Kazakhstani tenge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kazakhstani tenge
₸5,000 note
ISO 4217 Code	KZT
User(s)	Kazakhstan
Inflation	5.0%
Source	Basic Macroeconomic Indicators on the homepage
Subunit
1⁄100	tiyn (тиын)
Symbol	₸
Plural	The language(s) of this currency does not have a morphological plural distinction.
Coins
Freq. used	₸5, ₸10, ₸20, ₸50, ₸100, ₸200
Rarely used	₸1, ₸2
Banknotes
Freq. used	₸200, ₸500, ₸1,000, ₸2,000, ₸5,000, ₸10,000
Printer	Banknote Factory of the National Bank of Kazakhstan

The tenge (pronounced "TENG-gay") is the official money used in Kazakhstan. It's like the dollar in the USA or the euro in Europe. One tenge is made up of 100 smaller units called tiyn (pronounced "tee-IN").

History of the Tenge

After the Soviet Union broke apart in December 1991, many countries that used to be part of it tried to keep using the same money, the Russian ruble. They hoped to keep strong trade ties.

However, it was hard to keep a single currency when each country was now independent. They needed to agree on money rules and have one main bank to manage everything. This didn't happen easily.

During 1992, 15 independent countries still used the ruble. But each country started printing a lot of money, which caused problems. To protect their own markets, some countries even started using special coupons.

The Russian central bank then set limits on money flowing to other states. The ruble zone finally ended when Russia stopped exchanging old banknotes in July 1993.

Kazakhstan Gets Its Own Money

Because of this, Kazakhstan decided to create its own money. On November 12, 1993, the president of Kazakhstan announced the new national currency. The tenge was officially introduced on November 15, 1993. It replaced the old Soviet money at a rate of 1 tenge for 500 rubles.

A special group of designers – Mendybay Alin, Timur Suleymenov, Asimsaly Duzelkhanov, and Khayrulla Gabzhalilov – created the look of the new tenge. Because of their work, November 15 is now celebrated as the "Day of National Currency of Republic of Kazakhstan."

The first tenge banknotes were printed in the United Kingdom, and the first coins were made in Germany. In 1995, Kazakhstan opened its own factory to print tenge. In 2019, a law was signed to remove all Russian words from new tenge banknotes and coins. This helps show Kazakhstan's unique culture.

What Does "Tenge" Mean?

The word tenge comes from the Kazakh language and other Turkic languages. It means "scales" or "balance," like the kind used to weigh things. This is similar to how other currencies, like the British pound or Italian lira, got their names from units of weight. The Russian word for money, den'gi, also comes from this Turkic word.

The Tenge Symbol

The symbol for the Kazakhstani tenge.

Before 2007, people often just used the letter "T" to show amounts in tenge. In 2006, the National Bank of Kazakhstan held a competition to find a special symbol for their currency. They received over 30,000 ideas!

On March 20, 2007, the National Bank chose a new symbol: ₸. Two designers from Almaty, Vadim Davydenko and Sanzhar Amirkhanov, won the competition. They shared a prize and were called the "parents" of the tenge symbol. This symbol was later added to computer systems in 2009.

Coins of Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's coins are now made at the Kazakhstan Mint in Oskemen.

First Series (1993)

The first coins came out in 1993. They included small coins called tiyin (2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 tiyin) made of bronze. There were also tenge coins (1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 tenge) made of a different metal. The tiyin coins were stopped in 2001 and were no longer valid money after 2012.

Image	Denomination	Material	Diameter	Mass	Thickness	Edge	Date of
							issue	minting	withdrawal
	2 tiyin	Brass	17.27 mm	2.26 g	1.3 mm	Smooth	1 March 1994	1993	31 December 2012
	5 tiyin
	10 tiyin		19.56 mm	3.48 g	1.6 mm
	20 tiyin		21.87 mm	4.71 g	1.7 mm
	50 tiyin		25 mm	7.43 g	2 mm
	T 1	Nickel silver	17.27 mm	2.26 g	1.3 mm		25 October 1995		1 October 2001
	T 3		19.56 mm	3.48 g	1.6 mm
	T 5		21.87 mm	4.71 g	1.7 mm
	T 10		25 mm	7.43 g	2 mm
	T 20		31 mm	11.37 g		Grooved

Second Series (1998)

₸1, ₸2, ₸5, ₸10, ₸20, ₸50 and ₸100 coins of the second series.

A new set of coins was released in 1998. The ₸1 coin became the smallest value. A ₸100 coin was added in 2002, replacing the ₸100 banknote. A ₸2 coin was introduced in 2005. The metals used for some coins were changed in 2013.

