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Countries that Use Pesos 2024

What is a peso?

A peso is a unit of currency, similar to the dollar, pound, franc, and euro, which is common throughout North America and South America. The word peso translates to "weight" in Spanish. In many countries, both pesos and US dollars are accepted as a medium of exchange for goods and services. Although the dollar and the peso are two separate currencies with vastly different values, both use the $ sign and the words peso and dollar may be used interchangeably in some regions, which can be confusing to travelers.

What Countries Use the Peso?

Pesos are the primary form of currency in several Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas, as well as the Philippines. Each country mints its own version of the peso. Argentine pesos, for example, have a different appearance and value than Mexican, Cuban, or Chilean pesos.

Countries that Currently Use Pesos:

CountryCurrencyISO 4217 code$1 USD (15 Nov 2022) =
ArgentinaArgentine pesoARS162.12 ARS
ChileChilean pesoCLP885.60 CLP
ColombiaColombian pesoCOP4,805.98 COP
CubaCuban pesoCUP24.01 CUP
Dominican RepublicDominican pesoDOP54.25 DOP
MexicoMexican pesoMXN19.38 MXN
PhilippinesPhilippine pesoPHP57.25 PHP
UruguayUruguayan pesoUYU40.02 UYU

Where did the peso come from?

The original pesos were silver coins minted in Spain in 1497, with a weight roughly equivalent to 25.56g of fine silver. Spanish explorers brought the peso to Latin America, where a simplified manufacturing process was adopted: Silver was formed into a bar, which was then sliced into small pieces that were then hammered into rough, irregular coins. The peso manufacturing process was standardized and mechanized by Spanish laws in 1728 and 1730, which slightly reduced the amount of silver in a peso to 24.809g and created a perfectly round, officially minted coin. This updated peso was known in North American colonies by names including a piece of eight, Spanish dollar, and Mexican dollar.

Although it was the world's most popular coin for international trade in the 1700s, the peso gradually fell out of use in Europe in the 1800s, and was eventually replaced in Spain by the peseta in 1868. The coin retained its popularity in the Americas, however, from which it had spread across the Pacific to the Philippines. In fact, the "Spanish dollar" was accepted as legal currency in the United States until 1857.

Countries that previously used the peso

Multiple countries used the peso at some time in their history, but have since switched over to another form of currency. As previously mentioned, Spain invented the peso, but eventually replaced it with the peseta in 1868, which itself gave way to the euro in 2002. Additional countries that previously used the peso include Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.

CountryPeso TypeYear ReplacedCurrent CurrencyISO 4217 code
BoliviaBolivian peso1986Bolivian bolivianoBOB
Costa RicaCosta Rican peso1896Costa Rican colónCRC
EcuadorEcuadorian peso1884US dollarUSD
El SalvadorSalvadoran peso1919US dollar/BitcoinUSD/BTC
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinean peso1975Central African CFA francXAF
GuatemalaGuatemalan peso1925Guatemalan quetzalGTQ
Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau peso1997West African CFA francXOF
HondurasHonduran peso1931Honduran lempiraHNL
NicaraguaNicaraguan peso1912Nicaraguan córdobaNIO
ParaguayParaguayan peso1943Paraguayan guaraniPYG
PeruPeruvian peso1863Peruvian solPEN
Puerto RicoPuerto Rican peso1900US dollarUSD
SpainSpanish peso1869EU euroEUR
VenezuelaVenezuelan peso1874Venezuelan bolívarVEF

Is the Peso Worth a Lot of Money?

While the value of the peso varies considerably depending upon which country's peso is being valued, every modern version of the peso is worth considerably less than the US dollar and the euro. All of the countries that currently use the peso are classified as still-developing countries in an economic sense, and the currencies of developing countries are worth less than the currencies of fully developed countries, which tend to be quite valuable. As a result, it takes a great many pesos to equal the value of one US dollar or euro.

Download Table Data

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Country
Peso Type
Peso Usage Status
Current Currency
ISO 4217
ArgentinaArgentine pesoCurrentArgentine pesoARS
ChileChilean pesoCurrentChilean pesoCLP
ColombiaColombian pesoCurrentColombian pesoCOP
CubaCuban pesoCurrentCuban pesoCUP
Dominican RepublicDominican pesoCurrentDominican pesoDOP
MexicoMexican pesoCurrentMexican pesoMXN
PhilippinesPhilippine pesoCurrentPhilippine pesoPHP
UruguayUruguayan pesoCurrentUruguayan pesoUYU
PeruPeruvian pesoDiscontinued - 1863Peruvian solPEN
SpainSpanish pesoDiscontinued - 1869EU euroEUR
VenezuelaVenezuelan pesoDiscontinued - 1874Venezuelan bolívarVEF
EcuadorEcuadorian pesoDiscontinued - 1884US dollarUSD
Costa RicaCosta Rican pesoDiscontinued - 1896Costa Rican colónCRC
Puerto RicoPuerto Rican pesoDiscontinued - 1900US dollarUSD
NicaraguaNicaraguan pesoDiscontinued - 1912Nicaraguan córdobaNIO
El SalvadorSalvadoran pesoDiscontinued - 1919US dollar/BitcoinUSD/BTC
GuatemalaGuatemalan pesoDiscontinued - 1925Guatemalan quetzalGTQ
HondurasHonduran pesoDiscontinued - 1931Honduran lempiraHNL
ParaguayParaguayan pesoDiscontinued - 1943Paraguayan guaraniPYG
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinean pesoDiscontinued - 1975Central African CFA francXAF
BoliviaBolivian pesoDiscontinued - 1986Bolivian bolivianoBOB
Guinea BissauGuinea-Bissau pesoDiscontinued - 1997West African CFA francXOF
AfghanistanAfghan afghaniAFN
BahrainBahraini dinarBHD
BangladeshBangladeshi takaBDT
BhutanBhutanese ngultrum and Indian rupeeBTN/INR
BurundiBurundian francBIF
DjiboutiDjibouti francDJF
IndiaIndian rupeeINR
IndonesiaIndonesian rupeeIDR
IraqIraqi dinarIQD
KenyaKenyan shillingKES
KuwaitKuwaiti dinarKWD
MaldivesMaldivian rufiyaaMVR
MauritiusMauritian rupeeMUR
MyanmarBurmese kyatMMK
NepalNepalese rupeeNPR
OmanOmani rialOMR
PakistanPakistani rupeePKR
QatarQatari rialQAR
RwandaRwandan francRWF
SeychellesSeychellois rupeeSCR
SomaliaSomali shillingSOS
Sri LankaSri Lankan rupeeLKR
TanzaniaTanzanian shillingTZS
ThailandThai bhatTHB
Timor LesteUS dollarUSD
UgandaUgandan shillingUGX
United Arab EmiratesEmirati dirhamAED
YemenYemeni rialYER
ZimbabweZimbabwean dollarZWD
showing: 51 rows

How many countries use Pesos?

There are eight countries that currently use some form of the Peso as their official currency, but each has named the currency after their own country.

Which countries use Pesos?

The countries that use their country's version of the Peso include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Philippines, and Uruguay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources