Malagasy ariary facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malagasy ariary
500 franc (100 ariary) banknote (1993)
ISO 4217 Code	MGA
User(s)	Madagascar
Inflation	8.8%
Source	The World Factbook, 2013 est.
Subunit
1⁄5	iraimbilanja (franc)
Symbol	Ar
Plural	The language(s) of this currency does not have a morphological plural distinction.
Coins
Freq. used	10, 20, 50 Ar
Rarely used	1, 2 iraimbilanja; 1, 2, 4, 5 Ar
Banknotes
Freq. used	100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 Ar
Rarely used	20,000 Ar

The ariary (sign: Ar) is the money used in Madagascar. It's special because it's divided into 5 smaller units called iraimbilanja. Most currencies today use a decimal system (like 100 cents in a dollar), but the ariary is one of only two currencies in the world that don't! The other is the Mauritanian ouguiya.

The names "ariary" and "iraimbilanja" come from old money used before Madagascar became independent. "Ariary" comes from the Spanish word "real," which was the name for a silver dollar. "Iraimbilanja" means "one iron weight." It was the name of an old coin worth one-fifth of an ariary. However, today, the iraimbilanja unit is not really used because it's worth so little.

History of the Ariary

The ariary was first introduced in 1961. At that time, one ariary was worth 5 Malagasy francs. Both coins and banknotes were made with values shown in francs and ariary. The iraimbilanja, which is one-fifth of an ariary, was equal to one franc. The ariary officially replaced the franc as Madagascar's main money on January 1, 2005.

Since 1961, coins and banknotes showed both the official franc value and the ariary/iraimbilanja values. In the beginning, the franc value was easier to see. But from 1978, some higher value coins only showed their value in ariary.

In 1993, new banknotes for 500 ariary (which was 2500 francs) and 5000 ariary (which was 25,000 francs) were printed. On these, the ariary value was slightly more noticeable. Then, after July 31, 2003, all new banknotes showed the ariary value very clearly, with the franc value in smaller print. Even smaller coins now show their value in ariary, but their designs haven't changed much.

Coins of Madagascar

In 1965, the first coins were made for 1 franc (which was 1 iraimbilanja) and 2 francs (called "venty sy kirobo"). Then, in 1966, a 5 franc coin (equal to 1 ariary) was released. In 1970, 10 and 20 franc coins (equal to 2 and 4 ariary) came out. The name "venty sy kirobo" comes from old terms used in the 1800s for parts of a silver dollar.

In 1978, new 10 and 20 ariary coins were made that did not show their value in francs at all. Later, in 1992, 5 and 50 ariary coins were introduced, along with smaller 10 and 20 ariary coins. Between 2003 and 2004, 1 and 2 ariary coins were also introduced, and these also did not show their franc value.

Here are some of the coins that are used today:

Banknotes of Madagascar

In 1961, the Institut d'Émission Malgache (Malagasy Issuing Institute) started printing banknotes. These were in values of 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 5000 francs. These notes were actually older notes from the Bank of Madagascar and Comoros, with new information printed over them. The new print included the ariary values (10, 20, 100, 200, and 1000 ariary). New, regular banknotes with these same values were printed between 1963 and 1969. On these notes, the ariary value was only written in words, not numbers.

On June 12, 1973, a new bank was created called the Banky Foiben’ny Repoblika Malagasy (Central Bank of the Malagasy Republic). This bank took over the job of printing money. In 1974, new notes were printed with the same values as before.

In December 1975, the country's name changed to the Democratic Republic of Madagascar. Because of this, the Central Bank was renamed Banky Foiben’i Madagasikara (Central Bank of Madagascar). A new series of banknotes was then released. This series included a 10,000 franc note (which was 2000 ariary), but it no longer included the 50 or 100 franc notes.

In 1993, notes for 500 ariary and 5000 ariary were introduced. These notes showed the ariary values in numbers, along with the franc values (2500 and 25,000) in smaller numbers. However, in 1998, these notes were replaced by new ones that only showed the franc values in numbers.

Between 2003 and 2004, new notes were introduced in values of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 ariary. These notes also showed the franc values (500, 1000, 2500, 5000) in very small numbers on notes up to 1000 ariary.

In 2017, the Central Bank of Madagascar released a brand new set of banknotes. This new series, like the ones before it, celebrates "Madagascar and its Riches." It highlights the country's economy, amazing plants and animals, culture, and tourist spots. This series also included a brand new value: the 20,000 ariary note. The first notes in this series (2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 ariary) were released on July 17, 2017. The other notes (100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ariary) came out on September 17, 2017.

Here are the banknotes that are currently used:

See also

• Economy of Madagascar