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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
1,540
7,182
36,483
11,025
56,230
3,967
2015
1,601
7,371
38,912
11,788
59,671
4,118
2016
1,645
7,767
41,037
13,157
63,606
4,212
2017
1,912
8,006
43,357
15,601
68,876
4,322
2018
1,910
7,789
42,692
16,508
68,899
4,351
2019
1,979
10,524
40,129
17,210
69,841
4,330
2020
2,068
13,377
37,143
17,574
70,161
4,261
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
1,824
221
3,071
2015
320
737
1,946
236
3,239
2016
329
777
2,052
263
3,421
2017
382
801
2,168
312
3,663
2018
382
779
2,135
330
3,626
2019
396
1,052
2,006
344
3,799
2020
414
1,338
1,857
351
3,960
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
2,141
5,281
2,260
10,474
2014/15
869
2,433
6,202
2,165
11,668
2015/16
977
5,683
5,056
1,831
13,547
2016/17
1,643
4,008
6,382
3,188
15,220
2017/18
386
8,192
3,291
2,169
14,039
2018/19
154
3,568
1,211
1,616
6,549
2019/20
226
3,002
5,198
369
8,795
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
2,811
3,821
1,874
9,432
2014/15
1,001
2,351
3,848
1,739
8,939
2015/16
893
5,250
3,547
481
10,172
2016/17
1,509
4,058
3,371
484
9,422
2017/18
1,192
7,785
3,474
506
12,956
2018/19
131
4,895
5,327
312
10,665
2019/20
128
490
9,796
865
11,279
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
Only a small fraction, typically less than 0.02% of banknotes are counterfeit, that is less than 1 in 5,000 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 and are sent to us for analysis. These charts show the number we receive each year and their notional face value (they are worthless).
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. The national lockdowns and lower transactional usage of cash acted to reduce counterfeiting during H1 2020.
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
285000
4000
306000
6.0
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
327000
15000
440000
8.3
0
2015
1000
53000
174000
23000
251000
5.2
0
2016
2000
23000
303000
27000
355000
7.7
10000
2017
1000
43000
400000
33000
477000
10.1
0
2018
1000
8000
427000
37000
473000
10.5
7000
2019
0
2000
384000
43000
429000
9.9
524000
H1 2020
0
4000
80000
10000
94000
2.1
33000
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. The national lockdowns and lower transactional usage of cash acted to reduce counterfeiting during H1 2020.
Counterfeit banknotes are worthless. Data includes counterfeits of both current and old series notes.