Rupiah (Rp) is the Currency unit of Indonesia (ISO 4217 currency code IDR).
Four years after Independence, the Indonesian rupiah was introduced on November 2, 1949 as the new national currency. The Riau Islands and the Indonesian half of New Guinea (Irian Barat) had their own variants of the rupiah, but these were subsumed into the national rupiah in 1964 and 1971 respectively. Devalued by rampant Inflation, on December 13, 1965 the New Rupiah was introduced at a rate of 1,000 old rupiah to one new rupiah.
The Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 reduced the rupiah's value by 35% overnight and was a major factor in the overthrow of President Suharto's government. The rupiah had traded at about 2,000-3,000 rupiah per 1 USD, but reached a low of 16,800 rupiah per dollar in June 1998.
The rupiah is a freely convertible currency, but trades at a discount due to continued high inflation. As of early November 2005, USD 1 is worth approximately Rp 9,980 and GBP 1 is worth Rp 17,388. Inside Indonesia the preferred currency for exchange is the US dollar. Other currencies are typically subject to a wide exchange spread.
Indonesian bank notes are typical paper notes, although polymer notes have been issued on two occasions. In 1993, five million polymer 50,000 rupiah notes were issued to commemorate '25 years of economic development', featuring Soeharto on the front and Soekarno-Hatta airport on the back, with a plane taking off to symbolise Indonesia's growth. The 1999 series 100,000 rupiah note was also plastic/polymer, issued because according to Bank Indonesia plastic would be harder to counterfeit and would last longer. However, the notes were not popular in banks as counting machines were unable to count them accurately, and the current (2004) series is now made from paper.
There are two series of banknotes currently in circulation, with the 2004-2005 series gradually replacing the 1998-2001 series. Pre-1997 notes are no longer legal tender but can be exchanged in Bank Indonesia offices. As the smallest current note is worth approximately US$0.10, even small transactions such as bus fares are typically conducted with notes, and the 1,000 rupiah note is far more common than the 1,000 rupiah coin.
There are presently two series of coinage in circulation: metal alloy coins from 1995-1997 and lightweight aluminum coins from 2002-2005. Much of the country still suffers from a chronic shortage of small change and it is not unusual to receive candy as change in lieu of coins.
| Rupees | |
|---|---|
| Indian Rupee | Mauritian rupee | Nepalese rupee | Pakistani rupee | Seychelles rupee | Sri Lankan rupee | Indonesian rupiah | Maldivian rufiyaa | |
| Formerly used rupees include: Burmese rupee | French Indian rupee | German East African rupie | Gulf rupee | Portuguese Indian rupia | |