What is the currency of Lebanon?

The currency of Lebanon is the Lebanese pound.

It is also called the Lebanese lira, or livre libanaise in French, and carries the ISO code LBP. The Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, issues the currency. It was formerly divided into 100 piastres, but those subunits disappeared from practical use after inflation during the Lebanese Civil War sharply reduced their value.

The currency’s history reflects Lebanon’s position in the former Ottoman and French spheres. The Turkish pound circulated before World War I, followed by the Egyptian pound after the Ottoman Empire fell. Under the French Mandate, a Lebanese-Syrian pound was introduced and linked to the French franc. Lebanon’s currency was formally separated from Syria’s in 1939, although the two currencies remained connected for a time.

The Lebanese pound is easy to confuse with the Syrian pound because both are called lira in Arabic and share historical monetary roots. It is also distinct from the Israeli shekel and Jordanian dinar. Lebanon’s severe financial crisis since 2019 has produced major inflation, multiple exchange rates, and widespread use of U.S. dollars alongside the national currency.