| Local Name1: | أوقية موريتانية |
| Local Name Lang1: | ar |
| Local Name2: | Ouguiya |
| Local Name Lang2: | fr |
| Image Title 1: | Current coins |
| Iso Code: | MRU |
| Iso Comment: | before 2017: |
| Iso Ref: | [1] |
| Inflation Rate: | 2.2% |
| Inflation Source Date: | The World Factbook, 2019 est. |
| Plural: | ouguiya |
| Subunit Name 1: | khoums |
| Symbol: | UM |
| Frequently Used Coins: | 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 ouguiya[2] |
| Rarely Used Coins: | 1 khoums |
| Used Banknotes: | 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 ouguiya[3] |
| Issuing Authority: | Banque Centrale de Mauritanie |
| Printer: | Canadian Bank Note Company[4] |
The ouguiya (Arabic: rtl=yes|1=أوقية موريتانية|links=|lit=|translit= (pronounced as /ar/); sign: UM; code: MRU), at one time spelled "ougiya",[5] is the currency of Mauritania. Each ouguiya constitutes five khoums (meaning "one fifth").
The current ouguiya was introduced in 2018, replacing the old ouguiya at a rate of 1 new ouguiya = 10 old ouguiya, which in turn replaced the CFA franc at a rate of 1 old ouguiya = 5 francs.The name ouguiya (Arabic: أوقية) is the Hassaniya Arabic pronunciation of uqiyyah Arabic: أُوقِية), meaning "ounce".
In 1973, coins of (1 khoums), 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya were introduced into circulation. This was the only year that the khoums was minted, as the ouguiya was worth five CFA Francs a khoums was the equivalent of the franc (which had no subdivision). The most recent issues were in 2003 (1 ouguiya) and 2004 (other denominations). Coins are minted at the Kremnica mint in Slovakia. The coinage slightly changed in 2009, with a reduced 1 ouguiya in plated composition and a bi-metallic 20 ouguiya issued. A bi-metallic 50 ouguiya was issued December 2010.
In 1973, notes were issued by the Central Bank of Mauritania (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) in denominations of 100, 200 and 1,000 ouguiya. In 1974, a second series of notes was issued in the same denominations, with 500-ouguiya notes added in 1979. Banknotes have been printed by Giesecke & Devrient in Munich, starting with the second issue. New banknotes and new coins were introduced in 2004. These notes have completely new fronts and the vignettes on the backs have been redesigned to accommodate the reduction in size. The 2,000-ouguiya denomination is entirely new.
All but the 100 and 200 ouguiya notes have the denomination expressed in Arabic numerals in a holographic patch at right front. The serial numbers for all denominations now appear horizontally at upper left and lower center, and vertically at far right, all formatted with a 2-character prefix, 7-digit serial number, and 1-character suffix.[6]
An entirely new 5,000-ouguiya denomination dated 28 November 2009 was introduced on 8 August 2010, followed by a redesigned 2,000-ouguiya note dated 28 November 2011 issued on 1 February 2012.[6]
On 5 December 2017, the Central Bank of Mauritania announced a redenomination of its currency at a rate of 1:10. As part of the redenomination, a new series of coins were issued in denominations of 1 khoums (ouguiya), 1, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya, with the latter being struck as a tri-metallic coin and a new series of banknotes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 ouguiya. The new ouguiya banknotes issued for the redenomination are printed entirely in polymer. As a consequence of this change, the ISO Currency Codes for the ouguiya were amended to MRU / 929 and the existing codes of MRO / 478 were retired as per ISO 4217 Amendment Number 165 dated 14 December 2017.[7] A 2 ouguiya coin was issued into circulation in 2018, serving as an intermediate denomination for the 1 and 5 ouguiya coins already in circulation. On 28 November 2021, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a 20 ouguiya banknote, co-circulating with the coin of the same denomination in circulation. On 15 June 2023, the Central Bank of Mauritania issued a new 50 ouguiya banknote in celebration of 50 years of the circulation of the ouguiya in Mauritania, co-circulating with the previous banknote of the same denomination.[8]
| Banknotes of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017 issues) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Main color | Description | Date of issue | ||
| Obverse | Reverse | Obverse | Reverse | |||
| 20 ouguiya | Red | Grand Mosque of Gataga in Kaedi | Guelb er Richât | 28 November 2020 | ||
| 50 ouguiya | Violet | Ibn Abbas mosque, Nouakchott | Teapot; musical instruments | 28 November 2017 | ||
| 100 ouguiya | Green | Tower | Cattle | 28 November 2017 | ||
| 200 ouguiya | Yellow | Tower | Camels | 28 November 2017 | ||
| 500 ouguiya | Blue | Tower | Trawler; fish | 28 November 2017 | ||
| 1,000 ouguiya | Brown | Tower | Locomotive of an ore train | 28 November 2017 | ||
| Coins of the Mauritanian ouguiya (2017-2018 issue) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of first minting | |||||
| Diameter | Thickness | Mass | Composition | Edge | Obverse | Reverse | |||
| ouguiya | Copper-plated steel | Plain/Smooth | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Fish; denomination | 2017 | ||||
| 1 ouguiya | Nickel-plated steel | Reeded/grained | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Teapot; denomination | 2017 | ||||
| 2 ouguiya | Stainless steel | Reeded/grained | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | National instruments; denomination | 2018 | ||||
| 5 ouguiya | Nickel-plated steel | Plain/smooth | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Instruments; denomination | 2017 | ||||
| 10 ouguiya | Bi-metallic coin (Nickel-plated steel center with a Brass-plated steel ring) | Segmented (alternating between 10 plain and reeded sections) | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Cow; denomination | 2017 | ||||
| 20 ouguiya | Tri-metallic coin (Bronze-plated steel center plug with a Nickel-plated steel inner ring and a Brass-plated steel outer ring) | Plain/smooth | National seal of Mauritania; denomination | Camels; denomination | 2017 | ||||