South Sudanese pound

The South Sudanese pound (ISO 4217 code: SSP) is the official currency of the Republic of South Sudan. It is subdivided into 100 piasters. It was approved by the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly before secession on 9 July 2011 from Sudan.[7]

Banner in Juba announcing the conversion from the Sudanese Pound (SDG) to the new currency the South Sudanese Pound (SSP)

South Sudanese pound
ISO 4217
CodeSSP [1]
Denominations
Subunit
 1/100Piaster
Symbol£ [2]
Banknotes5pt, 10pt, 25pt,[3] SSP 1, SSP 5, SSP 10, SSP 20, SSP 25, SSP 50, SSP 100, SSP 500, and SSP 1,000
Coins10pt, 20pt, 50pt, SSP 1, and SSP 2 [4]
Demographics
User(s) South Sudan
Issuance
Central bankBank of South Sudan[5]
Valuation
Inflation476%
 Sourcehttps://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-sudan/ 2016

It was introduced on 18 July 2011, and replaced the Sudanese pound at par.[8] On 1 September 2011, the Sudanese pound ceased to be legal tender in South Sudan.

On October 8, 2020, due to rapid depreciation of the South Sudanese pound's exchange rate with the United States dollar, South Sudan announced that it will soon change its currency.[9][10]

Banknote designs

The banknotes feature the image of John Garang de Mabior, the deceased leader of South Sudan's independence movement.[11]

Six different denominations (SSP 1, SSP 5, SSP 10, SSP 25, SSP 50, SSP 100 and SSP 500) in the form of banknotes have been confirmed, and five denominations (1pt, 5pt, 10pt, 25pt and 50pt) will be issued in the form of coins.[12][13]

Three new banknotes for 5pt, 10pt, and 25pt were issued 19 October 2011.[14]

The first circulation coins of the South Sudanese pound denominated in 10pt, 20pt, and 50pt were issued 9 July 2015, on occasion of the fourth anniversary of independence from Sudan.[15]

In 2016, the Bank of South Sudan issued a SSP 20 banknote to replace the SSP 25 note.[16] In 2018, the Bank of South Sudan introduced a SSP 500 banknote to ease daily cash transactions following years of inflation.[17]

As part of a currency redesign to reduce confusion, a SSP 1 coin was released to replace the SSP 1 banknote, and a coin for SSP 2 has also been released.[18][19] The SSP 10, SSP 20 and SSP 100 notes were all redesigned.[18]

In November 2016 the Governor of the Bank of South Sudan issued a statement dismissing as false reports claiming that the bank was printing new notes in denominations of SSP 200, SSP 500 and SSP 1,000.[20]

In February 2021 the Bank of South Sudan issued a SSP 1000 banknote as part of an effort to combat rising inflation.[21] The maroon banknote features a familiar design of John Garang on the obverse, and an image of two ostriches on the reverse.[22]

Banknotes of the South Sudanese pound
ImagesValueObverseReverseWatermark
5pt Dr. John Garang de Mabior Ostrich The Flag of South Sudan in repeated rows and Dr. John Garang de Mabior on the right front of the note
10pt Kudu
25pt River Nile
SSP 1 Giraffes Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 1
SSP 5 Sanga cattle Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 5
SSP 10 Buffaloes; pineapple Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 10
SSP 20 Oryx antelopes; oil derrick Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 20
SSP 50 Elephants Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 50
SSP 100 Lion; waterfall Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 100
SSP 500 River Nile Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 500
SSP 1,000 Ostriches Dr. John Garang de Mabior and an electrotype 1000

Coins

Coins denominated 10, 20, and 50 Piasters were put into circulation on 9 July 2015 (South Sudanese Independence Day).[23] As of 2016, South Sudan's coins are being struck at the South African Mint.[19]

Bimetallic coins in denominations of SSP 1 and SSP 2 were put into circulation during 2016.[18]

The Coat of arms of South Sudan with the country name 'REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN' and the date will appear on the obverses. The various coins will include the following:[24]

Exchange rates

At the time of release of the South Sudanese Pound in 2011, the exchange rate was SSP 2.75 for USD 1.[25] As of 24 March 2022, the commercially available exchange rate is SSP 425 = US$1,[26] worth significantly more than the Sudanese pound (which was quoted at about £S.700 = US$1 on the black market).

References
  1. Bank of South Sudan https://www.boss.gov.ss/features/exchange-rates/
  2. Bank of South Sudan https://www.boss.gov.ss/features/exchange-rates/ , the symbol is not currently used by the BSS on banknotes or coins, or on South Sudanese postage stamps; the ISO code is more commonly used in place of a conventional currency symbol
  3. "South Sudan new piaster notes (B101 - B103) confirmed". Banknote News. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  4. Quartz Africa 8 July 2015 Four Years in, the world's newest country, South Sudan, introduces its first coins https://qz.com/africa/447398/four-years-in-the-worlds-newest-country-south-sudan-introduces-its-first-coins/
  5. Adaku Samuel. "South Sudan To Issue New Currency On July 9". Juba Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  6. Bank of South Sudan https://www.boss.gov.ss/features/exchange-rates/
  7. SSLA endorses national anthem and coat of arms. 26 May 2011 Archived 31 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "South Sudan Pound released July 18". Archived from the original on 25 January 2012.
  9. Reuters Staff (10 October 2020). "South Sudan to change currency to improve economy - government spokesman". Reuters. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  10. "South Sudan plans to change national currency to shore up economy - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  11. "South Sudan pound to be launched next week". BBC News. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  12. South Sudan Pound to be released by Monday - Government of South Sudan official website. Published 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  13. South Sudan issued new pound notes 18 July 2011, BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved on 5 September 2011.
  14. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "South Sudan". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, California: Banknote News.
  15. World’s Newest Country Issues Circulation Coins on National Independence Day Coin Update (news.coinupdate.com). 10 July 2015. Retrieved on 13 July 2015.
  16. South Sudan new 20-pound note (B111) confirmed BanknoteNews.com. 22 April 2016. Retrieved on 22 April 2016.
  17. South Sudan new 500-pound note (B116) reported Banknote News (banknotenews.com). 15 June 2018. Retrieved on 16 June 2018.
  18. Ofori-Atta, Prince (7 April 2016). "South Sudan introduces new bank notes | East & Horn Africa". www.theafricareport.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  19. "2 Pounds 2016, South Sudan | Catalog | CoinBrothers". coin-brothers.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  20. "S. Sudan bank governor denies introducing new bank note". Sudan Tribune. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  21. "South Sudan Central bank introduces 1000 pound banknote as inflation soars". PAN AFRICAN VISIONS. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  22. "South Sudan unveils new currency; the 1000 pound note". GhanaWeb. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  23. "South Sudan government to introduce coins on Independence Day". Sudan Tribune. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  24. "World's Newest Country Issues Circulation Coins on National Independence Day | Coin Update". news.coinupdate.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  25. The Economist Intelligence Unit EIU, 21 December 2915 https://country.eiu.com/article.aspx?articleid=1443788928&Country=Sudan&topic=Economy&subtopic=For_9
  26. "CLIMIS | Dashboard". climis-southsudan.org. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
Current SSP exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD EUR JPY USD
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD EUR JPY USD
From XE.com: AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD EUR JPY USD
From OANDA: AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD EUR JPY USD
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.