Currency union: Difference between revisions

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A currency union is where two or more states share the same currency, though without there necessarily having any further integration as would be characterised by an Economic and Monetary Union, which involves economic integration to the point of a single market.

Examples of existing unions

Currency	Union	Users	Est.	Status	Population	GDP (nominal $)
Central African CFA franc	Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon	1945	Formal
West African CFA franc	West African Economic and Monetary Union	Benin Burkina Faso Côte d'Ivoire Guinea-Bissau Mali Niger Senegal Togo	1945	Formal
CFP franc	Issued by Overseas Issuing Institute (France)	French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna	1945	Formal
East Caribbean dollar	Eastern Caribbean Currency Union of the OECS	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Grenada Montserrat Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1965	Formal
Euro	Eurozone of the European Union	Eurozone (16) Austria Belgium Cyprus Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Akrotiri and Dhekelia Andorra Kosovo Monaco Montenegro San Marino Vatican City	1999/2002	Formal (eurozone), informal (others)	328,655,062
Singapore dollar Brunei dollar	Managed together by the Monetary Authority of Singapore	Brunei Singapore	1967	Currencies mutually exchangeable^[1]	5,137,000	3.6438×10^¹⁰
Armenian dram		Armenia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic	1994	de facto	3,368,900	1.8715×10^¹⁰
Australian dollar		Australia Kiribati Nauru Tuvalu	1966	Informal
Pound sterling	Sterling area	Ascension Island British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Saint Helena South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Tristan da Cunha United Kingdom	1939	Formal, local variants used.
Indian rupee		Bhutan India^[2] Nepal^[3]	1974	Informal Nepal minor usage
New Zealand dollar		Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Pitcairn Islands Tokelau	1967	Informal
Israeli new sheqel		Israel Palestine	1927/1986	Informal
Jordanian dinar		Jordan Palestine (West Bank only)		Informal
Russian ruble		Abkhazia Russia South Ossetia	2008	Informal
South African rand	Multilateral Monetary Area	Lesotho Namibia South Africa Swaziland	1974	Formal	52.924669	316.936000000
Swiss franc		Liechtenstein Switzerland	1920	Informal	7,774,546	4.97171×10^¹¹
Turkish new lira		Turkey Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus	1983	Informal	75,081,100	734,043
United States dollar		British Virgin Islands Ecuador El Salvador Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Panama^[4] Palau Timor-Leste Turks and Caicos Islands United States	1904 (Panama only)	Formal for US Possessions only

Proposed unions

Community	Currency	Region	Target date	Notes
East African Community	East African shilling	Africa	2010	To be used by the future East African Federation
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas	SUCRE	Latin America /Caribbean	2010	It is planned to begin as an electronic currency involving Bolivia, Cuba and Nicaragua. The leader of Venezuela Hugo Chavez hopes that more nations of Latin America and the Caribbean will join the oil-backed currency.
Gulf Cooperation Council	Khaleeji	Middle East	2013	Possibly gold backed, but postponed due to the financial crisis.
Caribbean Single Market and Economy (as part of the CARICOM)		Latin America /Caribbean	2015
Southern African Development Community /Southern African Customs Union	South African Rand (interim proposal)	Africa	2016
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation		Asia	2016
Union of South American Nations	Latino^[5]	Latin America /Caribbean	2019
West African Monetary Zone	Eco	Africa	2020	Inside Economic Community of West African States, planned to eventually merge with West African franc
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa		Africa	2025.
African Economic Community		Africa	2028
ASEAN+3	Asian Monetary Unit	Asia
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)	Amero	North America		Not currently on agenda, see North American currency union
Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea	Australasian Dollar	Pacific	2019
Pacific Islands Forum	Australian dollar (one proposal)	Pacific
African Union	Unknown	Africa	2028	See African Monetary Union