Second series coins of the Kazakh tenge (1997–2018)
Image	Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Thickness	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	₸1	15 mm	1.63 g	1.3 mm	Alloy of "nickel silver", yellow color (since 2013 - carbon steel, galvanic coating yellow metal)	Plain	Value	Year, Emblem of Kazakhstan	1997~2018	11 November 1998	Current
	₸2	16 mm	1.84 g	1.3 mm					2005,2006	23 February 2005
	₸5	17.27 mm	2.18 g	1.3 mm					1997~2018	11 November 1998
	₸10	19.56 mm	2.81 g	1.3 mm
	₸20	18.27 mm	2.9 g	1.6 mm	Alloy of "nickel silver", white color (since 2013 - carbon steel and galvanic nickel)	Grooved	Value	Year, Emblem of Kazakhstan	1997~2018	11 November 1998	Current
	₸50	23 mm	4.7 g	1.6 mm
	₸100	24.5 mm	6.65 g	1.95 mm	Inner disk: alloy of "nickel silver", white color Outer disk: alloy of "nibrass", yellow color.	Grooved with the note - «СТО ТЕНГЕ - ЖYЗ ТЕҢГЕ» (one hundred tenge)			2002~2007	1 July 2002
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Third Series (2019)

In 2019, a new series of coins was released. They have the same sizes and metals as the second series. The big change is that the words on the coins are now in the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet, instead of the Cyrillic alphabet.

This change was part of a plan by former President Nursultan Nazarbayev to switch to a Latin alphabet. It also helps highlight Kazakh culture and reduce Russian influence. The designs were approved in March 2019. Older coins with Cyrillic writing are still valid. In 2020, new ₸200 coins were also released with Latin script.

Third series coins of the Kazakh tenge (2019–present)
Image	Value	Technical parameters				Description			Date of
		Diameter	Mass	Thickness	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	minting	issue	withdrawal	lapse
	₸1	15 mm	1.63 g	1.3 mm	Carbon steel, galvanic coating yellow metal	Plain	Value	Year, Emblem of Kazakhstan	2019~present	26 April 2019	Current
	₸2	16 mm	1.84 g	1.3 mm
	₸5	17.27 mm	2.18 g	1.3 mm
	₸10	19.56 mm	2.81 g	1.3 mm
	₸20	18.27 mm	2.9 g	1.6 mm	Carbon steel and galvanic nickel	Grooved	Value	Year, Emblem of Kazakhstan	2019~present	26 April 2019	Current
	₸50	23 mm	4.7 g	1.6 mm
	₸100	24.5 mm	6.65 g	1.95 mm	Inner disk: alloy of "nickel silver", white color Outer disk: alloy of "nibrass", yellow color.	Grooved with the note - «JÚZ TEŃGE» (one hundred tenge)
	₸200	26 mm	7.5 g	1.9 mm	Aluminium-brass center in copper-nickel ring	Sixteen indentations ('Spanish flower') with alternate plain and reeded sections			2020~present	28 January 2020
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Special Commemorative Coins

Kazakhstan also makes special Commemorative coins to celebrate important events. These come in different values, from ₸20 to ₸10,000. Some are made of silver and gold. Many of the ₸20 and ₸50 commemorative coins are also made from a copper-nickel mix and sometimes end up in everyday circulation.

New symbol of tenge (₸) used on info-board of a currency exchange office in Almaty

Banknotes of Kazakhstan

200 tenge (old design)

1993 Series Banknotes

On November 15, 1993, the National Bank of Kazakhstan released the first banknotes. These included tiyn notes (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 tiyn) and tenge notes (1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 tenge). Later, in 1994, ₸200, ₸500, and ₸1,000 notes were added. Higher values like ₸2,000 (1996), ₸5,000 (1999), and ₸10,000 (2003) followed.

Some of the notes from this series that were in use for a long time featured:

• ₸200 - a picture of Al-Farabi, a famous scholar.
• ₸500 - Al-Farabi and a part of the Khodzha Akhmet Yassaui mausoleum.
• ₸1,000 - Al-Farabi.
• ₸2,000 - Al-Farabi.
• ₸5,000 - Al-Farabi.
• ₸10,000 - Al-Farabi and a snow leopard.

