What is the official currency of Kazakhstan?

The tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tïın (also transliterated as tiyin or tijin). The ISO-4217 code is KZT.

The word tenge in the Kazakh and most other Turkic languages means a set of scales (cf the old Uzbek tenga or the Tajik borrowed term tanga). The origin of the word is the Turkic teŋ- which means being equal, balance. The name of this currency is thus similar to the lira, pound and peso. The name of the currency is related to the Russian word for money Russian: деньги / den'gi, which was borrowed from Turkic.

The tenge was introduced on 15 November 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 tenge = 500 rubles. As such, November 15 is celebrated as the "Day of National Currency of Republic of Kazakhstan". In 1995, a tenge printing factory was opened in Kazakhstan. The first consignment of tenge was printed abroad, in the UK. The first coins were minted in Germany. Current coins are struck domestically, by the Kazakhstan Mint in Oskemen.