Cash circulation in Ukraine: Dynamics, trends and new realities

As of January 1, 2024, there were 66 banknotes for every Ukrainian, which is an indicator that the amount of cash in circulation in Ukraine increased by 6.7% to UAH 764.4 billion. This was reported by the press service of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

It is noted that the growth rate of cash in circulation in 2023 was significantly lower than in the previous year, amounting to only half of the figures for 2022. It should be recalled that in 2022, this figure increased by 14.1% due to the high level of uncertainty at the outbreak of war.

The NBU shared some interesting facts about cash circulation as of the beginning of 2024, indicating that there are 2.7 billion banknotes worth UAH 757.5 billion and 14.5 billion coins worth UAH 6.7 billion in circulation.

As of January 1, 2024, there were 66 banknotes and 177 coins per capita in Ukraine, compared to 71 and 169 respectively at the beginning of 2023.

The most popular banknotes in circulation are the 500 hryvnia denomination and the 10 kopiyka coins (28.3% and 28.2% of the total number in circulation, respectively).

Over the past year, the number of 10 hryvnia coins in cash circulation increased significantly, by 54.2%, while the number of 25 kopiyka coins decreased by 0.5% due to their withdrawal from circulation.

The data also shows that the 1000 hryvnia banknotes increased by 62.3%, which is a result of active saving of money in higher denominations due to the military situation, while the 100 and 200 hryvnia banknotes decreased by 26.4% and 25.7%, respectively.

These trends indicate that cash circulation in Ukraine is undergoing certain changes, and the NBU continues to implement strategic measures to develop the country's payment system.