Yemeni rial

The rial (Arabic: ريال يمني; sign: ﷼; abbreviation: YRl (singular) and YRls (plural) in Latin, ,ر.ي in Arabic; ISO code: YER) is the official currency of the Republic of Yemen. It is divided into 100 fils, but coins in fils are no longer used. The value of the Yemeni rial has dropped a lot because of problems in the country.

The Yemeni civil war has made the currency different in various parts of Yemen. In the south, where UAE-backed separatists and the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia are in control, the rial’s value has fallen sharply because new money is printed often. In the north, where the Houthis with support from Iran are in control, only banknotes printed before 2017 are used, so the exchange rate has stayed more steady. You can tell the difference between older and newer banknotes by their size.

History

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the rial was connected to the Maria Theresa thaler because of Yemen's coffee trade with the French.

Yemen later created its own money. After the North Yemen Arab Republic and the South People's Democratic Republic of Yemen joined together in 1990, both their currencies were used for a while. In 1996, the South's money was taken out of use. The value of the Yemeni rial changed a lot over time. Because of war, the rial's value fell, and it now takes many more rials to buy one United States dollar.

Coins

Before Yemen became one country, it made coins worth different amounts, like small pieces called "fils" and bigger pieces called "rials." But today, you won't find the small fils coins anymore.

In 1993, Yemen started making new coins worth 1 and 5 rials. Later, they added coins for 10 rials in 1995 and 20 rials in 2004. Recently, a new coin worth 100 rials was announced, which has caused some disagreement between different groups in the country.

YRl 1	YRls 5	YRls 10	YRls 20

Banknotes

When Yemen became one country, its central bank started making paper money in amounts of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 rials. Later, small pieces of metal replaced the 1, 5, 10, and 20 rial notes. New notes for 200, 500, and 1,000 rials were added in the late 1990s, and a 250 rial note came in 2009.

Because of problems in the country, the central bank moved to Aden and made new 500 and 1,000 rial notes in 2017 with better safety marks. In 2018, they brought back the 200 rial note and made a new 100 rial note. In 2025, a different group in Sanaa made their own 200 rial note, but the main bank said this was not allowed.

1990-2009 series

2017–2018 series

Houthi-issued notes

The main central bank in Aden and others say this note is not allowed.

Currently circulating banknotes (1994–2009)

Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Printing	Issue
		YRls 1	Green	Al-Bakiriyya Mosque	Coffea arabica	1990
		YRls 5	Light red	Buildings in Old Sana'a	Al-Qahira Castle in Taiz
		YRls 10	Blue and black	Al-Bakiriyya Mosque	Marib Dam	1992
		YRls 20	Dark brown	Sculpture of Dionysus with grapes	A dhow in Aden Harbor	1995
		YRls 50	Olive-green	Bronze statue of Ma'adkarib, ancient king of Haram	Shibam city, Hadramaut	1993
		YRls 100	Purple	Cisterns of Tawila, Aden	City view of Sana'a with mosque minaret and mountains
		YRls 200	Green	Alabaster sculpture	Mukalla	1996
		YRls 250	Orange & blue	Al-Saleh mosque, Sana'a	Khor Al-Mukalla	2009	November 14, 2009
		YRIs 500	Purple	Central Bank building, Sana'a	Throne of Queen Bilqis in Ma'rib	1997
		YRls 500	Blue	Dar al-Hajr (Palace of the Rock)	Al-Muhdhar Mosque, Tarim	2001
			Cyan			2007
		YRls 1,000	Green & yellow	Seiyun Palace, Hadhramaut	Bab al-Yaman, San'a	1998, 2004, 2009	August 2010

Currently circulating banknotes (2017–2018 series)

Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Printing	Issue
		YRls 100	Red and violet	Dragon Blood Tree of Socotra. Qamariya stained glass window art. Outline of a mosque as a latent image.	Terraced agricultural farming fields. Queen Arwa Mosque Mihrab decorated niche	2018
		YRls 200	Yellow	Zabid fortress, Al Hudaydah Governorate	Hawf, Al Mahrah Governorate		August 2018
		YRls 500	Light Cyan	Al-Muhdhar Mosque, Tarim	Dar al-Hajar	2017
		YRls 1,000	Green	Seiyun Palace, Hadhramaut	Bab al-Yaman, San'a

Houthi-issued note

Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	Issue
		YRls 200	Pink, light blue, yellow, and black	Al-Janad Mosque in Taiz	Oil tankers in Al Ma’alla port in Aden	July 16, 2025