A currency is a kind of money and medium of exchange. Currency includes paper, cotton, or polymer banknotes and metal coins. States generally have a monopoly on the issuing of currency, although some states share currencies with other states. For the purposes of this list, only currencies that are legal tender, including those used in actual commerce or issued for commemorative purposes, are considered "circulating currencies". This includes fractional units that have no physical form but are recognized by the issuing state, such as the United States mill,[A] the Egyptian millieme,[B] and the Japanese rin.[C]
Currencies used by non-state entities, like the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, scrips used by private entities, and other private, virtual, and alternative currencies are not included on this list.
U.S. dollar, the official currency of the United States, the world's dominant reserve currency and the most traded currency globally.
Euro, the currency used by the most countries and territories, the second-largest reserve currency and the second-most traded currency.
Some currencies, such as the Abkhazian apsar, are not used in day-to-day commerce, but are legal tender in their issuing jurisdiction.
List of circulating currencies by state or territory
^Four currencies circulate in the partially recognized state of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which claims the territory of Western Sahara. The Moroccan dirham is used in the Moroccan-administered part of the territory and the Sahrawi peseta is the commemorative currency of the Sahrawi Republic. Additionally, some de facto currencies circulate in the territory: the Algerian dinar is used in Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf and the Mauritanian ouguiya is used in Lagouira, which is under Mauritanian administration.