Botswana pula

Botswana pula
Obverse of 2 pula (1980s) Reverse of 2 pula (1980s)
ISO 4217 code	BWP
Central bank	Bank of Botswana
Website	www.bankofbotswana.bw
Official user(s)	Botswana
Unofficial user(s)	Zimbabwe[1]
Inflation	8.4%, 12.5% (2008 est.CIA World Factbook)
Source	Bank of Botswana, 19 February 2008
Method	CPI
Subunit
1/100	thebe
Symbol	P
Coins	5, 10, 25, 50 thebe, 1, 2, 5 pula
Banknotes	10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pula[2]

The pula is the currency of Botswana. It has the ISO 4217 code BWP and is subdivided into 100 thebe. Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana — home to much of the Kalahari Desert — and therefore valuable and a blessing. The sub-unit, thebe, means "shield",^[3] representing defence.^[4] The names were picked with the help of the public.^[4]

History

The pula was introduced in 1976, replacing the South African rand at par. Despite a 12% devaluation in May 2005, the pula remains one of the strongest currencies in Africa.

Coins

In 1976, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 thebe and 1 pula. The 1 thebe was struck in aluminium, with the 5 thebe in bronze and the others in cupro-nickel. These coins were round except for the scalloped 1 pula. Bronze, dodecagonal 2 thebe coins were introduced in 1981 and discontinued after 1985. In 1991, bronze-plated steel replaced bronze in the 5 thebe, nickel-plated steel replaced cupro-nickel in the 10, 25 and 50 thebe and the 1 pula changed to a smaller, nickel-brass, equilateral-curve seven-sided coin. A similarly shaped, nickel-brass 2 pula was introduced in 1994. In 2004, the composition was changed to brass-plated steel and the size was slightly reduced.

In 1998, following the withdrawal of the 1 and 2 thebe, smaller 5, 10, 25 and 50 thebe coins were introduced, with the 5 and 25 thebe coins being seven-sided and the 10 and 50 thebe coins remaining round. A bimetallic 5 pula depicting a mopane caterpillar and a branch of the mopane tree it feeds on was introduced in 2000 composed of a cupronickel center in a ring made of aluminium-nickel-bronze.

A new series of coins was introduced in 2013.

Banknotes

On August 23, 1976,^[5] the Bank of Botswana introduced notes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, and 10 pula; a 20-pula note followed on February 16, 1978. The 1 and 2 pula notes were replaced by coins in 1991 and 1994, whilst the first 50 and 100 pula notes were introduced on May 29, 1990 and August 23, 1993, respectively.^[5] The 5 pula note was replaced by a coin in 2000. The original 1, 2 and 5 pula banknotes were demonetized on 1 July 2011.

The latest series of notes was introduced on 23 August 2009^[6] and contains for the first time, a 200-pula banknote.

Banknotes of the Botswana pula (2009 issue)
Image	Value	Main color	Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
	10 pula	Green	President Seretse Khama Ian Khama	Parliament building, Gaborone	Rampant zebra and electrotype 10
	20 pula	Red	Kgalemang Tumedisco Motsete	Mining equipment	Rampant zebra and electrotype 20
	50 pula	Brown	President Sir Seretse Khama	Okavango Delta swamps, boat, fish eagle	Rampant zebra and electrotype 50
	100 pula	Blue	Three chiefs (Sebele I, Bathoen I, Khama III)	Diamond sorting, open-pit diamond mine	Rampant zebra and electrotype 100
	200 pula	Purple	Female teacher and children	Zebras	Rampant zebra and electrotype 200

Zimbabwe

Due to hyperinflation in Zimbabwe in 2006 to 2008, the government has allowed circulation of foreign currency since September 2008. Local currency became obsolete on April 12, 2009. Several currencies, including the South African rand and Botswana pula circulate in Zimbabwe,^[1] along with the Zimbabwean Bond Coins.

Current BWP exchange rates
From Google Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR
From Yahoo! Finance:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR
From XE:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR
From OANDA:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR
From fxtop.com:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR
From Currency.Wiki:	AUD CAD CHF EUR GBP HKD JPY USD ZAR

See also

• Economy of Botswana

References

1. Alongside Zimbabwean dollar (suspended indefinitely from 12 April 2009), euro, US dollar, pound sterling, South African rand, Indian rupee, Australian dollar, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. The US dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions in Zimbabwe.
2. "Accessed 2009-09-02". Banknotenews.com. Retrieved 2011-11-28.
3. Masire, Ketumile (2006). Very brave or very foolish?. Macmillan Botswana. p. 81. ISBN 978-99912-404-8-0. Pula (rain) was an easy choice for the currency, and the decimal coins were called thebe (shield). (Memoirs of a former president of Botswana)
4. Standard Chartered Review. Standard Chartered Bank. 1976. p. 9. The new names pula and thebe were chosen following an invitation to the public to submit their suggestions [...] The meaning of "thebe" is shield — the traditional means of defence.
5. Linzmayer, Owen (2011). "Botswana". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: www.BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
6. Botswana issues new note series, BanknoteNews.com, Retrieved 2011-09-05.

• Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
• Schön, Günter und Gerhard, Weltmünzkatalog 1900–2010, 39. Auflage, 2011, Battenberg Gietl Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86646-057-7

External links

• Historical banknotes of Botswana

Preceded by: South African rand Reason: creation of independent currency Ratio: at par	Currency of Botswana 1976 –	Succeeded by: Current