Syria’s new currency removes al-Assad family images, seeks to boost economy

As the fledgling government tries to recoup some of the value lost during the past ten years of conflict, new banknotes have been released at money exchanges across Syria.

The redesigned notes are the product of a wider effort to stabilize, revitalize, and rebrand the state. They have been developed over the course of months.

The Syrian pound’s value has been depleted, and inflation has recently reached triple digits. Unnamed officials informed the Reuters news agency that the Central Bank of Syria only had $200 million in foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2025. At the end of 2010, it had $17bn.

Recurrent internal and external security challenges are among the biggest challenges facing Syria’s new authorities, along with improving the standing of the pound.

In a process known as redenomination, two zeros have been removed from old currencies.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa claimed the new currencies “the end of a previous, unlamented phase and the beginning of a new phase that the Syrian people aspire to” after they were unveiled last week.

The new currency’s design is an “abdication from individual veneration” and represents a “new national identity”

On January 1, the new bills, which range from 10 to 500 Syrian pounds, were released in circulation. They display images of Syria’s famous agricultural symbols, including roses, wheat, olives, oranges, and other agricultural symbols.

Al-Assad’s “Ridiculous” status on the pound

A Damascus resident named Muhammad Zaar expressed his satisfaction with the change, according to Al Jazeera.

“We at least remove this previous president. He claimed that seeing his image on our money is absurd.

Ayman Oghanna, a journalist from Damascus, reported on the report’s Al Jazeera that the move was intended to streamline transactions, boost economic growth, and rebrand the nation.

According to Oghanna, “What a nation prints on its currency says a lot about what it wants to be.”

“These new denominations are intended to legitimize Syria’s new government while making a clean break from its past.”

After nearly 14 years of a ruinous civil war, the Syrian government has made an effort to restore stability to the country’s flat-line economy, including its payment systems.

Before it was denominated, the pound had fallen from 50 to about 11, 000 dollars since the start of the war in 2011. Even for basic needs, such as grocery shopping, were carried by Syrians in large wads of banknotes.

The currency’s value is not affected by the zero’s removal.

After years of economic isolation, the United States announced that the so-called Caesar sanctions would permanently be lifted, allowing for the return of investment to Syria.

Additionally, significant financial investments in the Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have provided a vital economic resource.