Middle East Currencies Exchange for USD

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, other than Saudi Arabia Jordan and Israel, all Middle East, African, & Balkans currencies followed suit

 

Click here for Africa: South African Rand, Ethiopian Birr and Nigerian Naira, & Balkans: Serbia and Albania

 

Egyptian Pound EGP to USD

1950 $2.77 (Close of WW2 and almost at par with Palestinian Pound)
1979 $1.66 (Start of Egyptian "Open Door Policy")
1989 $1.20
1990 $0.60
1991 $0.30 (Start of Gulf War 1990-91)
2002 $0.20
2014 $0.14 (Disruption of "Arab Spring")
2015 $0.10
2016 $0.06
2022 $0.06
2024 $0.02

USD to Syria Pound SYP

1950  3
1963  4
1988 12
2001 48
2012 62
2013 94
2014 151
2016 208
2021 1250
2022 2512

Unofficial May 2022 3950
Unofficial Jan 2024 14550 

USD to Lebanon Pound LBP

1950     3
1981     5
1985    15
1986    36
1987   208
1988   450
1991  1024
1992  1500
2020  5000
2021 15000
2024 89000

In March 2020 at the start of COVID, Lebanon's Central Bank defaulted on $90 billion of sovereign debt obligations, triggering an informal collapse in the value of the Lebanese pound. Citizens' savings in dollars, available in limited amounts during 2019, became inaccessible after October 17, 2019.

It has been remarked that Lebanon, whose population is under 7 million, "produces little and imports about 80 percent of the goods it consumes."

In February 2024 the National Social Security Fund announced that it had raised the exchange rate -- effective February 1 -- to 89,000 to the US dollar.

Jordan Dinar JOD to USD

In 1950 Replaced Palestinian Pound at par

1950 $2.80 (Close of WW2)
1988 $2.40
1989 $1.60 (Start of Gulf War 1990-91)
2001 $1.41 (Fixed Rate of Exchange)

Saudi Arabian Riyal SAR to USD

1950 $0.22 (Close of WW2)
1985 $0.27 (Fixed Rate of Exchange)

USD to Yemen Rial YER


On 30 October 1918, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Imam Yahya Muhammad of the al-Qasimi dynasty declared northern Yemen an independent sovereign state. Its currency became the North Yemen Rial.

In the Aden Protectorate in the south, a British protectorate from 1839, the Indian rupee and the Maria Theresa Thaler (trade dollar) were the primary currencies. The East African shilling replaced the rupee after 1951. 

In 1965, the South Arabian Dinar was introduced, at 1 Dinar =  1 UK pound = $US 2.80. It was renamed the South Yemeni Dinar in 1967 when the Aden Protectorate became independent as South Yemen. Forged close links with the USSR until the breakup of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.

In May 1990 North Yemen reunited with South Yemen exchanging 1 South Yemeni Dinar for 26 North Yemen Rials. The South Yemeni Dinar remained legal tender until 1996.

In 2014-2015, a civil war broke out. The Iran-backed Houthi armed forces currently occupy Yemen's capital city Sanaa, and refuse to recognise the Saudi-backed government, based in Aden.

USD to Yemen Rial

1990 12
1995 40
1996 95
1997 140
1999 170
2006 190
2009 200
2011 214
2016 250

USD to Iraqi Dinar IQD

In 1932 the Dinar replaced the Indian Rupee at 11 Rupees to the Dinar, at par with the UK Pound. However, after Saddam Hussein took control in 1980, the value of the Dinar was kept artificially high while its exchange rate on the black market dropped to about 60 cents US.

In 2004, the US invasion of Iraq caused the value of the Dinar to totally collapse. Today there is minimal demand for Iraqi exports, other than oil, which trades in USD.

1950 $2.80 (Close of WW2, at par with the UK pound)
2003 $3.20
2004 1400 to USD
2022 1450
2024 1300

USD to Iran Rial IRR

1950    32
1957    75
1992    68
1993  1200
1998  1800
2008  8000
2011 10000
2016 30000
2018 42000

Exchange Rate Status in March 2024

The Islamic Republic of Iran has parallel currency markets with multiple rates
  1. The Official rate: 42,000 rials
  2. The Foreign Exchange Management Integrated System (NIMA) rate: 405,527 rials that the Central Bank of Iran uses for exporters and importers
  3. The Unregulated or black market rate: 616,580 rials, also the transfer (Sana) rate, among others. The disparity among these rates encourages cronyism as individuals and institutions profit by purchasing at the lowest rate in one market and selling in another.

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