Rupee

The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Indonesia (as the Rupiah), and formerly in Burma and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century by Sher Shah Suri, founder of the Sur Empire. The term is from rūpya-, a Sanskrit term for silver coin.

In the Maldives, the unit of currency is known as the rufiyah, which is a cognate word of Hindi rupiya. Both the Indian rupees and the Pakistani are subdivided into one hundred paise (singular paisa) or pice. The Mauritian and Sri Lankan rupees subdivide into 100 cents. The Nepalese rupee subdivides into one hundred paisas (both singular and plural) or four Sukas or two Mohors.

Afghanistan's currency was also denominated in Afghan rupees until 1925, with each Afghan rupee subdividing into 60 paisas. Prior to the introduction of the Afghan rupee in 1891, the legal currency was the Kabuli rupee. Until the middle of the twentieth century, Tibet's official currency was also known as the Tibetan rupee. The Indian rupee was the official currency of Dubai and Qatar until 1959, when India created a new Gulf rupee (also known as the "External rupee") to hinder the smuggling of gold. The Gulf rupee was legal tender until 1966, when India significantly devalued the Indian rupee and a new Qatar-Dubai Riyal was established to provide economic stability.