Malagasy ariary

The ariary (Ar; 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.