Previous unions

between Bahrain and Abu Dhabi using the Bahraini dinar
between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the Trucial States, using the Gulf rupee from 1959 until 1966
between Aden and South Arabia, Bahrain, Kenya, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, British Somaliland, the Trucial States, Uganda, Zanzibar and British India (later independent India) using the Indian rupee
Belgium-Luxembourg Monetary Union (1922-2002), superseded by the European EMU
between British India and the Straits Settlements (1837-1867) using the Indian rupee
between Czech Republic and Slovakia (briefly from January 1, 1993 to February 8, 1993) using the Czechoslovak koruna
between Ethiopia and Eritrea using the Ethiopian birr
between France, Monaco, and Andorra using the French franc
between the Eastern Caribbean, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and British Guiana using the Eastern Caribbean dollar
between Italy, Vatican City, and San Marino using the Italian lira
between Ireland, and the United Kingdom using the Pound Sterling (Ireland used its own coins/banknotes of equivalent value) dissolved in 1979 when Ireland joined the European Monetary System without Britain
between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands using the Jamaican pound and later Jamaican dollar
between Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar using the East African rupee
between Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar (and later Tanganyika) using the East African florin
between Kenya, Tanganyika and Zanzibar (later merged as Tanzania), Uganda, South Arabia, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland using the East African shilling
Latin Monetary Union (1865-1927), initially between France, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland, and later involving Greece, Spain and other countries.
between Liberia and the United States using the United States dollar
between Mauritius and Seychelles using the Mauritian rupee
between Nigeria, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Liberia using the British West African pound
North German thaler (basically the Prussian thaler)
Ruble zone countries
between Qatar and all the emirates of the UAE, except Abu Dhabi using the Qatari and Dubai riyal
between Saudi Arabia and Qatar using the Saudi riyal
between Samoa and New Zealand using the New Zealand pound
between Denmark, Norway and Sweden in the Scandinavian Monetary Union
between the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Australia using the Australian dollar
South German guilder
between Spain and Andorra using the Spanish peseta
between Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore - 1953-1967
between South Africa and Botswana, using the South African rand from 1966 until 1976
between Egypt and Sudan using the Egyptian pound - until 1956
between West Germany and East Germany between 1 July 1990 and 3 October 1990, as part of a temporary Monetary, Economic and Social Union prior to German reunification.
proposed Pan-American monetary union - abandoned in the form proposed by Argentina
proposed monetary union between the United Kingdom and Norway using the pound sterling during the late 1940s and early 1950s

References

^ To all intents and purposes a monetary union. They are the last two nations whose dollars have remained at par and mutually interchangeable since the days when the Spanish Dollar was the united currency of large areas of the New World and South East Asia.
^ alongside the ngultrum
^ Not official, but freely used as a tender in Nepal, due to primarily the economic flux with India and also the instability caused by that country's civil war.
^ Alongside the Panamanian balboa
^ Proposed by Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on December 15, 2007

External links

African monetary union inches closer	United States of Southern Africa?
East Africa's first steps towards union	West Africa opts for currency union
Gulf States push for single currency	'Limited gains' from Gulf single currency
Do the Mercosur Countries Form an Optimum Currency Area?	Argentina plans monetary union
Quadrant Magazine article on the Pacific	Economist- Antipodean currencies (Australia and New Zealand)
Three Perspectives on an Australasian Monetary Union	Reasons for the collapse of the Rouble Zone
In Search of the "Ruble Zone"	OECD Development Centre- the Rand Zone
A single African currency in our time?	South Africa proposes adoption of the rand as provisional SADC common currency

[1] To all intents and purposes a monetary union. They are the last two nations whose dollars have remained at par and mutually interchangeable since the days when the Spanish Dollar was the united currency of large areas of the New World and South East Asia.

[2] side the ngultrum

[3] Not official, but freely used as a tender in Nepal, due to primarily the economic flux with India and also the instability caused by that country's civil war.

[4] Alongside the Panamanian balboa

[5] Proposed by Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on December 15, 2007

