The riel (/riˈɛl/; Khmer: រៀល, romanized: riĕl [riəl]; sign: ៛; code: KHR) is the currency of Cambodia. There have been two distinct riel, the first issued between 1953 and May 1975. Between 1975 and 1980, the country had no monetary system. A second currency, also named "riel", has been issued since 20 March 1980. Since the late 1990s, the riel has had an unofficial fixed exchange rate of 4,100:1 with United States dollar, Cambodia's second de facto currency for commercial transactions.^[1]

Quick Facts រៀលកម្ពុជា or រៀលខ្មែរ (Khmer), ISO 4217 ...

Cambodian riel

រៀលកម្ពុជា or រៀលខ្មែរ (Khmer)
ISO 4217
Code	KHR (numeric: 116)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Unit	riel
Symbol	៛‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄10	kak (កាក់ kăk) (no longer used)
1⁄100	sen (សេន sén) (no longer used)
Banknotes
Freq. used	100៛, 200៛, 500៛, 1,000៛, 2,000៛, 5,000៛, 10,000៛, 20,000៛, 50,000៛
Rarely used	50៛ (no longer printed but still legal tender); 15,000៛, 30,000៛, 100,000៛ (commemorative)
Coins
Rarely used	50៛, 100៛, 200៛, 500៛
Demographics
User(s)	Cambodia
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of Cambodia
Website	www.nbc.org.kh
Valuation
Inflation	1.4%
Source	The World Factbook, 2015 est.
Pegged with	U.S. dollar at 1 USD ≈ 4,100 KHR

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Popular belief suggests that the name of the currency comes from the Mekong river fish riĕl ("small fish" in Khmer). It is more likely that it derives from the high-silver content Spanish-American dollar, whose value is eight reales, a coin widely used for international trade in Asia and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.^[2]

In rural areas the riel is used for virtually all purchases, large and small.^{[citation needed]} However, the United States dollar is also used, particularly in urban Cambodia and tourist areas.^{[citation needed]} In areas near the Thai border, the Thai baht is also accepted.^{[citation needed]}

Dollarization started in the 1980s and continued to the early 90s when the United Nations contributed humanitarian aid,^[3] refugees began sending remittances home, and inflation as high as 177% per year eroded confidence in the riel.^{[citation needed]} From 1991-1993, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia stationed 22,000 personnel throughout Cambodia, whose spending represented a large part of the Cambodian economy.^{[citation needed]}

While the riel remains in common use in the provinces, the major cities and tourist areas heavily use the U.S. dollar. The latter is dispensed in ATMs, accepted in virtually all purchases, and USD quotations are required to price hotel rooms, airline tickets and significant financial transactions. Everyone knows the exchange rate of 4,000 KHR/US$ for retail trade, with riel paid out for change in fractions of a dollar.^[1]

In June 2020, the National Bank of Cambodia announced the phaseout from wide circulation of small U.S. dollar banknotes of $1, $2 and $5.^[4] This is aimed at reducing the cost of keeping the smaller US notes in circulation, as well as increasing the use of the riel in lieu of these notes.^[4] No fees were to be charged to collect these small notes before 31 August 2020, but after that date banks were expected to incur costs of transporting these notes.^[4]

After the Vietnamese attacked Khmer Rouge in 1978, the riel was re-established as Cambodia's national currency on 20 March 1980, initially at a value of 4 riels = 1 U.S. dollar. It is subdivided into 10 kaks or 100 sens. Because there was no money for it to replace and a severely disrupted economy, the central government gave away the new money to the populace in order to encourage its use. Near the same time, the United Nations gave humanitarian aid to Cambodia in U.S. dollars, and placed people in Cambodia to get it started, and the populace prefer the more stable U.S. dollar. As the supply of riels grew rapidly during the early 1990s, the riel devalued from 4 riels to 1 dollar in 1980 to a rate of around 4000 KHR/USD in the 2000s and around 4100 KHR/USD in the 2020s, where it has remained stable ever since.

• Seventh issue, 1979: 0.1 riel (1 kak), 0.2 riels (2 kaks), 0.5 riels (5 kaks), 1 riel, 5 riels, 10 riels, 20 riels, 50 riels.
• Eighth issue, 1987: 5 riels, 10 riels.
• Ninth issue, 1990-92: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels.
• Tenth issue, 1992-93: 200 riels, 1,000 riels*, 2,000 riels*. (* Unissued.)
• Eleventh issue, 1995: 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels.
• Twelfth issue, 1995-99: 100 riels, 200 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels.
• Thirteenth issue, 2001-07: 50 riels, 100 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 50,000 riels.
• Fourteenth issue; 2008-15: 100 riels, 500 riels, 1,000 riels, 2,000 riels, 5,000 riels, 10,000 riels, 20,000 riels, 50,000 riels, 100,000 riels.
• Fiftheeth issue; 2016-19: 1,000 riels, 15,000 riels, 20,000 riels.
• Sixteenth issue; 2021: 30,000 riels.
• Seventeenth issue; 2022: 200, 2,000 riels.

• Cambodian tical
• Cambodian franc
• Economy of Cambodia

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