Eurozone member states ERM II member states with an opt-out ERM II member states Other EU member states States using the euro with a bilateral agreement States which have unilaterally adopted the euro |
There are 27 currencies currently used in the 50 countries of Europe. All de facto present currencies in Europe, and an incomplete list of the preceding currency, are listed here.
In Europe, the most commonly used currency is the euro (used by 26 countries); any country entering the European Union (EU) is expected to join the eurozone [1] when they meet the five convergence criteria. [2] Denmark is the only EU member state which has been granted an exemption from using the euro. [1] Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden have not adopted the Euro either, although unlike Denmark, they have not formally opted out; instead, they fail to meet the ERM II (Exchange Rate Mechanism) which results in the non-use of the Euro. [3] [4] For countries which hope to join the eurozone, there are five guidelines that need to be followed, grouped in the Maastricht criteria. [1]
The United Kingdom's currency, sterling, is rated fourth on Investopedia's list of the top 8 most tradable currencies, and that it is a "little bit more volatile than the euro". [5] It was ranked just ahead of the Swiss franc, ranked fifth, which is used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, saying that the set up of the Swiss banking "emphasizes the economic and financial stability policies dictated by the governing board of the SNB". Both are in the top 8 major currencies on Bloomberg. [6] Several countries use currencies which translate as "crown": the Czech koruna, the Norwegian krone, the Danish krone, the Icelandic króna, and the Swedish krona. [7]
At present, the euro is legal tender in 20 out of 27 European Union member states, [8] in addition to 6 countries not part of the EU (Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City, Andorra, Kosovo and Montenegro). [9]
In Europe, the euro is used in 26 countries (including Kosovo), while the Swiss franc is used in two countries. All 23 other widely recognized states each have their own national currency. Among the states with limited recognition, Transnistria uses the Transnistrian ruble and Abkhazia uses the Abkhazian apsar. Northern Cyprus does not have its own currency and has adopted the Turkish lira. Similarly, South Ossetia uses the Russian ruble.
Therefore, 27 currencies are used in Europe:
Unrecognized country | De jure country | Present currency | Currency sign | ISO 4217 (or unofficial) code | Fractional unit | Previous currency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abkhazia | Georgia | apsar Russian ruble (both official) | the apsar has no currency sign ₽ | ABK (unofficial) RUB | the apsar has no fractional unit | Soviet ruble |
Kosovo | Serbia | euro Serbian dinar (unofficial, only in Serb majority areas) | € DIN | EUR RSD | cent Para | Yugoslav dinar |
North Cyprus | Cyprus | Turkish lira euro (unofficial) sterling (unofficial) | ₺ € | TRY EUR | kuruş | Cypriot pound |
South Ossetia | Georgia | Russian ruble | ₽ | RUB | kopeck | Soviet ruble |
Transnistria | Moldova | Transnistrian ruble | руб | PRB (unofficial) | kopeck | Soviet ruble |
The euro is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual currencies and their minor units. This data is published in three tables:
The krona is the currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. It is one of the currencies of the European Union. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value. In English, the currency is sometimes referred to as the Swedish crown, as krona means "crown" in Swedish. The Swedish krona was the ninth-most traded currency in the world by value in April 2016.
The króna or krona is the currency of Iceland. One króna was formerly divided into 100 eyrir.
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 20 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies.
The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) is a system introduced by the European Economic Community on 1 January 1999 alongside the introduction of a single currency, the euro as part of the European Monetary System (EMS), to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe.
The Romanian leu is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani, a word that also means "money" in the Romanian language.
The krone was the official currency of Austria-Hungary from 1892 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918. The subunit was one hundredth of the main unit, and was called a Heller in the Austrian and a fillér in the Hungarian part of the Empire.
Sweden does not currently use the euro as its currency and has no plans to replace the existing Swedish krona in the near future. Sweden's Treaty of Accession of 1994 made it subject to the Treaty of Maastricht, which obliges states to join the eurozone once they meet the necessary conditions. Sweden maintains that joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II, participation in which for at least two years is a requirement for euro adoption, is voluntary, and has chosen to remain outside pending public approval by a referendum, thereby intentionally avoiding the fulfilment of the adoption requirements.
A coin wrapper, also known as a bank roll or simply a roll, is a paper or plastic container designed to hold a specific number of coins. During 19th century, newly minted coins were collected in cloth bags. Initially, coin wrapping was a manual process. Since the onset of the 20th century, coin wrapping machines have been in use. The earliest patent for a coin wrapping machine was in 1901. By 1910, automatic coin counting machines were in use, which could reject counterfeit coins, wrap coins, and crimp the coin wrapper ends.
The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999, although it had been a goal of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since the 1960s. After tough negotiations, the Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993 with the goal of creating an economic and monetary union (EMU) by 1999 for all EU states except the UK and Denmark.
The enlargement of the eurozone is an ongoing process within the European Union (EU). All member states of the European Union, except Denmark which negotiated an opt-out from the provisions, are obliged to adopt the euro as their sole currency once they meet the criteria, which include: complying with the debt and deficit criteria outlined by the Stability and Growth Pact, keeping inflation and long-term governmental interest rates below certain reference values, stabilising their currency's exchange rate versus the euro by participating in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, and ensuring that their national laws comply with the ECB statute, ESCB statute and articles 130+131 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The obligation for EU member states to adopt the euro was first outlined by article 109.1j of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which became binding on all new member states by the terms of their treaties of accession.
The international status and usage of the euro has grown since its launch in 1999. When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and replaced minor currencies tied to pre-euro currencies, such as in Monaco. Four small states have been given a formal right to use the euro, and to mint their own coins, but all other usage outside the eurozone has been unofficial. With or without an agreement, these countries, unlike those in the eurozone, do not participate in the European Central Bank or the Eurogroup.
There are eight currencies of the European Union as of 2023 used officially by member states. The euro accounts for the majority of the member states with the remainder operating independent monetary policies. Those European Union states that have adopted it are known as the eurozone and share the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB and the national central banks of all EU countries, including those who operate an independent currency, are part of the European System of Central Banks.
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