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 |[[Singapore dollar]]<br />[[Brunei dollar]]
 |''Managed together by the [[Monetary Authority of Singapore]]
-|{{flag|Singapore}}<br />{{flag|Brunei}}
+|{{flag|Brunei}}<br />{{flag|Singapore}}
 |1967
 |Currencies mutually exchangeable<ref>To all intents and purposes a monetary union. They are the last two nations whose dollars have remained at par and mutually interchangeable since the days when the [[Spanish Dollar]] was the united currency of large areas of the [[New World]] and [[South East Asia]].</ref>
@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 |[[Armenian dram]]
 |
-|{{flag|Armenia}}<br />[[Nagorno-Karabakh Republic]]
+|{{flag|Armenia}}<br />{{flag|Nagorno-Karabakh Republic}}
 |1994
 |''de facto''
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 |[[Pound sterling]]
 |[[Sterling area]]
-|{{flag|United Kingdom}}<br />{{flag|Isle of Man}}<br />{{flag|Guernsey}}<br />{{flag| Jersey}}<br />{{flag|British Antarctic Territory}}<br />{{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}}<ref>Alongside the [[United States dollar]]</ref><br />{{flag|Gibraltar}}<br />{{flag|Saint Helena}}<br />{{flag|Ascension Island}}<br />{{flag|Tristan da Cunha}}<br />{{flag|Falkland Islands}}<br />{{flag|South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands}}
+|{{flag|Ascension Island}}<br />{{flag|British Antarctic Territory}}<br />{{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}}<br />{{flag|Falkland Islands}}<br />{{flag|Gibraltar}}<br />{{flag|Guernsey}}<br />{{flag|Isle of Man}}<br />{{flag|Jersey}}<br />{{flag|Saint Helena}}<br />{{flag|South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands}}<br />{{flag|Tristan da Cunha}}<br />{{flag|United Kingdom}}
 |1939
 |Formal, local variants used.
@@ Line 91: / Line 91: @@
 |[[Indian rupee]]
 |
-|{{flag|India}}<br />{{flag|Bhutan}}<ref>alongside the [[Bhutanese ngultrum|ngultrum]]</ref><br />{{flag|Nepal}}<ref>Not official, but freely used as a tender in Nepal, due to primarily the economic flux with India and also the instability caused by that country's civil war.</ref>
+|{{flag|Bhutan}}<br />{{flag|India}}<ref>alongside the [[Bhutanese ngultrum|ngultrum]]</ref><br />{{flag|Nepal}}<ref>Not official, but freely used as a tender in Nepal, due to primarily the economic flux with India and also the instability caused by that country's civil war.</ref>
 |1974
 |Informal<br />Nepal minor usage
@@ Line 99: / Line 99: @@
 |[[New Zealand dollar]]
 |
-|{{flag|New Zealand}}<br />{{flag|Niue}}<br />{{flag|Cook Islands}}<br />{{flag|Tokelau}}<br />{{flag|Pitcairn Islands}}
+|{{flag|Cook Islands}}<br />{{flag|New Zealand}}<br />{{flag|Niue}}<br />{{flag|Pitcairn Islands}}<br />{{flag|Tokelau}}
 |1967
 |Informal
@@ Line 123: / Line 123: @@
 |[[Russian ruble]]
 |
-|{{flag|Russia}}<br />{{flag|Abkhazia}}<br />{{flag|South Ossetia}}
+|{{flag|Abkhazia}}<br />{{flag|Russia}}<br />{{flag|South Ossetia}}
 |2008
 |Informal
@@ Line 131: / Line 131: @@
 |[[South African rand]]
 |[[Common Monetary Area|Multilateral Monetary Area]]
-|{{flag|South Africa}}<br />{{flag|Swaziland}}<br />{{flag|Lesotho}}<br />{{flag|Namibia}}
+|{{flag|Lesotho}}<br />{{flag|Namibia}}<br />{{flag|South Africa}}<br />{{flag|Swaziland}}
 |1974
 |Formal
@@ Line 139: / Line 139: @@
 |[[Swiss franc]]
 |
-|{{flag|Switzerland}}<br />{{flag|Liechtenstein}}
+|{{flag|Liechtenstein}}<br />{{flag|Switzerland}}
 |1920
 |Informal
@@ Line 155: / Line 155: @@
 |[[United States dollar]]
 |
-|{{flag|United States}}<br />{{flag|Palau}}<br />{{flag|Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia}}<br />{{flag|Marshall Islands}}<br />{{flag|Panama}}<ref>Alongside the [[Panamanian balboa]]</ref><br />{{flag|Ecuador}}<br />{{flag|El Salvador}}<br />{{flag|Timor-Leste}}<br />{{flag|British Virgin Islands}}<br />{{flag|Turks and Caicos Islands}}
+|{{flag|British Virgin Islands}}<br />{{flag|Ecuador}}<br />{{flag|El Salvador}}<br />{{flag|Marshall Islands}}<br />{{flag|Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia}}<br />{{flag|Panama}}<ref>Alongside the [[Panamanian balboa]]</ref><br />{{flag|Palau}}<br />{{flag|Timor-Leste}}<br />{{flag|Turks and Caicos Islands}}<br />{{flag|United States}}
 |1904<br />(Panama only)
 |Formal for US Possessions only