The afghani (symbol: Af (plural: Afs) code: AFN; Pashto: افغانۍ; Persian : افغانی) is the currency of Afghanistan, which traditionally is issued by the nation’s central bank called Da Afghanistan Bank. It is nominally subdivided into 100 puls (پول), although there are no pul coins currently in circulation. In September 2021, one U.S. dollar was exchanged for approximately 88 afghanis. The afghani is also informally referred to as rūpa.
The new currency was announced by President Hamid Karzai on 4 September 2002, and was introduced to the market on October 8, 2002. This monetary reform was well received by the public as it was a sign of security and stability, especially the country’s rebuilding effort. People also no longer had to carry many bags of money for ordinary things. It was the first time in many years that a sole currency was under the control of the central bank instead of warlords. Most old banknotes were destroyed by the end of 2002.
Da Afghanistan Bank has adopted a floating exchange rate regime and has let the exchange rate be determined freely by market forces. The new afghani was valued at Afs. 43 to one US dollar.
After depreciating during the last quarter of 2003/04, the afghani appreciated steadily, gaining 8 per cent against the US dollar between March 2004 and July 2004. This appreciation, at a time of increasing inflation, appears to reflect a greater willingness by the population to use the afghani as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. This trend appears to be attributable to the relative stability of the exchange rate since the introduction of the new currency, administrative measures aimed at promoting its use, such as the requirement that shopkeepers must price goods in afghani. Donors are increasingly making payments in afghanis instead of US dollars and this appears to be widely accepted. By 2009, the afghani was valued at Afs. 45 per one US dollar. In 2019, the afghani reached Afs. 75 to the US dollar.
After the Taliban took over, Afghanistan’s foreign assets were frozen. IMF blocked the release of $450 million in August. Subsequently, the value of the afghani fell. The Taliban banned all foreign currencies to encourage use of the afghani as national tender.
AFN Banknotes
On 7 October 2002, banknotes were introduced in denominations of Af. 1, Afs. 2, Afs. 5, Afs. 10, Afs. 20, Afs. 50, Afs. 100, Afs. 500, and Afs. 1,000. The Af. 1, Afs. 2 and Afs. 5 notes were replaced by coins in 2005. In 2004 and 2008, the security features on several denominations were improved. In 2014 a new Afs. 1,000 note was introduced to prevent counterfeit notes.