The Republic of Sudan is a Northeast African country that borders the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, South Sudan, and the Red Sea. It was once the third-largest African country by area and the third-largest country by area in the Arab League. It became independent from Anglo-Egypt in 1956. However, internal conflicts led to a long-term civil war that lasted for decades. Six years after the peace treaty between the north and southern regions, the southern region of Sudan seceded and became the independent country of South Sudan. The national currency of Sudan is the Sudanese Pound.
Beginning Of The Sudan Pound
Sudan used three different monetary systems throughout its history. The first monetary system that circulated was the Sudanese pound (SDP). The Sudanese pound (SDP) was used from 1956 to 1992. One pound was equivalent to 100 piasters, or qirsh in Arabic. The Sudanese pound replaced the Egyptian pound at par. The Sudanese Currency Board issued the pound from 1956 to 1960. After the Bank of Sudan Act of 1959 was passed, the currency board passed its issuing rights to the Bank of Sudan.
The Bank of Sudan replaced the pound with the Sudanese dinar (SDD) in 1992 at a rate of 1 dinar to 10 pounds. Two years later, the Currency Printing Press was established and started production. Though the dinar was the official currency from 1992 to 2007, the Sudanese pound was still used to quote prices in southern Sudan.
The Bank of Sudan was replaced by the Central Bank in 2006. A year later, the Central Bank replaced the dinar with a new iteration of the Sudanese pound (SDG). This change in currency was also mandated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the Sudanese government and also the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement. The pound replaces the dinar at a rate of 1 pound to 100 dinars. The first series of new pound notes were also the first banknotes in the world to be printed on Louisenthal’s Synthec. In addition, this new Sudanese pound is a free-floating currency. However, it has undergone fluctuations in value due to the effects of the civil war.
