Countries Using the US Dollar: Complete List with ISO Codes

The US Dollar (USD) is not only the currency of the United States -- it is the official currency in 18 countries and territories worldwide. Beyond official adoption, it serves as the world's primary reserve currency and is widely accepted in dozens more countries. If you build payment, e-commerce, or financial applications, knowing which countries officially use USD is important for currency display, payment processing, and compliance logic.

This reference lists every country and territory that uses the US Dollar as its official currency, with ISO codes and code examples.

Quick Access with Code

import { currency } from '@koshmoney/countries/currency';
import { country } from '@koshmoney/countries';
 
// Find all countries using the US Dollar
const usdCountries = currency.getCountriesByCurrency('USD');
// ['AQ', 'AS', 'BQ', 'EC', 'FM', 'GU', 'IO', 'MH', 'MP',
//  'PR', 'PW', 'SV', 'TC', 'TL', 'UM', 'US', 'VG', 'VI']
 
console.log(usdCountries.length); // 18
 
// Check a specific country
currency.getCurrency('US');
// { code: 'USD', symbol: '$', name: 'US Dollar' }
 
currency.getCurrency('EC');
// { code: 'USD', symbol: '$', name: 'US Dollar' }
 
currency.usesCurrency('EC', 'USD'); // true

All Countries and Territories Using USD

United States and US Territories

These are US territories that use USD by default. They have their own ISO 3166 codes, which matters for address forms, shipping, and tax calculations -- Puerto Rico (PR) has different tax rules than mainland US states, for example.

Sovereign Nations Using USD

Ecuador and El Salvador are the two largest economies that have adopted USD as their sole legal tender, a process called "dollarization." The three Pacific island nations (Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau) use USD through their Compact of Free Association with the United States.

[!NOTE] El Salvador also recognizes Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US Dollar since 2021, but USD remains the primary currency for everyday transactions and the one recorded in ISO 4217.

Other Territories Using USD

Several non-US territories use the US Dollar. The British Virgin Islands (VG) and Turks & Caicos Islands (TC) are British Overseas Territories that adopted USD due to their proximity to the US and tourism-heavy economies. Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba (BQ) are Dutch municipalities in the Caribbean that switched from the Netherlands Antillean Guilder to USD in 2011.

USD as Currency vs USD Acceptance

There is an important distinction between countries where USD is the official currency (listed above) and countries where USD is widely accepted but not the official currency. Many countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia accept US Dollars informally, but their official currency is different:

import { currency } from '@koshmoney/countries/currency';
 
// Panama uses the Balboa officially (pegged 1:1 to USD)
// USD circulates freely but PAB is the ISO 4217 currency
currency.getCurrency('PA');
// { code: 'PAB', symbol: 'B/.', name: 'Panamanian Balboa' }
 
// Cambodia uses the Riel officially, but USD is widely used
currency.getCurrency('KH');
// { code: 'KHR', symbol: '៛', name: 'Cambodian Riel' }
 
// Zimbabwe uses multiple currencies; the data reflects the official one
currency.getCurrency('ZW');
// { code: 'ZWL', symbol: '$', name: 'Zimbabwean Dollar' }

Working with USD Country Data

Build a USD country selector

import { currency } from '@koshmoney/countries/currency';
import { country } from '@koshmoney/countries';
 
const usdCountries = currency.getCountriesByCurrency('USD');
 
const options = usdCountries
  .map((code) => ({
    value: code,
    label: country.toName(code),
  }))
  .filter((c) => c.label)
  .sort((a, b) => a.label!.localeCompare(b.label!));

Check if USD pricing applies

import { currency } from '@koshmoney/countries/currency';
 
function shouldShowUSD(countryCode: string): boolean {
  return currency.getCurrencyCode(countryCode) === 'USD';
}
 
shouldShowUSD('US'); // true
shouldShowUSD('EC'); // true
shouldShowUSD('PR'); // true
shouldShowUSD('GB'); // false

Group countries by currency for a multi-currency app

import { currency } from '@koshmoney/countries/currency';
import { country } from '@koshmoney/countries';
import { geography } from '@koshmoney/countries/geography';
 
// Get all USD countries in the Americas
const usdCountries = currency.getCountriesByCurrency('USD');
const americasUSD = usdCountries.filter((code) => {
  const continent = geography.getContinent(code);
  return continent === 'North America' || continent === 'South America';
});
 
americasUSD.map((code) => country.toName(code));
// ['Ecuador', 'El Salvador', 'Puerto Rico', 'United States', ...]

Countries with Informal USD Usage

Beyond the 18 countries where USD is the official currency, many more use the US Dollar informally as a de facto currency for daily transactions. These countries have their own official currencies but USD circulates widely due to economic ties, tourism, or currency instability.

Cambodia is the most notable example -- despite having the Riel as its official currency, the vast majority of commerce uses US Dollars. ATMs dispense USD, prices are quoted in dollars, and the Riel is primarily used for small change below one dollar. Zimbabwe has cycled through multiple currency crises and currently operates a multicurrency system where USD is the most trusted and widely used medium of exchange.

Panama is a special case: while the Balboa is the official currency and has its own coins, there are no Balboa banknotes. All paper currency in circulation is USD, making it functionally dollarized even though the ISO 4217 code is PAB.

[!NOTE] For applications, the key distinction is between official and informal USD usage. currency.getCountriesByCurrency('USD') returns only countries where USD is the ISO 4217 official currency. For countries like Cambodia or Panama, you may want to support USD as an additional display currency even though the API returns KHR or PAB.

Other Dollar Currencies Worldwide

The word "dollar" appears in more than 20 currency names globally. The Australian Dollar (AUD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Singapore Dollar (SGD), Hong Kong Dollar (HKD), New Zealand Dollar (NZD), and many others are distinct currencies with their own ISO 4217 codes and exchange rates -- they are not pegged to or interchangeable with the US Dollar.

For a complete list of every dollar-named currency with ISO codes and the countries that use them, see Dollar Currencies Worldwide.

USD as the World Reserve Currency

The US Dollar is the dominant global reserve currency, accounting for roughly 60% of worldwide foreign exchange reserves and approximately 88% of all foreign exchange transactions. Its central role in international trade is reinforced by the petrodollar system, where oil is priced and traded in USD globally. This reserve status means that even countries with no formal or informal USD adoption hold significant dollar reserves and are affected by US monetary policy.

Summary

The US Dollar is the official currency in 18 countries and territories listed in ISO 3166. This includes the United States and its territories, several sovereign nations that adopted USD through dollarization (Ecuador, El Salvador, East Timor), Pacific island nations with Compact of Free Association agreements, and a handful of British and Dutch territories. The @koshmoney/countries library provides currency.getCountriesByCurrency('USD') to find all of them programmatically.

Related

• Currency API -- Full currency module reference
• Countries Using the Euro -- All EUR countries
• South American Countries List -- South American country codes
• North American Countries List -- North American country codes
• Every Dollar Currency in the World
• Oceania Countries List -- Oceania country codes