Printer | Canadian Bank Note Company[4] |
| Website | cbnco |
| Valuation | |
| Inflation | 2.2% |
| Source | The World Factbook, 2019 est. |
Theouguiya (Arabic:أوقية موريتانية (IPA:[u.ɡij.jə]);sign:UM;code:MRU), at one time spelled "ougiya",[5] is the currency ofMauritania. Each ouguiya constitutes fivekhoums (meaning "one fifth").
The current ouguiya was introduced in 2018, replacing the old ouguiya at a rate of 1 new ouguiya = 10 old ouguiya, which in turn replaced theCFA franc at a rate of 1 old ouguiya = 5 francs.The nameouguiya (أوقية) is theHassaniya Arabic pronunciation ofuqiyyahأُوقِية), meaning "(Roman) ounce".[6]
In 1973, coins of1⁄5 (1khoums), 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya were introduced into circulation. This was the only year that thekhoums was minted, as the ouguiya was worth fiveCFA Francs a khoums was the equivalent of the franc (which had no subdivision). The most recent issues were in 2003 (1 ouguiya) and 2004 (other denominations). Coins are minted at theKremnica mint inSlovakia. The coinage slightly changed in 2009, with a reduced 1 ouguiya in plated composition and a bi-metallic 20 ouguiya issued. A bi-metallic 50 ouguiya was issued December 2010.
In 1973, notes were issued by theCentral Bank of Mauritania (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) in denominations of 100, 200 and 1,000 ouguiya. In 1974, a second series of notes was issued in the same denominations, with 500-ouguiya notes added in 1979. Banknotes have been printed byGiesecke & Devrient in Munich, starting with the second issue.
New banknotes and new coins were introduced in 2004. These notes have completely new fronts and the vignettes on the backs have been redesigned to accommodate the reduction in size. The 2,000-ouguiya denomination is entirely new.
All but the 100 and 200 ouguiya notes have the denomination expressed in Arabic numerals in a holographic patch at right front. The serial numbers for all denominations now appear horizontally at upper left and lower center, and vertically at far right, all formatted with a 2-character prefix, 7-digit serial number, and 1-character suffix.[7]
An entirely new 5,000-ouguiya denomination dated 28 November 2009 was introduced on 8 August 2010, followed by a redesigned 2,000-ouguiya note dated 28 November 2011 issued on 1 February 2012.[7]
On 5 December 2017, the Central Bank of Mauritania announced a redenomination of its currency at a rate of 1:10. As part of the redenomination, a new series of coins were issued in denominations of 1 khoums (1⁄5 ouguiya), 1, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya, with the latter being struck as a tri-metallic coin and a new series of banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 ouguiya. The new ouguiya banknotes issued for the redenomination are printed entirely inpolymer. As a consequence of this change, the ISO Currency Codes for the ouguiya were amended to MRU / 929 and the existing codes of MRO / 478 were retired as per ISO 4217 Amendment Number 165 dated 14 December 2017.[8] A 2 ouguiya coin was issued into circulation in 2018, serving as an intermediate denomination for the 1 and 5 ouguiya coins already in circulation. On 28 November 2021, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a 20 ouguiya banknote, co-circulating with the coin of the same denomination in circulation. On 15 June 2023, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a new 50 ouguiya banknote in celebration of 50 years of the circulation of the ouguiya in Mauritania, co-circulating with the previous banknote of the same denomination.[9]
| Banknotes of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017 issues) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Main color | Description | Date of issue | ||
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | |||
| 20 ouguiya | Red | Grand Mosque of Gataga in Kaedi | Guelb er Richât | 28 November 2020 | ||
| 50 ouguiya | Violet | Ibn Abbas mosque, Nouakchott | Teapot; musical instruments | 28 November 2017 | ||
| 100 ouguiya | Green | Tower | Cattle | |||
| 200 ouguiya | Yellow | Camels | ||||
| 500 ouguiya | Blue | Trawler; fish | ||||
| 1,000 ouguiya | Brown | Locomotive of an ore train | ||||
| Coins of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017-2018 issue) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of first minting | |||||
| Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | |||
| 1⁄5 ouguiya | 16.0 mm (0.63 in) | 2.0 mm (0.079 in) | 2.10 g (0.074 oz) | Copper-platedsteel | Plain/Smooth | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Fish; denomination | 2017 | |
| 1 ouguiya | 19.9 mm (0.78 in) | 2.0 mm (0.079 in) | 4.00 g (0.141 oz) | Nickel-platedsteel | Reeded/grained | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Teapot; denomination | 2017 | |
| 2 ouguiya | 24.0 mm (0.94 in) | 5.65 g (0.199 oz) | Stainless steel | Reeded/grained | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | National instruments; denomination | 2018 | ||
| 5 ouguiya | 22.5 mm (0.89 in) | 2.0 mm (0.079 in) | 4.71 g (0.166 oz) | Nickel-platedsteel | Plain/smooth | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Instruments; denomination | 2017 | |
| 10 ouguiya | 24.0 mm (0.94 in) | 1.8 mm (0.071 in) | 5.38 g (0.190 oz) | Bi-metallic coin (Nickel-platedsteel center with aBrass-plated steel ring) | Segmented (alternating between 10 plain and reeded sections) | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Cow; denomination | 2017 | |
| 20 ouguiya | 26.0 mm (1.02 in) | 2.0 mm (0.079 in) | 7.63 g (0.269 oz) | Tri-metallic coin (Bronze-plated steel center plug with aNickel-plated steel inner ring and aBrass-plated steel outer ring) | Plain/smooth | Camels; denomination | |||
| Current MRU exchange rates | |
|---|---|
| FromGoogle Finance: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| FromYahoo! Finance: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| FromXE.com: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
| From OANDA: | AUDCADCHFCNYEURGBPHKDJPYUSD |
Ces billets seront imprimés à la Canadian Bank Note Company, à Ottawa (Canada)./ستتم طباعتها في شركة البنكنوت الكندية في أوتاوا، كندا.[These notes will be printed at the Canadian Bank Note Company, in Ottawa, Canada.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Preceded by: West African CFA franc Ratio: 1 ouguiya = 5 francs | Currency ofMauritania 1973 – 2017 | Succeeded by: Second ouguiya Ratio: 1 second ouguiya = 10 first ouguiya |
| Preceded by: First ouguiya Ratio: 1 second ouguiya = 10 first ouguiya | Currency ofMauritania 2018 – | Succeeded by: Current |
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