Mauritian Rupee

• Country: Mauritius
• Currency: Rupee
• Alias: Mauritian rupee
• ISO 4217 CODES: MUR/480
• Symbol: Rs

The Mauritian rupee is the national currency of Mauritius, an African island nation situated off of the eastern coast of Madagascar. The island is well-known for its bountiful sugarcane crop, but in recent years, Mauritius has developed a reputation for being a major manufacturing and financial center, and is home to many off-shore businesses. The Bank of Mauritius is the country’s central bank.

Background of the Mauritian Rupee

Mauritius was first discovered by Portuguese explorers early in the 16th century. The island subsequently became a territory of the Dutch, the French, and the British throughout various portions of its history. Formal independence from Britain was declared in 1968, and Mauritius became a republic in 1992.

Up until 1985, sugar was the main export from Mauritius, but manufactured goods soon replaced it. Mauritius is known from exporting high-quality textile and electronics products, and is the only free port in the Indian Ocean offering tax benefits to those trading through it. The island intends to become duty-free by 2009. In recent years, Mauritius has also developed a reputation as an offshore banking haven and a tourist destination.

Mauritius’ neighboring island, Réunion, is a French territory and therefore uses the euro.

The symbol for the Mauritian rupee is “Rs,” though it is occasionally expressed as “Mau Rs” in order to differentiate it from other countries that also use a form of the rupee for their national currencies.

The Mauritian rupee is divided into 100 cents. Denominations for coins are 5c, 10c, 20c, 25c, and 50c. Denominations for banknotes are Rs5, Rs10, Rs50, Rs100, Rs200, Rs500 and Rs1,000.