| |||||
| ISO 4217 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code | BWP (numeric: 072) | ||||
| Subunit | 0.01 | ||||
| Unit | |||||
| Unit | pula | ||||
| Symbol | P | ||||
| Denominations | |||||
| Subunit | |||||
| 1⁄100 | thebe | ||||
| Banknotes | 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 pula | ||||
| Coins | 5, 10, 25, 50 thebe, 1, 2, 5 pula | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| Date of introduction | 23 August 1976 | ||||
| Official user(s) |  Botswana | ||||
| Unofficial user(s) |  Zimbabwe | ||||
| Issuance | |||||
| Central bank | Bank of Botswana | ||||
| Website | www | ||||
| Valuation | |||||
| Inflation | 2.50% (April 2020) | ||||
| Source | Bank of Botswana, 7 July 2016 | ||||
| Method | CPI | ||||
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The pula (also known as the Botswana dollar) is the currency of Botswana. It has the ISO 4217 code BWP and is subdivided into 100 thebe. Pula literally means "rain" in Setswana, because rain is very scarce in Botswana—home to much of the Kalahari Desert—and therefore valuable and a blessing.[1][2] The word also serves as the national motto of the country.
A sub-unit of the currency is known as thebe, or "shield",[3] and represents defence.[4] The names were picked with the help of the public.[4]
- ^ "Pula currency". FactRepublic.com. 2018-11-09. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ "History of Botswana Currency | Bank of Botswana". www.bankofbotswana.bw. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ Masire, Ketumile (2006). Very brave or very foolish?. Macmillan Botswana. p. 81. ISBN 978-99912-404-8-0.
Pula (rain) was an easy choice for the currency, and the decimal coins were called thebe (shield).
(Memoirs of a former president of Botswana) - ^ a b Standard Chartered Review. Standard Chartered Bank. 1976. p. 9.
The new names pula and thebe were chosen following an invitation to the public to submit a their suggestions [...] The meaning of "thebe" is shield — the traditional means of defence.