What currency is Ethiopia’s official money and has a name meaning “silver”?

Ethiopia’s official currency, whose name means “silver,” is the Ethiopian birr.

The word birr comes from the Amharic word for silver. Ethiopia adopted the name for its modern currency, which is issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia and has the ISO 4217 code ETB. The birr is divided into 100 santim.

A modern birr was introduced in 1945, replacing the East African shilling in Ethiopia. Earlier Ethiopian monetary history included the Maria Theresa thaler, which circulated widely in the region and influenced the development of local currency systems.

The Ethiopian birr should not be confused with the Eritrean nakfa, even though Ethiopia and Eritrea share historical and geographic connections. The birr remains Ethiopia’s national currency, while Eritrea introduced the nakfa after independence.