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Gulf currencies pegged to the dollar

Five of the six GCC states peg their currency to the US dollar: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The full list

Rate dated by the central bank to the 1980s 3

Each central bank dates today's rate to the 1980s: Bahrain's dinar effectively unchanged since 1980, Oman's rial since its 1986 parity change, the Saudi riyal since mid-1986.

• 🇧🇭Bahrain
• 🇴🇲Oman
• 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia

Made official in 1997 and 2001 2

The UAE dirham officially at 3.6725 to the dollar since November 1997; the Qatari riyal fixed at 3.64 by decree law in July 2001.

• 🇦🇪United Arab Emirates
• 🇶🇦Qatar

Not on the list

• Kuwait: A GCC member, but the Kuwaiti dinar has been pegged to an undisclosed weighted basket of currencies since 20 May 2007, after a dollar peg that ran from 5 January 2003.
• Iraq: Borders the Gulf and the IMF lists it as a conventional peg to the US dollar, but it is not a GCC member, so it is outside the definition of a Gulf state used here.
• Iran: Borders the Gulf but is not a GCC member, and the IMF classifies the rial as an other managed arrangement, not a peg.

Questions

How many Gulf states peg their currency to the dollar?

Five of the six GCC states peg their currency to the US dollar: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Which countries are on the list?

Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

What is an easy way to remember them?

The GCC minus Kuwait, which pegs to a basket of currencies.

Is the Kuwaiti dinar pegged to the dollar?

No. Since 20 May 2007 it has been pegged to an undisclosed basket of currencies.

More lists

Each name checked against at least two sources, one of them Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), on 4 October 2026. Next review by 4 October 2027.
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