Euro Countries

On January 1, 1999 one of the largest steps toward European unification took place with the introduction of the euro as the official currency in eleven countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain).

However, residents of the first EU countries that adopted the euro didn't begin using euro banknotes and coins until January 1, 2002.

Euro Countries

Today, the euro is the world's most powerful currency, used by more than 320 million Europeans in twenty countries. The countries currently using the euro are:

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Portugal
San Marino
Slovenia
Spain
Vatican City

Recent and Future Euro Countries

On January 1, 2008, the two newest countries adopted the euro - Cyprus and Malta. On Janury 1, 2009, Slovakia will begin using the euro. On January 1, 2010 Lithuania joins the Eurozone and on January 1, 2011 Estonia is expected to convert to the euro.

Only 15 of the 27 members of the European Union (EU) are part of the Eurozone, the name for the collection of EU countries that utilize the euro. Notably, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden have thus far decided not to convert to the euro. Other new EU member countries are working toward becoming part of the Eurozone.

On the other hand, Andorra, Montenegro, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City are not EU members but do officially use the euro as their currencies.

The symbol for the euro is a rounded "E" with two cross lines. You can see it on this page. Euros are divided into eurocents, each eurocent being one one-hundredth of a euro.