Libyan Dinar - LYD

Overview

The Libyan Dinar is the official currency of Libya. The Libyan Dinar is subdivided into 1000 dirham. When Libya was still under the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire piastres were used. When Italy ruled Libya, the introduction of their Lira initiated a trend to use a variety of currencies from different countries.

Economy

• The Libyan economy is reliant on profits from the oil sector. These high profits, in combination with the small population, give Libya the highest GDP per capita in Africa.
• Economic transformations to reintegrate the Libya into an international playing field have been initiated by UN and US sanctions.
• Libya is still has a long way to go in transforming its socialist-oriented economy, planning for privatization, and minimizing grants.

History

• In 1951, Libya became independent, and the Libyan Pound was introduced.
• In 1971, the Central Bank of Libya launched the Libyan Dinar.
• In 1972, the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank was established to increase overseas investments.
• In 1975, coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dirham were introduced, which upset the Federation of Arab Republics.
• In 1979, the second series of coins of the same denominations was launched.
• In 2001 and 2004, denominations of ¼ and ½ dinar coins were issued.
• In 2009, new 50 and 100 dirhams, as well as ¼ and ½ dinar coins, were issued.

General Information