The Tunisian dinar
Currency · TND · 1 country
A law of 18 October 1958 replaced the Tunisian franc with the dinar, at 1,000 francs to the dinar, and the Central Bank of Tunisia issued its first notes that November. The old francs became millimes, so the dinar divides into 1,000 of them. It is a closed currency: taking dinars into or out of Tunisia is a criminal offence.
No sign of its own
The dinar has no sign of its own. Amounts are written with an abbreviation, most often DT, from the French dinar tunisien, and less often TD; financial circles use the ISO code TND. Writing the word dinar after the amount is also accepted. The millime, a thousandth, takes three decimal places.
- ISO code
- TND
- ISO number
- 788
- Subunit
- millime, 1/1,000
An amount, written out
TND 1,234.500
- TND 1,234.500English
- 1.234,500 د.ت.ArabicTunisia
Where the Tunisian dinar is the official currency
Tunisia is the member, where people still count in the old francs: 100 millimes is spoken as miyat frank.
About the Tunisian dinar
Who issues the dinar
The Central Bank of Tunisia was created in 1958, with Hedi Nouira as its founding governor until 1970, and its first notes went out on 3 November 1958. The half dinar, the one and the five each carried the portrait of Habib Bourguiba on the front.
How the franc survives in the millime
Law 58-109 converted 1,000 francs into one dinar, and the thousand francs became a thousand millimes. The dinar did not follow the French franc when France devalued later in 1958. The old tie to Paris ended there. Tunisia pegged the dinar to the US dollar instead, at US$2.38 until 1964 and then at US$1.90 until the dollar was devalued in 1971.
The franc lives on in speech, and Tunisians still call millimes frank, so 100 millimes is miyat frank, and many prices are said in millimes: a dinar and a half is khomstach en miya, fifteen hundred, and 50 dinars is khamsin alf, fifty thousand. The habit reaches large sums too. Seventy thousand dinars can come out as seventy million.
The coins began in 1960, with aluminium 1, 2 and 5 millimes and brass 10 to 100 millimes. The 1 and 2 millime pieces are no longer legal tender, and a half dinar followed in 1968 and a one dinar in 1976, a bimetallic five dinars in 2002, and on 26 December 2013 two thirteen-sided coins, of 200 millimes and two dinars.
Why the notes were replaced after the revolution
The Ben Ali government fell on 14 January 2011. The central bank then brought in new notes, step by step, to replace those carrying the old government's motifs, and every note issued before 2011 was demonetised on 31 December 2019. Until that date the older notes could still be exchanged at the bank.
A second redesign began with a 20 dinar note in 2017 showing the trade unionist Farhat Hached. A 10 dinar note followed in 2020 with the physician Tawhida Ben Cheikh, who founded a family planning clinic. The 5 dinars of 2022 shows the agricultural engineer Slaheddine el-Amami, and the 50 dinars of the same year shows Hedi Nouira, the bank's founding governor. The bank chose the same micro-optic security thread for every note in the series.
What makes the dinar a closed currency
Tunisian law makes it a criminal offence to import or export dinars, and each citizen may convert only a set yearly sum into foreign currency before leaving the country. Duty-free shops price their goods in euros, US dollars and pounds sterling, and cash machines that convert foreign money are common for tourists.
Trade works differently. The US government's guide for exporters describes the dinar as convertible for current-account transactions, and anyone in foreign trade can apply to the central bank for a convertible currency account. Foreign investors may take profits out freely. Other transfers can need the bank's authorisation, and delays can occur.
Common questions
Questions about the Tunisian dinar
Why is the Tunisian dinar split into 1,000 millimes?
Because the dinar was set equal to 1,000 Tunisian francs in 1958, and those francs became millimes. The thousand survived the change of name. Tunisians still call the millime a frank, and prices under two dinars are often spoken in millimes, so a dinar and a half is fifteen hundred.
Can Tunisian dinars be taken out of the country?
No. The dinar is a closed currency, and importing or exporting it is a criminal offence under Tunisian law. Each Tunisian citizen may change a limited sum into foreign currency every year before departure. Duty-free shops price their goods in euros, US dollars and pounds sterling, and cash machines that convert foreign money are common for tourists. Businesses trading abroad work through convertible currency accounts approved by the Central Bank of Tunisia.
Who is on the Tunisian dinar notes?
The series completed in 2022 shows four Tunisians: the trade unionist Farhat Hached on the 20 dinars, the physician Tawhida Ben Cheikh on the 10, the agricultural engineer Slaheddine el-Amami on the 5, and Hedi Nouira, the central bank's founding governor, on the 50. The first notes of 1958 carried the portrait of Habib Bourguiba.
Are old Tunisian banknotes still valid?
Not those issued before 2011. After the Ben Ali government fell on 14 January 2011, the central bank replaced the notes carrying its motifs, and all notes issued between 1958 and 2011 lost their value on 31 December 2019. Since then they cannot be exchanged at the Central Bank of Tunisia either.