| Malagasy ariary
|
| ariary malgache (in French)
|
|
| 500 Ariary banknote (1993)
|
|
| ISO 4217 Code
|
MGA
|
| User(s)
|
 Madagascar
|
| Inflation
|
10%
|
| Source
|
The World Factbook, 2007 est.
|
| Subunit
|
|
| ⅕
|
iraimbilanja
|
| Coins
|
1, 2 iraimbilanja, Ar1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 50
|
| Banknotes
|
Ar100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000
|
| Central bank
|
Banque Centrale de Madagascar
|
| Website
|
www.banque-centrale.mg
|
The ariary (Ar;[1] ISO 4217 code MGA) is the currency of Madagascar. It is equal to 5 iraimbilanja. The ariary is one of only two non-decimal currencies currently being used. The other is the Mauritanian ouguiya.
The names ariary and iraimbilanja come from earlier currency. Ariary was the name for a silver dollar. Iraimbilanja means "one iron weight". It was the name of an old coin worth ⅕ of an ariary.
History
The ariary was first used in 1961. It was equal to 5 Malagasy francs. Coins and banknotes were printed in both francs and ariary. The sub-unit of the ariary, the iraimbilanja, was worth ⅕ of an ariary. Because of this, it was equal to one franc. The ariary replaced the franc as the official currency of Madagascar on January 1, 2005.[2]
References