1993 Series
Image		Value	Main Colour		Description		Date
Obverse	Reverse		Obverse	Reverse	Obverse	Reverse	issue	annul
		1 tiyn	green	green	value in numeral and Kazakh, unique geometric design background	value in numeral and Kazakh, Kazakhstan coat of arms, unique geometric design background	1993	2001
		2 tiyn	light blue	light blue
		5 tiyn	pink	pink
		10 tiyn	red	red
		20 tiyn	blue, grey	blue
		50 tiyn	brown, yellow	brown
		T 1	blue	light blue	Portrait of Al-Farabi	Geometrical constructions and formulations of Al-Farabi		2012–2018
		T 3	green	bluish green	Portrait of Suinbai Aronuly	Alatau landscape
		T 5	brown	yellow, orange	Portrait of Kurmangazy	Kurmangazy mausoleum
		T 10	green	light green	Portrait of Chokan Ualihanov	Ok Zhetpes mountain
		T 20	brown	light brown	Portrait of Abay Kunanbaev	Illustration of golden eagle with the man, drawn from works of Abay Kunanbaev
		T 50	reddish	light red	Portrait of Abulhair Khan	Rock paintings of Mangistau
		T 100	violet	pink	Portrait of Ablay Khan	Hodja Ahmed Yassavi mausoleum
		T 200	brown, red	yellow, blue	Portrait of Al-Farabi		1994
		T 500	dark blue, blue	blue, violet
		T 1,000	green, red	green, blue, red
		T 2,000	green, blue	green, brown			1996
		T 5,000	brown, violet	brown			1998
		T 10,000	blue	blue, brown		Snow leopard against a background of mountains	2003

2006 Series Banknotes

Some ₸2,000 notes spelled the word банкі (bank) incorrectly as банқі.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan released a new series of banknotes in 2006. These new notes replaced the older ones with the same value.

The 2006 series looks quite unique. The front of each note is vertical. It shows the Bayterek monument, the Kazakh flag, the country's coat of arms, and a handprint with the signature of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. It also has parts of the national anthem. The main differences between these notes are their colors and values.

The back of each note is horizontal and more varied. It shows a unique building and a map of Kazakhstan's geography. The value is written in Russian on the back.

Interestingly, some of the first ₸2,000 and ₸5,000 notes from 2006 had a spelling mistake for the word "bank" in Kazakh. This was a big deal because the Kazakh language is very important to the country's culture.

On October 3, 2016, the ₸2,000, ₸5,000, and ₸10,000 banknotes from this series were no longer valid for everyday use. People had a year to exchange them at banks.

2006 Series
Image		Value	Main Colour	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		₸200	orange	Astana Bayterek monument, Kazakhstan flag, Kazakhstan coat of arms, handprint with a signature of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, fragments of the national anthem, value in numerals and Kazakh words, issuing bank in Kazakh, inscription in Kazakh stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law	Transport and Communication Ministry and a winged snow leopard on the bridge over River Ishim, outline map of Kazakhstan with Ministry of Defense and the steppes in the background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law	2006–2016
		₸500	blue		Ministry of Finance and Akimat (City Hall) of Astana, outline map of Kazakhstan with gulls over the sea in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		₸1,000	brown		President Culture Center, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountains in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		₸2,000	green		Abai Opera House, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountain lake in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		₸5,000	red		Independence Monument and the Kazakhstan Hotel, outline map of Kazakhstan with mountains in background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law
		₸10,000	purple		Residence Akorda (presidential palace), outline map of Kazakhstan with canyons in the background, value in Russian, name of issuing in Kazakh, logo of issuing bank, inscription in Russian stating that counterfeiting banknotes is against the law

2011–2017 Series Banknotes

The National Bank of Kazakhstan released another new series of banknotes between 2011 and 2017. These notes came in values of ₸1,000, ₸2,000, ₸5,000, and ₸10,000. The front of these notes features the "Kazakh Eli" monument, which represents Kazakhstan's independence.

On December 1, 2015, a new ₸20,000 banknote was introduced. It was a special commemorative note to celebrate 20 years of Kazakhstan's national currency. In 2017, a ₸500 banknote was added to this series.

2023-2025 Series Banknotes

The National Bank of Kazakhstan started releasing a new series of banknotes called "Saka" from 2023. These notes are smaller, no longer have Russian text, and include new security features. Older banknotes will gradually be replaced, but you can still exchange them at banks for a few years.

Special Commemorative Banknotes

Since 2008, Kazakhstan has issued many special banknotes to celebrate important events. These include notes for the 2011 Asian Winter Games. These special notes are usually for ₸1,000, ₸2,000, ₸5,000, and ₸10,000.

Digital Tenge

The National Bank of Kazakhstan has also announced plans to create a digital version of its currency. This would be like a digital form of cash.

Exchange Rates and Inflation

Money values can change over time. This is called the exchange rate.

• On September 2, 2013, the tenge was linked to the US dollar and the Russian ruble.
• On February 11, 2014, the tenge's value dropped by 19% against the US dollar. This happened because the Russian ruble was getting weaker.
• On August 20, 2015, Kazakhstan's National Bank decided to let the tenge's value float freely. This means its value is now decided by how much people want to buy or sell it in the market. Because of this change, the tenge lost 30% of its value in just one day.

Inflation is when prices for things go up over time, meaning your money buys less. Kazakhstan has seen its inflation rate change a lot over the years. For example, in 1994, inflation was very high, but it has generally been much lower in recent years.