United States Dollar (USD)
$ · Official currency of United States
USD at a glance
Every fact on this page is drawn from Federal Reserve System or another primary source — see the 13 sources cited below.
| Currency | United States Dollar |
|---|---|
| ISO 4217 code | USD · number 840 |
| Symbol | $ |
| Minor unit | 1 USD = 100 cent |
| Used in | 19 countries & territories |
| Pegged to | Not pegged — 18 other currencies are pegged to it |
| Central bank | Federal Reserve System |
| Official rates | Federal Reserve System → |
| Introduced | 1792 |
Where the United States Dollar is used
- American Samoa
- Bonaire, Sint Eustatius And Saba
- British Indian Ocean Territory (The)
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guam
- Haiti
- Marshall Islands (The)
- Micronesia (Federated States Of)
- Northern Mariana Islands (The)
- Palau
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Timor-Leste
- Turks And Caicos Islands (The)
- United States Minor Outlying Islands (The)
- United States Of America (The)
- Virgin Islands (British)
- Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Exchange rate regime Free float
The US dollar floats freely: its value is determined in foreign exchange markets, and neither the U.S. Treasury nor the Federal Reserve targets a level for the exchange rate.
Currencies pegged to the United States Dollar
18 currencies hold a fixed or tightly managed rate against the USD.
| Currency | Fixed at | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AED United Arab Emirates Dirham | 3.6725 AED per USD (implied midpoint of CBUAE's own published commitment)band ±0.0005 AED (~0.014%) around 3.6725 — derived from CBUAE's published buy/sell rates, not a separately announced percentage band | 1997 | AED → |
| AWG Aruban Florin | US$1.00 = Afl. 1.79 | 1986 | AWG → |
| BBD Barbadian Dollar | BDS$2.00 = US$1.00 (official parity) | 1975 | BBD → |
| BHD Bahraini Dinar | 0.376 BHD per USD | 1980 | BHD → |
| BSD Bahamian Dollar | US$1.00 = B$1.00 (buying); B$1.0025 (selling) | 1967 | BSD → |
| BZD Belize Dollar | BZ$2.00 = US$1.00 (buying); BZ$2.0175 (selling) | 1976-05-11 | BZD → |
| DJF Djiboutian Franc Currency board | 177.721 DJF per USD, fixed parity | 1973 | DJF → |
| HKD Hong Kong Dollar Currency board | HK$7.75–7.85 per USD (Convertibility Undertakings); HK$7.80 per USD is the fixed linked rate used for currency-board note issuanceband 7.75–7.85 HKD per USD (Convertibility Undertakings) | 1983-10-17 | HKD → |
| IQD Iraqi Dinar | 1,310 IQD per USD | — | IQD → |
| JOD Jordanian Dinar | CBJ middle rate: 0.709 JOD per USD (buying 0.708 / selling 0.710)band 0.708–0.710 JOD per USD (CBJ buying/selling rates) | 1995 | JOD → |
| KYD Cayman Islands Dollar | CIMA's published retail rate: CI$1.00 = US$1.227 (equivalently US$1.00 ≈ CI$0.815). Unlike most USD pegs, the Cayman Islands dollar is the STRONGER unit. | 1974-04-01 | KYD → |
| LBP Lebanese Pound | 89,500 LBP per USD — BdL's own Daily Exchange Rates bulletin shows bid = ask = mid = 89,500 | 2023-2024 | LBP → |
| OMR Omani Rial | 0.3845 OMR per USD (CBO's own published figure is USD 2.6008 per Omani Rial; 0.3845 is the reciprocal, matching this file's per-USD convention) | 1986 | OMR → |
| PAB Panamanian Balboa | 1 Balboa = US$1.00, at par (Panama mints only balboa coins; US dollar banknotes circulate as the paper currency, interchangeable at par) | 1904 | PAB → |
| QAR Qatari Rial | 3.64 QAR per USD | 2001 | QAR → |
| SAR Saudi Riyal | 3.750000 SAR per USD | 1986 | SAR → |
| XCD East Caribbean Dollar | EC$2.70 = US$1.00 | 1976-07-07 | XCD → |
| XCG Caribbean Guilder | US$1.00 = XCG 1.79 (unchanged from the predecessor ANG's rate) | 2025-03-31 | XCG → |
Each peg is sourced from the issuing monetary authority. Pegged rates are official central rates — market rates can sit slightly either side of them.
About the United States Dollar
The United States Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States and its territories, issued by the Federal Reserve System and written with the symbol $. One dollar divides into 100 cents. Beyond the United States, the dollar serves as the official currency of Ecuador, El Salvador and Timor-Leste and of the Pacific states of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, is legal tender alongside the balboa in Panama, and circulates in several British and Dutch overseas territories in the Caribbean.
The dollar floats freely. Its value is determined in foreign exchange markets, and neither the U.S. Treasury nor the Federal Reserve targets a level for the exchange rate. Monetary policy is set by the Federal Open Market Committee, whose policymakers take the dollar's effects on prices and economic activity into account without steering the currency itself; the Treasury leads U.S. international economic policy, including policy on the dollar.
