Pakistani Rupee (PKR) Profile

Currency name
Currency code
Currency symbol

Subunit
1/100,  paisa (not in circulation)
Coins freq used
₨1, ₨ 2, ₨5
Coins rarely used
 
Banknotes freq used
₨10, ₨50, ₨100, ₨ 500, ₨1000
Banknotes rarely used
 
Central bank
State Bank of Pakistan (www.sbp.org.pk)
Currency users
Currency user list

Pakistani rupee users

The Pakistani rupee is the official currency of Pakistan (officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan) which is a country in South Asia.

Pakistan declared independence from the United Kingdom on August 14, 1947, including two commonly known areas of the West Pakistan and East Pakistan, originally the eastern and northwestern regions of British India. The West Pakistan was formally independent as present-day Bangladesh in December 1971. Pakistan became Commonwealth of Nations once after independence in 1947 but withdrew in 1972 and rejoined in 1989.

Pakistani rupee history

The Pakistani rupee was introduced for circulating in 1947. Previously Pakistan used Indian rupee coins and notes simply over-stamped with “Pakistan”.

The Pakistani rupee was originally divided into 16 annas, each of 4 pice or 12 pie. It was decimalized on January 1, 1961 and then subdivided into 100 paise (singular: paisa, renamed from pice). The Pakistani rupee had been pegged to the British Pound until 1982 and then changed to be managed float. The exchange rate of Pakistani rupee and the U.S. dollar is 1 USD= 98.181 PKR as per date of February 28, 2013.

Pakistani rupee coins and banknotes

The Pakistani rupee is subdivided into 100 paise but paisa coins have not been issued since 1994 and the smallest circulating coins are 1 rupee.

Currently in circulation coins are in denominations of  1, 2, 5 rupees and banknotes are in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 5000 rupees.

Pakistani rupee and the currency of rupee

The first rupee was introduced in the sixteenth century. It is still being used by many countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Indonesia (as the rupiah). It was formerly used in Burma, Afghanistan and many countries of Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula.

Pakistani introduced its own Pakistani rupee once after independence in 1947. Previously the Indian rupee was used.

Countries currently use rupee as official currency (exchange rate as per: March 1, 2013)
Nations Currency name Currency code 1 USD= 1 EUR= 1 GBP= Notes
Indonesia Indonesian rupiah IDR 9675.00 12592.3 14527.2 The Indonesian rupiah was introduced on 2 January 1949.
India Indian rupee  INR 54.9081 71.4646 82.4457 The Indian rupee started to replace the various rupee currencies used by Indian autonomous states since 1845 and got all replaced by 1961.
Maldives Maldivian rufiyaa MVR 15.400 20.0433 23.1257 The Maldivian rufiyaa was introduced in 1947 with equal value to the rupee.
Mauritius Mauritian rupee MUR 30.930 40.2559 46.4468 The Mauritian rupee was introduced in 1876.
Nepal Nepalese rupee NPR 87.8971 114.404 131.990 The Nepalese rupee was introduced in 1932.
Pakistan Pakistani rupee PKR 98.2574 127.889 147.548 The Pakistan rupee was introduced after the partition from British India in 1947. 
Seychelles Seychelles rupee SCR 12.3732 16.1046 18.5802 The Seychelles rupee was introduced in 1914.
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka rupee LKR 127.429 165.874 191.379 The Sri Lanka Rupee was used since January 1872.

Countries formerly used the rupee as official currency   (exchange rate as per: March 1, 2013)
Nations Currency name Currency code 1 USD= 1 EUR= 1 GBP= Notes
Afghanistan Afghan afghani AFN 51.9798 67.6616 78.0652 The Afghani replaced Rupee in 1925.
Myanmar (Burma) Myanmar(Burma)kyat MMK 861.497 1121.44 1293.72 Myanmar (Burma) Kyat replaced Rupee in 1952 at par.
United Arab Emirates  United Arab Emirates dirham  AED 3.673 4.78127 5.51579 Gulf rupee was used in the United Arab emirates between 1959 and 1966, equivalent to the Indian rupee. 
Bahrain Bahraini dinar BHD 0.37703 0.49075 0.56618 1. Gulf rupee was used in Bahrain between 1959 and 1966, equivalent to the Indian rupee.
2. Bahraini dinar was introduced in 1965, replacing the Gulf rupee at a rate of 1 BHD =10 Gulf rupees. 
Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar KWD 0.28375 0.36934 0.4261 1. Gulf rupee was used in Kuwaiti between1959 and 1961. It was equivalent to the Indian rupee.
2. Kuwaiti dinar was introduced in 1961, replacing the Gulf rupee at 1 dinar = 13⅓ Gulf rupee. 
Oman Omani rial OMR 0.38505 0.50119 0.57822 1. Gulf rupee was used in Oman from 1959 to 1970 and was replaced by Oman rial Saidi at a rate of approximately 1 rial Saidi =21 Gulf rupees.
2. Oman rial was introduced in 1973, replacing the rial Saidi at par.