Banknote statistics

There are over 4.6 billion Bank of England notes in circulation. Together they are worth about £82 billion.

Our banknote statistics

Each year, we publish how many of our banknotes are in circulation and how much they are worth.  We say the number of notes we issue and destroy, the number of counterfeits found, and how many claims we get for damaged notes. And we compare the data with previous years.

Use the icon on the top right hand corner of the charts to download data. You can toggle data series on and off.

Notes in circulation

The total value of our notes in circulation has tended to increase over time with growth driven in recent years by the £20 and £50 note. We measure the value of notes in circulation on the last day in February each year.

The value of banknotes in circulation (£ millions)

£5 £10 £20 £50 Total1 Other notes2
2014 1540 7182 36483 11025 56230 3967
2015 1601 7371 38912 11788 59671 4118
2016 1645 7767 41037 13157 63606 4212
2017 1912 8006 43357 15601 68876 4322
2018 1910 7789 42692 16508 68899 4351
2019 1979 10524 40129 17210 69841 4330
2020 2068 13377 37143 17574 70161 4261
2021 2034 15405 44742 17850 80031 4661
2022 1995 14365 50484 14790 81634 4806
2023 1956 13560 52297 13450 81263 4644
2024 1922 12767 52926 14757 82373 4646

1 Total is the sum of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes excluding all other notes. See below.
2 Higher value notes used as cover for the note issues of banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

 

The volume of banknotes in circulation (millions)


£5 £10 £20 £50 Total1
2014 308 718 1824 221 3071
2015 320 737 1946 236 3239
2016 329 777 2052 263 3421
2017 382 801 2168 312 3663
2018 382 779 2135 330 3626
2019 396 1052 2006 344 3799
2020 414 1338 1857 351 3960
2021 407 1541 2237 357 4541
2022 399 1436 2524 296 4656
2023 391 1356 2615 269 4631
2024 384 1277 2646 295 4603

1 Total is the sum of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes excluding all other notes.

Growth in the value of our notes in circulation

The two main ways to measure yearly growth of notes in circulation (NIC) are:

  • Peak-to-peak, which measures the difference between the peak levels of NIC (usually leading up to Christmas) each year.
  • Average year-on-year, which measures the difference between the average level of NIC each year.

The charts below show how peak-to-peak and average growth have varied for each of our notes, and overall, over the past decade.

Peak to peak banknote growth rate

Peak-to-peak measures the difference between the peak level of notes in circulation each year (usually in the run up to Christmas).

Average banknote growth rate

Average year-on-year measures the difference between the average level of notes in circulation each year.

Value of banknotes issued (£ millions)

Each year we issue new banknotes to replace unfit ones and to meet any increases in overall demand. The value of each denomination issued are shown in the table below.

£5 £10 £20 £50 Total
2013/14 793 2141 5281 2260 10474
2014/15 869 2433 6202 2165 11668
2015/16 977 5683 5056 1831 13547
2016/17 1643 4008 6382 3188 15220
2017/18 386 8192 3291 2169 14039
2018/19 154 3568 1211 1616 6549
2019/20 229 2993 5323 370 8915
2020/21 58 2866 30627 146 33697
2021/22 198 136 12551 4494 17380
2022/23 239 45 6357 5474 12115
2023/24 102 20 930 2298 3350

Value of banknotes destroyed (£ millions)

Each year we destroy banknotes that have become unfit for use. The value of each denomination destroyed are shown in the table below.

£5 £10 £20 £50 Total
2013/14 927 2811 3821 1874 9432
2014/15 1001 2351 3848 1739 8939
2015/16 893 5250 3547 481 10172
2016/17 1509 4058 3371 484 9422
2017/18 1192 7785 3474 506 12956
2018/19 131 4895 5327 312 10665
2019/20 128 490 9796 865 11279
2020/21 106 250 26932 191 27478
2021/22 265 228 13046 12044 25583
2022/23 270 274 3983 8218 12745
2023/24 101 113 644 1256 2115

Damaged notes

When one of our banknotes gets damaged we will exchange it, if at least half of it remains. We receive thousands of claims to replace damaged banknotes each year. 

