Turkish Lira (TRY)

Turkish Lira Basic Concepts

Turkish Lira (TL) is the legal tender of the Republic of Turkey with ISO 4217 code TRY and currency symbol ₺. Issued and supervised by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, it adopts a floating exchange rate system and is one of the important emerging market currencies in modern international trade and financial transactions.

Countries and regions where the Turkish lira is used

Turkish Lira is the sole legal tender of the Republic of Turkey and is also used as the actual currency in circulation in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In Germany, Bulgaria and other areas of Turkish immigrants concentrated in some merchants also accept lira settlement, but the main circulation range is still concentrated in the Turkish mainland and the northern Cyprus region.

Turkish Lira Units and Denominations

The Turkish lira uses the decimal system, with 1 lira = 100 kuruş. The denominations of banknotes in circulation are 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 liras, while coins include 1 liras and denominations of 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 kuruş. All banknotes bear the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of the Turkish nation.

Historical Background of Turkish Lira

The Turkish lira originated as a gold coin in the Ottoman Empire and became legal tender after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. 2005 saw the implementation of a currency reform due to severe inflation, with the issuance of the new Turkish lira (YTL) and the removal of six zeros from the denomination, and the renaming of the currency as the Turkish lira and the introduction of a new symbol, the ₺Turkish Lira₺, in 2009. The exchange rate has fluctuated significantly in recent years due to geopolitical and inflationary influences, and it will be the first country in the world to introduce a digital currency, the lira, in 2022.