site.btaCentral Bank Data Shows BGN 50 and BGN 100 Banknotes Make Up 65% of Circulation, 90% of Value

Banknotes with denominations of BGN 50 and BGN 100 make up 65% of all banknotes in circulation in Bulgaria, data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) at the end of October 2024 shows. As a result, these two largest denominations make up 90% of the total value of all banknotes in circulation.

There were 143.5 million BGN 100 banknotes, making up 23.9% of all banknotes in circulation, and 250.3 million BGN 50 banknotes, accounting for 41.7% of the total. Altogether, the total number of banknotes in circulation in Bulgaria reached 600.06 million, with 65.6%, or 393.8 million, being in BGN 50 and BGN 100 denominations.

The proportion of high-denomination banknotes has risen over the past year. A year ago, BGN 50 and BGN 100 banknotes accounted for 63.1% of the total. Over the year, BGN 50 banknotes increased by 3.2% (7.91 million), while BGN 100 banknotes saw a 13.7% rise (17.3 million). The BGN 20 banknote remains the third most common, representing nearly 16% of the total, or just over 95 million.

The total value of banknotes in circulation reached BGN 29.7 billion by the end of October 2024, BNB data shows. Compared to September, the value rose slightly by just over BGN 19 million, even though the number of banknotes decreased. 

This increase is attributed to the higher number of BGN 100 denominations, which compensated for the monthly declines in all other banknotes. Annually, the value of banknotes in circulation grew by 7%, or BGN 1.94 billion.