The first chart below shows the number of claims we received and why. The second chart shows how much we paid to reimburse customers.

Number of claims and cause of damage

We receive thousands of claims each year from members of the public, banks, businesses and the police. This chart shows the number of claims and what caused the damage.

Value of exchanged banknotes

We exchange millions of pounds worth of banknotes. This chart shows how many British pounds we exchanged for each type of damaged banknote.

We have rounded the numbers to the nearest 1,000.

Counterfeit notes

In 2023, only a small fraction, typically less than 0.0025% of banknotes were counterfeit, that is less than 1 in 40,000 banknotes. Counterfeit notes are created illegally and are worthless. You can identify them by following our guide on how to check your banknotes.

Counterfeit notes are removed from circulation by banks and the police. The notes are then sent to us for analysis. These charts show the number we receive each year and their notional face value (to reiterate, they are worthless). Counterfeiting has substantially reduced since 2019 as a result of a combination of factors such as the introduction of more robust polymer banknotes, the subsequent withdrawal of the older paper designs, successful police action on the sources and distribution of counterfeits and the general move to electronic payments.

Number of counterfeit notes discovered

This chart shows how many counterfeit notes we receive and their denomination. The figures include both current and old banknotes series. We have rounded the numbers to the nearest 1,000. Data includes counterfeits of both current and old series notes. 

Year £5 £10 £20 £50 Total  Value (£ millions) Number removed before entering circulation (bulk seizures)
2005 6000 7000 485000 6000 504000 10.1 45000
2006 8000 8000 367000 6000 389000 7.8 8000
2007 4000 6000 284000 4000 298000 6.0 15000
2008 4000 6000 692000 3000 705000 14.1 13000
2009 4000 21000 544000 3000 572000 11.3 20000
2010 6000 11000 286000 4000 307000 6.1 42000
2011 6000 122000 257000 2000 387000 6.5 0
2012 4000 163000 564000 16000 747000 13.7 9000
2013 5000 249000 435000 16000 705000 12.0 8000
2014 2000 96000 328000 15000 441000 8.3 0
2015 1000 53000 174000 23000 251000 5.2 0
2016 2000 23000 303000 27000 355000 7.7 10000
2017 1000 43000 402000 33000 479000 10.1 0
2018 1000 8000 434000 38000 481000 10.7 7000
2019 0 3000 404000 46000 453000 10.4 536000
2020 0 7000 155000 22000 184000 4.3 37000
2021 2000 8000 90000 34000 134000 3.6 72000
2022 1000 6000 192000 20000 219000 4.9 106000
2023 1000 4000 106000 5000 116000 2.4 15000

Notional face value of counterfeit notes discovered

This chart shows the total notional face value of notes we have removed and their denomination. The figures are in millions of British pounds. They are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Data includes counterfeits of both current and old series notes.

Year £5 £10 £20 £50 Total
2005 30000 70000 9700000 300000 10100000
2006 40000 80000 7340000 300000 7760000
2007 20000 60000 5680000 200000 5960000
2008 20000 60000 13840000 150000 14070000
2009 20000 210000 10880000 150000 11260000
2010 30000 110000 5720000 200000 6060000
2011 30000 1220000 5140000 100000 6490000
2012 20000 1630000 11280000 800000 13730000
2013 25000 2490000 8700000 800000 12015000
2014 10000 960000 6560000 750000 8280000
2015 5000 530000 3480000 1150000 5165000
2016 10000 230000 6060000 1350000 7650000
2017 5000 430000 8040000 1650000 10125000
2018 5000 80000 8680000 1900000 10665000
2019 0 30000 8080000 2300000 10410000
2020 0 70000 3100000 1100000 4270000
2021 10000 80000 1800000 1700000 3590000
2022 5000 60000 3840000 1000000 4905000
2023 5000 40000 2120000 250000 2415000
This page was last updated 03 May 2024