United States Dollar (USD) Profile

Currency name
Currency code
Currency symbol

$, or US$

Subunit
1/10,  Dime;  1/100,  Cent;   1/1000,  Mill
Coins freq used
1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢
Coins rarely used
50¢, $1
Banknotes freq used
US$1, US$5, US$10, US$20, US$50, US$100
Banknotes rarely used
US$2
Central bank
Federal Reserve System (www.federalreserve.gov)
Currency users

1.Officially used by the United States of America and its unincorporated organized territories including Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands of the United States , Guam , American Samoa and its unincorporated unorganized territories of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
note: United States Minor Outlying Islands consists of eight United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island; and one in the Caribbean Sea: Navassa Island.
2.Officially dollarized economies of EI Salvador, Panama and Ecuador
3.Certain unofficially (semiofficially and exclusively) dollarized economies, such as Timor-Leste (East Timor), Turks and Caicos Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau, British Virgin Islands, Federated States of Micronesia.

Currency notes

Nicknames: Greenback, Buck, smacker, bones, dead presidents, etc.

Currency user list

What countries are using United States dollar currency?

The United States dollar, also referred to as the U.S. dollar or American dollar, is officially used by the United States of America and its unincorporated organized territories, including Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and its unincorporated unorganized territories of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.

The United States dollar is the dominant reserve currency. The major reserve currencies are the United States dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Pound sterling (GBP), Japanese yen (JPY), Swiss franc (CHF), and Canadian dollar (CAD). The two currencies of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and Chinese yuan (CNY) are proposed as the two newly added major reserve currencies. The US dollar and the Euro make up almost 90% of allocated Reserves globally, and the U.S. dollar itself gets almost a 60% share. Since the United States dollar is regarded as one of the most stable currencies, dollarization has been proceeding among many countries, which means the U.S. dollar has been used alongside with or instead of their domestic currencies.

EI Salvador and Ecuador have adopted the United States dollar (USD) as their sole legal tender and ceased to issue their domestic currencies. The Panamanian balboa (PAB) and the U.S dollar are both official currencies being used in Panama. Panama uses Panamanian balboa coins in addition to U.S. dollar coins, meanwhile, only the U.S. dollar banknotes are in circulation.

Dollarization---- The U.S. dollar being used as official currency.
Country name Legal tender Currency code Continent location Dollarization since Notes
EI Salvador United States dollar USD North America Since 2001  
Panama Panamanian balboa PAB North America Since 1904 Panamanian balboa has always been circulated alongside dollars at par and both are official currencies.  
Ecuador United States dollar USD North America Since 2000  

Most countries and territories use the United States dollar (USD) as de facto currency, either alongside with or instead of their domestic currencies.

Dollarization---- The United States dollar (USD) being used as de facto currency.
Country name Legal tender Currency code Continent location Dollarization since Notes
The Bahamas Bahamian dollar BSD North America since 1966  
Barbados Barbadian dollar BBD North America since 1975  
Cambodia Cambodian riel KHR Asia since 1980  
Haiti Haitian Gourde HTG North America 1912-1989  
Lebanon Lebanese pound LBP Asia since 1997 LBP is pegged with U.S. dollar
at 1USD= 1507.5 LBP
Liberia Liberian dollar LRD Africa since 1944  
Zimbabwe Zimbabwean dollar ZWL Africa since 2009  
Afghanistan Afghan afghani AFN Asia   Since 2002, Afghani (code: AFN) is used more widely instead of the U.S.dollar.
Maldives Maldivian rufiyaa MVR Asia   The united states dollars are widely accepted in Maldives alongside with Maldivian rufiyaa. Officially exchange rate is at 1 USD= 12.8 MVR
Bermuda (UK) Bermuda dollar BMD North America   Bermuda is British territory.
Cayman Islands (UK) Cayman Islands dollar KYD North America   Cayman Islands are British territory.
British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) Pound sterling GBP Asia   British territory
East Timor United States dollar USD Asia   East Timor centavo coins were introduced in 2003 for use alongside U.S. dollar banknotes and coins
Marshall Islands United States dollar USD Oceania Since 1944  
Federated States of Micronesia United States dollar USD Oceania Since 1944  
Palau United States dollar USD Oceania since 1944  
Caribbean Netherlands (Netherlands) United States Dollar USD North America since 2011 Netherlands territory
British Virgin Islands(UK) United States Dollar USD North America since 1959 British territory
Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) United States Dollar USD North America   1. Turks and Calcos Islands are a British territory.
B. Since 25 May 2013, he Bahamian dollar will be used alongside the U.S.dollar.

