- Country: Pakistan
- Currency: Rupee
- Alias: Pakistan rupee
- ISO 4217 CODES: PKR/586
- Symbol: Rs
The Pakistan rupee – also known as the Pakistani rupee – has served as the national currency of Islamic Republic of Pakistan since 1948. The rupee was converted from an imperial-type currency to a decimal-based currency in 1961. While Pakistan is still considered to be a developing country, its economy has experienced positive growth for more than 50 consecutive years, this in spite of numerous armed conflicts with its neighbor, India. In recent years, manufacturing, textile and agricultural exports have been largely responsible for supporting the rupee’s value. Unfortunately, direct foreign investment in Pakistan remains relatively low.
Background of the Pakistan Rupee
The Pakistan rupee is a distant cousin of the Indian rupee. In fact, the first versions of Pakistan rupee notes issued in 1947 were actually Indian rupee notes that had been hastily imprinted with the word “Pakistan” to differentiate them from India’s national currency. The State Bank of Pakistan was formed shortly thereafter, and began to mint its own currency.
Prior to being converted to a decimal-based currency system in 1961, the rupee was divided into 16 annas, and each anna was subdivided into 4 paise. The decimal conversion divided the rupee directly in 100 paise, rendering the “anna” denomination obsolete.
The Pakistani rupee was pegged to the British pound sterling up until 1971, when it became pegged to the U.S. dollar. In 1982, the peg was changed to a basket of currencies reflecting Pakistan’s major trading partners. In the wake of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the Pakistani government in 1988, the country suffered greatly under economic sanctions imposed by global superpowers, and embarked upon a two-tiered exchange rate policy. In 1999, the Pakistani rupee became a fully free-floating currency.
In spite of engaging in war with neighboring India and a continuing series of skirmishes over the disputed Kashmir region, Pakistan’s economy grew steadily in the latter half of 20th century. In recent years, the Pakistani economy has benefited from an influx on international aid, most of it coming from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The United States has also provided significant amounts of direct monetary aid as a reward for Pakistan’s continued cooperation in the global war again terrorism.
In October 2005, a major earthquake struck Pakistan, killing an estimated 75,000 and critically injuring many more people, and leaving almost 3 million people without shelter. The tragedy has placed a major strain on the national economy, though the United Nations, the World Bank, and various other countries and entities have already pledged over $2.5 billion in aid to Pakistan, specifically earmarked for earthquake relief efforts.
The rupee is divided into 100 paise. Denominations for coins are 1Rs, 2Rs, 5Rs, and 10Rs. Denominations for banknotes are 10Rs, 20Rs, 50Rs, 100Rs, 500Rs, 1000Rs and 5000Rs.
