By Opeyemi Adelakun
Nigeria’s currency in circulation increased to ₦5.73 trillion in 2025, up from ₦5.44 trillion recorded in the previous year, following the production of 3.43 billion naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to meet growing demand for cash.
The figures are contained in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report, which attributes the rise to heightened economic activity and stronger cash demand across the country.
According to the report, the currency notes were printed by the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPM) Plc and foreign security printing firms.
The NSPM produced 1.23 billion notes, while foreign printers supplied 2.20 billion notes, accounting for the larger share of the total production.
To strengthen currency availability, the CBN approved a total printing order of 5.70 billion notes across different denominations for 2025, representing a 20.5 per cent increase from the 4.73 billion notes approved in 2024.
The allocation showed that the NSPM was assigned 2.0 billion notes, representing 35 per cent of the total order, while foreign security printers were responsible for the remaining 65 per cent.
However, the report indicated that not all approved currency orders had been completed by the end of the year.
It disclosed that a supplementary order for 1.50 billion notes, awarded to foreign printers in November 2025, was still being processed as of December 31, while the NSPM had yet to deliver 760.76 million notes, representing about 38 per cent of its allocation.
The apex bank explained that the increase in currency circulation reflected rising economic transactions and sustained demand for physical cash despite ongoing efforts to promote electronic payment channels.
Currency in circulation expanded by ₦290 billion year-on-year, reaching ₦5.73 trillion at the close of 2025, according to the report.
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