Decimalisation or decimalization (see
spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by
powers of 10
Powers may refer to:
Arts and media
* Powers (comics), ''Powers'' (comics), a comic book series by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming
** Powers (American TV series), ''Powers'' (American TV series), a 2015–2016 series based on the com ...
.
Most countries have decimalised their currencies, converting them from non-decimal sub-units to a
decimal system, with one basic currency unit and sub-units that are to a power of
10, most commonly 100, and exceptionally 1000; and sometimes at the same time changing the name of the currency or the conversion rate to the new currency. Today, only two countries have non-decimal currencies:
Mauritania, where 1
ouguiya = 5
khoums, and
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, where 1
ariary = 5
iraimbilanja
The iraimbilanja (singular and plural) is the divisory currency unit of Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is ...
. However, these are only theoretically non-decimal, as, in both cases, the value of the main unit is so low that the sub-units are too small to be of any practical use and coins of the sub-units are no longer used.
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
was the first country to convert to a decimal currency when it decimalised under Tsar
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
in 1704, resulting in the