The volume of cash has risen to 300.8 billion KGS; 20-KGS notes are the most common denomination

The volume of cash in circulation in Kyrgyzstan reached 300.8 billion KGS by the end of 2025. Over the course of the year, it increased by 25.1 per cent, or 60.4 billion KGS, according to data from the regulator.

In monetary terms, 99.3 per cent of the cash in circulation consisted of banknotes and only 0.7 per cent of coins. However, there were more coins in circulation in terms of quantity. There were 513.7 million banknotes and 688 million coins in circulation. In total, this amounted to more than 1.2 billion units of currency.

“Throughout the year, the National Bank maintained the necessary reserves of banknotes and coins of all denominations, supplied commercial banks with cash, and also withdrew and disposed of worn-out banknotes,” the National Bank notes.

The most common denomination turned out to be the 20-KGS note. These accounted for 52.5 per cent of the total number of banknotes, or around 269.7 million notes. In other words, more than half of all banknotes in circulation.

By way of comparison, there were approximately 76 million 1,000-KGS notes, 42.1 million 500-KGS notes, around 36.5 million 5,000-KGS notes, and 24.1 million 50-KGS notes.

The rarest turned out to be the 2,000-KGS commemorative banknote. It accounted for just 0.6 per cent of the total number of banknotes. According to calculations by ‘Akchabara’, there were around 3.1 million such banknotes in circulation. This means that, on average, only one in every 167 banknotes was a 2,000-KGS note.

The proportion of 2,000-KGS notes fell from 1 per cent to 0.6 per cent over the course of the year. However, its rarity does not make this banknote worth more than its face value. The note was issued in 2017 to mark the 25th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan’s independence and the introduction of the national currency. It has the status of legal tender and must be accepted as payment for goods and services.

Over five years, the total volume of cash in Kyrgyzstan has more than doubled – from 139.9 billion KGS in 2021 to 300.8 billion KGS in 2025.