UAE dirham symbol added to Unicode 18.0 — The National
The symbol of the United Arab Emirates dirham has been included in version 18.0 of the Unicode standard, which will allow computer and smartphone manufacturers to add it to keyboards and software. The National (UAE) reports.
Unicode is an industry organization headquartered in California that standardizes digital characters and emoji for billions of devices. The organization called the UAE dirham symbol one of the most anticipated new characters in version 18.0, alongside the symbols of the Omani rial and the Maldivian rufiyaa.
Code for digital devices
The dirham symbol was assigned the code point U+20C3, which will help developers encode this sign in devices and software. At the same time, the symbol's appearance in Unicode does not mean it will be immediately available on all keyboards: implementation of the updated standard will depend on technology companies and device manufacturers.
Unicode noted that the respective currency symbols had been approved for public use by monetary authorities more than a year ago, but their use in the digital environment was limited by the lack of standardized encoding. Following the release of Unicode 18.0, technology providers can implement support for these signs.
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The symbol was introduced in 2025
The Central Bank of the UAE introduced the official symbol of the national currency on March 27, 2025. According to the description in the Unicode specification, it contains two horizontal lines intended to represent the dirham's financial and monetary stability while also being inspired by the UAE flag.
After presenting the symbol, the Central Bank of the UAE submitted an application to Unicode for its use on technology platforms. In 2025, the bank also published style guidelines proposing that the sign be placed on the key with the number 6, although the final decision on keyboard layouts will remain with manufacturers.
Unicode 18.0 adds 13,007 new characters, including nine new emoji. The total number of encoded characters in the standard has reached 172,808.
