New Syrian Pound Explained: Old to New Conversion
On 1 January 2026 Syria introduced a new Syrian pound worth 100 old pounds. Two zeros came off every price, salary and bank balance overnight. Almost a year later, people still quote in both: a market trader may say "15,000" and mean old pounds, while a bank statement shows 150. Today the market rate is about 149.50 new pounds per US dollar. This guide explains what changed and how to convert without mistakes.
What happened and when
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 31 December 2025 | Decree No. 293 of 2025 sets out the redenomination. |
| 1 January 2026 | The new pound is launched: 100 old pounds = 1 new pound. |
| Early 2026 | Old and new notes circulate side by side. The planned 90-day period is extended several times. |
| End of July 2026 | The exchange of old notes is completed. About 95% had been replaced by 30 July 2026. |
The subunit stayed the same in name: 1 new pound = 100 qirsh (piastres).
The old 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000 pound notes, the most widely used, were the first to be withdrawn. Smaller old notes kept circulating until they too were phased out.
If you still hold old notes after the exchange period, check with the Central Bank of Syria whether any arrangement remains for exchanging them. We haven't seen one confirmed.
The new banknotes
The new series has six notes, all paper, with nature and agriculture designs and no portraits, a deliberate break with the previous series.
| New note | Main motif | Equals in old pounds |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | roses | 1,000 |
| 25 | mulberries | 2,500 |
| 50 | citrus | 5,000 |
| 100 | cotton | 10,000 |
| 200 | olives | 20,000 |
| 500 | wheat | 50,000 |
Only two new notes match an old note one for one: the new 10 replaced the old 1,000, and the new 50 replaced the old 5,000.
How to convert
The rule is simple:
- Old to new: divide by 100 (remove two zeros).
- New to old: multiply by 100 (add two zeros).
Worked examples
| Amount | Old pounds | New pounds |
|---|---|---|
| A bundle of old 5,000 notes, 20 notes | 100,000 | 1,000 |
| A rent quoted as "3 million" (old) | 3,000,000 | 30,000 |
| A salary of 1,500 new pounds | 150,000 | 1,500 |
| A 25-new-pound note | 2,500 | 25 |
| 50 qirsh | 50 | 0.50 |
When someone quotes a price, ask "new or old?" if it isn't obvious. A good clue is size: since 2026, a price that seems a hundred times too high is almost certainly in old pounds.
Converting with the dollar
Exchange rates are also quoted in both units, which is the most common source of confusion online.
Example: if the market rate is 145 new pounds per dollar (example), that is the same as 14,500 old pounds per dollar. Before 2026, rates were always quoted in old pounds, so an old article saying "14,500" and a new one saying "145" can describe exactly the same value.
To convert dollars to Syrian pounds:
- $200 × 145 = 29,000 new pounds (= 2,900,000 old).
To convert Syrian pounds to dollars:
- 10,000 new pounds ÷ 145 ≈ $68.97.
Converting to Lebanese pounds
Many families send money between Lebanon and Syria or work across both. To go between the two pounds, pass through the dollar:
LBP per new SYP = (LBP per USD) ÷ (new SYP per USD)
Example, with example rates of 89,500 LBP and 145 new SYP per dollar:
- 1 new Syrian pound ≈ 89,500 ÷ 145 ≈ 617 LBP
- 1,000 new Syrian pounds ≈ 617,241 LBP
- 1,000,000 LBP ≈ 1,000,000 ÷ 617.24 ≈ 1,620 new Syrian pounds (= 162,000 old)
Our Syria page does this cross-conversion automatically with today's rates.
Why remove two zeros?
Years of depreciation left the old pound with prices in the hundreds of thousands and millions. Daily payments needed bundles of notes, and accounting carried long strings of zeros. Removing two zeros makes prices readable and cash easier to handle. Redenomination by itself doesn't change what money is worth: 100 old pounds and 1 new pound buy exactly the same thing. Whether the new pound holds its value depends on the economy and monetary policy, not on the number of zeros.
How our Syria page shows the pound
Our Syria page shows:
- The market rate in new pounds per US dollar (buy and sell), from SYPNow (sypnow.com), which relays Damascus market quotes.
- The same rate in old pounds (× 100), for anyone who still thinks or is still quoted in old figures.
- The cross rate with the Lebanese pound, computed through the dollar using our Lebanese market rate.
We check it on the same schedule as our other prices, every 30 minutes during the day. Like every figure on the site, it is indicative: an exchanger in Damascus, Aleppo or at the border may quote differently. See our methodology for how sources are checked.
Quick answers
Did prices drop when the zeros came off? No. Every price was divided by 100 along with the currency, so what your money buys didn't change on the day of the switch.
Can I still spend old notes? The exchange period ended at the end of July 2026. Ask the Central Bank of Syria about any remaining options.
Why do some sites show 14,000 and others 140? One is in old pounds, the other in new. Divide the larger by 100 and compare.