Syrian Pound

Syria has been in the news a lot lately due to the civil war that has been raging in the country for the past few years. Syria is a country located in the Middle East and its currency is the Syrian pound. The Syrian pound has been around for centuries and was first introduced in 1919. The Syrian pound is divided into 100 qirsh, which is also spelled dirham. The Syrian pound is pegged to the Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund. As of June 2017, the exchange rate was SYP 5.50 to 1 US dollar. The Syrian pound has been subject to high inflation due to the civil war. Inflation was at 56.2% in 2013 and is expected to reach 111.1% by the end of 2017. The Syrian economy has been severely impacted by the civil war and it is estimated that GDP has shrunk by 50% since the start of the conflict.