Euro
Official currency of 21 EU states and second-most traded globally.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 21 of the 27 member states of the European Union, a group known as the euro area or eurozone. It is also used officially by EU institutions, four European microstates not in the EU, one British Overseas Territory, and unilaterally by two non-EU European states, as well as by special territories of EU members outside Europe. The euro is the second-largest reserve currency and the second-most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar, with over €1.3 trillion in circulation as of December 2019.
- introduced_as_accounting_currency
- 1 January 1999
- physical_circulation_began
- 1 January 2002
- name_adopted
- 16 December 1995
- subdivision
- 100 cents
- managed_by
- European Central Bank and Eurosystem
- number_of_eurozone_members
- 21
- people_using_in_eurozone
- 358 million
Lore & Background
The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. It was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit at a 1:1 ratio. Physical euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002, becoming the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies. Before December 2002, the euro traded below parity with the US dollar; since then, it has traded near or above parity. On 13 July 2022, the two currencies briefly hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades, due in part to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the ten years ending 30 September 2025, the rate averaged about $1.00:€0.89.
Reader's Guide
The euro is managed and administered by the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem, which includes the central banks of eurozone countries. The ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy, while the Eurosystem participates in printing, minting, and distributing euro banknotes and coins, and operating eurozone payment systems. Most EU member states committed to adopt the euro upon meeting convergence criteria through the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, though Denmark has an opt-out, and Sweden circumvented its commitment by staying out of ERM II. All nations joining the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro. The euro is the official currency of 44 countries and territories, including 21 eurozone members, special territories like Åland and Mount Athos, microstates with monetary agreements, and unilateral adopters. Five EU members—Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden—are committed to adopt but have no deadline. The euro is divided into 100 cents, with coins issued in denominations from €2 to 1c, and banknotes in denominations from €500 to €5. The Europa series, introduced later, discontinued the €500 note as of 27 April 2019, though both series remain legal tender.
Did You Know?
- The euro was introduced as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the European Currency Unit at a 1:1 ratio.
- Physical euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002 and completely replaced former currencies by March 2002.
- As of December 2019, over €1.3 trillion in euro banknotes and coins were in circulation.
- On 13 July 2022, the euro and US dollar briefly hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades, partly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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