United States dollar history

The United States dollar was created in 1792 and based upon the Spanish dollar. The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight, was a silver coin and was worth eight reales. The Mexican peso was originally the name of the eight-real coins issued in Mexico by Spain. Therefore, the U.S. dollar and Mexican peso have the common origin of the Spanish dollar and both continue to use its “$” as a currency symbol. The three currencies of the Spanish silver dollars, the U.S. silver dollars, and the Mexican silver pesos remained in circulation as legal currencies in the United States since 1792 until the Coinage Act of 1857, which announced to forbid using foreign coins as legal currencies.

The U.S. dollar was first defined in bimetallism (silver and gold standards) as 371.25 grains (24.056 g) of silver or 24.75 grains (1.6038 g) of pure gold following a fixed 15:1 ratio of silver to gold.

The dollar was shifted in the gold standard to 23.2 grains (1.50 g) in 1834, and it was slightly adjusted to 23.22 grains (1.505 g) in 1837. The United States passed the Gold Standard Act in 1900, which defined gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money. The Act fixed the dollar's precise value at 25.08 grains of gold at 90% purity, equivalent to 23.22 grains (1.5046 g) of pure gold, and set $20.67 per 1 troy ounce of gold. Eventually, this gold standard was dropped in 1933.

In 1934, the dollar was defined at 13.71 grains (0.888 g) of gold. A new monetary management system, The Bretton Woods system, was established by 44 Allied nations in 1944, and it set the U.S. dollar as the gold standard currency. Under the system, the value of the U.S. dollar was anchored to the value of gold at $35 per ounce, meanwhile each country maintained its fixed exchange rate by tying its currency to the U.S. dollar. The two great international financial institutions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, former World Bank) were also established to manage the Bretton Woods system. The IMF guaranteed the U.S. dollar's convertibility into gold and maintained the system members' confidence in the U.S. dollar. The IBRD provided enough dollars as international liquidity. In 1971, the Bretton Woods system was ended, and the convertibility of the U.S. dollars to gold was terminated.

In 1973, the U.S. dollar was defined as 0.73662 g of gold and set the gold value at $42.22 per ounce. Including the United States, many countries quit the fixed exchange rate system and started to follow the floating exchange rates.

United States dollar coins and banknotes

The United States dollar is subdivided into 100 cents or 10 dimes. It was subdivided as 1000 Mill when the U.S. dollar was created; however, it has been withdrawn from circulation. Currently, frequently used coins are 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents (1 dime), 25 cents (quarter). Frequently used banknotes are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 dollars.

Currencies pegged to the United States dollar

The U.S.dollar was pegged by many currencies since it’s regarded as a stable currency.

Currencies pegged to the U.S. Dollar (USD)
currency name currency code Pegged with U.S. dollar
at rate of:
Users Continent
Djiboutian Franc DJF Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD = 177.721 DJF
djibouti Africa
Eritrean nakfa ERN Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 15 ERN
Eritrea Africa
Bahraini dinar BHD Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 0.376 BHD
Bahrain Asia
Jordanian dinar JOD Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 0.709 JOD
Jordan Asia
Lebanese pound LBP Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 1507.5 LBP
Lebanon Asia
Omani rial OMR Pegged with U.S.dollar
1 OMR= 2.6008 USD
Oman Asia
Qatari riyal QAR Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 3.64 QAR
Qatar Asia
Saudi riyal SAR Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 3.75 SAR
Saudi Arabia Asia
United Arab Emirates dirham AED Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 3.6725 AED
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Asia
Hong kong dollar HKD Pegged with U.S.dollar 1 USD=HK$7.75–7.85 (narrow band) Hong kong
(Special administration of China)
Asia
Aruban florin AWG Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 1.89 AWG
Aruba North America
Bahamian dollar BSD Pegged with U.S. dollar
at par
Bahamas North America
Barbadian dollar BBD Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 2 BBD
Barbados North America
Belize dollar BZD Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 2 BZD
Belize North America
Bermudian dollar BMD Pegged with U.S.dollar
at par
Bermuda North America
Cayman Islands dollar KYD Pegged with U.S.dollar
1 KYD = 1.2 USD
Cayman Islands North America
Cuban convertible peso CUC Pegged with U.S.dollar
at par
Cuba North America
East Caribbean dollar XCD Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 2.70 XCD
eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS):
1.Antigua and Barbuda
2.Dominica,
3.Grenda,
4.Saint Kitts and Nevis,
5.Saint Lucia,
6.Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
7.Montserrat
8.Anguilla (Associate membership)
North America
Netherlands Antillean gulden ANG Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 1.79 ANG
Curacao, Sint Maarten North America
Panamanian balboa PAB Pegged with U.S. dollar
at par
Panama North America
Venezuelan bolivar VEF Pegged with U.S. dollar
1 USD= 6.30 VEF(since Feb.10,2013)
Venezuela South America