The Ethiopian birr
Currency · ETB · 1 country
The present birr dates from 23 July 1945, when it replaced the East African shilling at two shillings to the birr. Its name means silver in Geʽez and Amharic and first belonged to the Maria Theresa thaler. The National Bank of Ethiopia, open since 1964, issues it, and the English text on its notes read Ethiopian dollar until 1976.
No sign of its own
The birr has no adopted sign. Amounts are written Br in Latin script or ብር in Ethiopic, which is simply the word birr. Most proposals for a sign start from the Geʽez letter ብ (bə); one adds two horizontal strokes to its left side.
- ISO code
- ETB
- ISO number
- 230
- Subunit
- santim, 1/100
An amount, written out
ETB 1,234.50
- ETB 1,234.50English
- ብር 1,234.50AmharicEthiopia
Where the Ethiopian birr is the official currency
Ethiopia is where the birr circulates, and since 2024 the National Bank has let it float on a liberalised foreign exchange market.
About the Ethiopian birr
How a word for silver became a currency
Birr means silver in Geʽez and Amharic. Ethiopians gave the name to the Maria Theresa thaler, an Austrian silver coin. They accepted it slowly and reluctantly between 1771 and 1805, and adopted it as the standard coin in 1855. Before that, much of the trade ran on barter and on blocks of salt called amole tchew, which were still recorded in use in 1911.
Why the first national coins spread so slowly
A decree of 10 February 1893 set out a national coinage in four silver and three copper denominations. Only 20,000 birr were struck in 1894. After the victory at Adowa a larger coinage followed from the Paris Mint, and by 1915 it had produced 1,297,830 birr and over nineteen million smaller coins. Around 1900 those coins still circulated only in Addis Ababa.
The Bank of Abyssinia, opened on 15 February 1906, put banknotes into circulation in 1915, marked birr in Amharic and thaler in English. They did not circulate widely. The bank was bought out in 1931 and renamed the Bank of Ethiopia, and the birr was decimalised into 100 metonnyas the same year. In the countryside the Maria Theresa thaler stayed the main money.
What replaced the birr under occupation
The Italian occupation brought the lira on 15 July 1936. Ethiopian notes were withdrawn at 3 lire to the birr. British forces arrived in 1941 carrying Indian, Egyptian, British and East African money. The East African shilling became the money of account on 1 July 1942 and was the sole legal tender until 1945.
How the second birr was set up
The birr came back on 23 July 1945 at 2 shillings to the birr, divided into 100 santims, a word taken from the French centime. It was tied to the US dollar at 2.48447 birr, adjusted to 2.50 on 31 December 1963. The English text on the notes read Ethiopian dollar until 1976, when birr became the official name in every language.
The National Bank of Ethiopia was set up by imperial proclamation 207 of 27 July 1963 and opened on 1 January 1964. It took over note production in 1966. On 1 October 1992 the transitional government devalued the birr from 2.07 to 5 to the dollar, and in 2024 the bank liberalised the foreign exchange market and let the birr float.
Why the notes changed after the Ethiopian New Year
On 14 September 2020, just after the Ethiopian New Year, the government introduced new 10, 50 and 100 birr notes and a 200 birr note, a denomination Ethiopia had never issued before. The old 10, 50 and 100 notes were demonetised that December, after a three-month exchange. Printing the new notes cost over 3.7 billion birr. The National Bank said too much cash was circulating outside the banks, feeding inflation and illicit trade; the switch was meant to push it back into the banking system.
The old 5 birr note remained legal tender, due to give way to a coin. Circulating coins run from 1 santim to 1 birr. Those dated before 1977 carry the crowned Lion of Judah, and later ones show the head of a roaring lion.
Common questions
Questions about the Ethiopian birr
What does birr mean in Amharic?
Birr means silver, in Geʽez and in Amharic. Ethiopians first used it for the Maria Theresa thaler, the Austrian silver coin that became the country's standard coin in 1855. The word passed to Menelik's own silver coins in the 1890s and stayed with the currency after 1945.
Why did old Ethiopian banknotes say dollar?
When the birr was reintroduced in 1945, the English text on its notes called it the Ethiopian dollar, while the Amharic said birr. Birr became the official name in all languages in 1976. The notes of the Bank of Abyssinia, before 1931, had done something similar, printing birr in Amharic and thaler in English.
Which birr notes were replaced in 2020?
On 14 September 2020 Ethiopia introduced new 10, 50 and 100 birr notes and added a 200 birr note, a denomination it had not issued before. The old 10, 50 and 100 notes stopped being legal tender that December. The government said the aim was to draw hoarded cash back into the banks and to fight counterfeiting and corruption. The old 5 birr note stayed legal tender, to be replaced by a coin, and printing the new set cost over 3.7 billion birr.
Was the birr always divided into santims?
No. When the birr was decimalised in 1931 it was split into 100 metonnyas, struck in copper and nickel. The santim, named after the French centime, arrived with the second birr in 1945. Coins now run from 1 santim to 1 birr, and the 25 santim piece is also called the semuni.