British currency in the Middle East already risen in value against the pound sterling as a result of sterling's devaluation in 1967, and so the new Omani rial was not equal in value to the dinars in the nearby territories. The currency units that are used in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and the Yemen are all descended from the pound sterling unit, while the currency units that are used in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are all descended from the Maria Theresa Thaler. This largely explains the factor of ten difference in value on average between Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on
Pound sterling in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Islands used sterling currency as in the United Kingdom until 1899 when it began to issue its own banknotes at par with the pound sterling. In 1974, this territory also began to issue its own coinage, similar to the coinage of the United Kingdom but with different designs on the reverse. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands has a very small population, with no permanent residents. Government officials there use UK currency. Although nominally British, the British Antarctic Territory is subject to international agreements which limit British authority there and allow other countries to maintain scientific research bases there.