Congress created the dollar through the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, which established the United States coinage system and adopted decimal currency. Paper 'greenbacks' — Demand Notes nicknamed for their green-inked backs — appeared in 1861, and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 established the central bank and the Federal Reserve notes used today. President Nixon ended the dollar's convertibility into gold on August 15, 1971, a step that soon brought down the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates.
The dollar dominates international finance. It was on one side of 89.2% of all foreign exchange trades in April 2025, when global turnover reached $9.6 trillion per day, according to the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey 2025. It comprised 58% of disclosed global official foreign reserves in 2024, and Federal Reserve staff estimate that over $1 trillion in US banknotes — roughly half of all dollar notes outstanding — were held abroad in the first quarter of 2025.
The Federal Reserve issues seven banknote denominations, from $1 to $100; notes of $500 and above, last printed in 1945, were discontinued in 1969 for lack of use. Coins run from the one-cent piece to the dollar coin, although the US Mint struck its final circulating cent in November 2025 after 232 years of production, and half-dollar and dollar coins seldom appear in everyday commerce. Under 31 U.S.C. 5103, all US coins and currency remain legal tender.
USD coins & banknotes
- 1¢ (discontinued 2025)
- 5¢
- 10¢
- 25¢
- 50¢ (rarely seen in circulation)
- $1 coin (rarely seen in circulation)
- $1
- $2 (rarely seen)
- $5
- $10
- $20
- $50
- $100
USD quick facts
- The $2 bill is rarely printed: 1.2 billion were in circulation in 2017, yet the 2018 print order was $0, per the U.S. Currency Education Program.
- Printing costs scale with denomination: the Federal Reserve's FY2025 currency budget puts it at 4.1 cents for a $1 or $2 note versus 11.3 cents for a $100 note.
- Even after the Mint's final 2025 strike, federal law (31 U.S.C. 5112) still authorizes a one-cent coin; Congress has not repealed the denomination.
- The $10,000 note was the largest denomination ever issued for public circulation; the Fed and Treasury jointly announced its discontinuation on July 14, 1969.
- The $ sign was adopted in 1785, derived from the Spanish American notation for pesos, seven years before the 1792 Mint Act created US coinage.
USD frequently asked questions
Which countries use the US dollar?
The US dollar is the official currency of the United States and its territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam, and of Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama (alongside the balboa), Timor-Leste, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. Several British and Dutch Caribbean territories, among them the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, also use it. Many other countries peg their own currencies to the dollar without adopting it.
Is the US dollar backed by gold?
No. The United States ended the dollar's convertibility into gold on August 15, 1971, under President Nixon, a decision that soon brought down the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates. Since then the dollar has been a fiat currency: its value rests on US monetary policy and on demand in foreign exchange markets, not on any commodity.
Why is the US dollar the world's reserve currency?
Because official institutions and markets use it more than any other currency. The dollar made up 58% of disclosed official foreign exchange reserves in 2024 and was on one side of 89.2% of all currency trades in April 2025, per the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey. Federal Reserve staff estimate that roughly half of all US banknotes, over $1 trillion, are held outside the United States.
Who issues the US dollar?
The Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, issues the dollar. Federal Reserve notes are printed by the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing and enter circulation through the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, while circulating coins are struck by the United States Mint. The Federal Reserve issues seven note denominations, from $1 to $100.
Explore USD
Facts on this page are sourced from Federal Reserve System and other primary references (13 sources). Rates are mid-market and for information only.
Sources for this USD profile
13 primary sources behind the facts above, each listed with the sections of this page it is cited for. Links open on the publisher's own site.
- Federal Reserve www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/economy_12763.htm Cited for: Exchange rate regime · About
- SIX Financial Information (ISO 4217 List One) www.six-group.com/dam/download/financial-information/data-center/iso-currrency/lists/list-one.xml Cited for: About · Where it is used · FAQ
- Federal Reserve www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12600.htm Cited for: Coins & banknotes · Quick facts · FAQ · About
- U.S. Currency Education Program www.uscurrency.gov/denominations Cited for: Coins & banknotes · FAQ
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (31 U.S.C. §5112) www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title31/html/USCODE-2023-title31-subtitleIV-chap51-subchapII-sec5112.htm Cited for: Coins & banknotes · Quick facts
- United States Mint www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/united-states-mint-hosts-historic-ceremonial-strike-for-final-production-of-the-circulating-one-cent-coin Cited for: Coins & banknotes · Quick facts · About
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (31 U.S.C. §5103) www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title31/html/USCODE-2023-title31-subtitleIV-chap51-subchapI-sec5103.htm Cited for: Coins & banknotes
- U.S. Currency Education Program www.uscurrency.gov/history Cited for: Introduced · Nicknames · Quick facts · About
- U.S. Currency Education Program www.uscurrency.gov/denominations/2 Cited for: Quick facts
- Federal Reserve www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12771.htm Cited for: Quick facts
- Federal Reserve History www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/gold-convertibility-ends Cited for: FAQ · About
- Federal Reserve www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/the-international-role-of-the-u-s-dollar-2025-edition-20250718.html Cited for: FAQ · About
- Bank for International Settlements www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx25_fx.htm Cited for: FAQ · About