Key Difference: Euro is the currency that is used by the Institutions of the European Union and is the official currency of the eurozone. Pound is a unit of currency used by many central countries such as Great Britain, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria.

Euro and Pound are two different forms of currency that are used in different countries. These two currencies differ from each other and can be confusing for many people. The Euro is a currency that is used by many countries in the Europe, while pound is a currency that is used in some countries.

Euro is the currency that is used by the Institutions of the European Union and is the official currency of the eurozone. Euro is used in 17 European countries part of the European Union including: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Additionally, it also used by 5 other countries that are not a part of the EU.

Euro is the second largest reserve country and the second most traded currency, following the United States Dollar. Based on International Monetary Fund estimates of 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity among the various currencies, the eurozone is the second largest economy in the world. The name Euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995, with coins and banknotes being issued into circulation on 1 January 2002. Euro is denoted with the sign € and is formally written as EUR. In comparison with dollars, 1 EUR is equal to 1.29 USD. Each Euro is equivalent to 100 cents.

Pound is a unit of currency used by many central countries such as Great Britain, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria. Pound has become synonymous with the Great Britain, where is it is known as the Great Britain Pound or Pound Sterling. Though other central countries do not use the term pound, their currency has the same history. The term pound was used to signify the weight of silver. Pound was used by Great Britain to weigh the silver that was used in each coin or currency.

The word ‘Pound’ itself has been derived from the Latin word ‘Libra’, which was a unit of account of the Roman Empire. Britain adapted the word pound from the word ‘Libra’ is which pound (mass) has the initials lb. Great Britain wasn’t the only country to adapt the word Libra, French adapted it to ‘livre’, Italian to ‘lira’ and the Portuguese still use ‘libra’. Many countries which used ‘pound’ before have changed the names to other currencies. In Britain, each pound is equivalent to 100 pence. The symbol for pound is ₤ and it is denoted as GBP for Great Britain Pound. In comparison with dollars, 1 GBP is equal to 1.50 USD.

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