What is Comorian Franc (KMF) and how does it work?

The Comorian Franc (KMF) is the main currency in circulation in the island country of the Union of Comoros, which is situated in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique and has a population of around 400,000 people. The KMF is divided into 100 cents. Originally linked to the French franc, the Comorian franc will be fixed to the euro as of 2020, replacing the French franc.

Key Points Briefly

• Known as the Comorian franc, this currency is often used to refer to the African island country of Comoros.

• It enjoys a good exchange rate and is linked with the Euro. It is linked with Euro at 492 KMF to 1 EUR that is considered to be a healthy exchange rate.

• While the currency has no centimes being issued, it continues to still being divided into 100 centimes.

• Comoros has an extremely high rate of unemployment, and poor educational standards that has contributed it to becoming one of the worlds poorest nations.

KMF = Comorian Franc

Symbol = CF

Banknotes = 500,1000,2000,5000,10,000 frans

Coins = 1,2,5,10,25,50,100,250 frans

Comorian Franc (KMF) Overview, Currency Denominations

The national currency of the Comoros archipelago is the franc, which serves as its official unit of measure. The currency’s value and pricing is controlled by the central bank of Comoros, that also ensures the currency is properly circulated. It has been controlled since 1981, when it came into existence and became known as Central Bank of Comoros.

The bank continues to circulate currency notes in various denominations ranging from 500 to 10,000 francs. This shows the wide range of spending options available to the public and the central bank has also issued coins in the denominations of 1,2,5, going up to 100 francs.

A peculiar aspect of the KMF system is that franc continues to be split into 100 centimes, but there is no usage of centimes in the currency system. The central bank is situated in the city of Moroni, which is the country's capital.

The KMF currency stays associated to the euro. This connection was established in 1999, when the European Union adopted the euro as a currency for its member nations. The exchange rate was set at 491.96775 francs to one euro, and it has remained at that level ever since. According to the currency rankings, the KMF is the currency that is most often traded with the United States dollar (USD).

What is the history of Comoros?

There were four islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mohèli, and Mayotte − the Comoros was a French colony from the mid-19th century until 1975. All the major islands apart from Mayotte joined an alliance to form Comoros in the year 1975, and Mayotte continued to exist under the France establishment.

It is expected that Comoros has an active population of just under one million people as of 2020 according to the recent estimates.