In two years, the local currency in circulation has grown by more than 20% from Rs 43,6 billion in February 2021 to Rs 52,4 billion in February 2023. The Rs 1,000 note accounts for 33% of the total money in circulation. According to the Bank of Mauritius’ latest Annual Report, Rs 2.0 billion of local currencies were destroyed in the 2021/22 financial year.
At the end of February 2023, the total value of the local currency in circulation in Mauritius had reached Rs 52.4 billion, which is Rs 3,8 billion more than in February 2022 (Rs 48,6 billion), and Rs 8,8 billion more than in February 2021.
The Rs 1,000 note is the king of the currency hill, accounting for 63% of the total money in circulation (Rs 33.3 billion) as at end of February 2023. The Rs 1,000 note is followed by the Rs 500 notes, worth Rs 6.9 billion, the Rs 200 notes at Rs 2.1 billion, and the Rs 100 notes at Rs 2 billion.
Volume
The Rs 1,000 note accounted for more than a third of the volume of currency in circulation in Mauritius, followed by the Rs 100 notes at around 20%. The five hundred notes accounted for more than 12% and the Rs 200 notes for more than 10%.
Polymer banknotes represented around 30 percent of the total volume and 25% of the total value of banknotes in circulation. Polymer banknotes are in denominations of Rs 25, Rs 50, Rs 500, and Rs 2,000.
Coins
But don’t forget about the coins! They may only make up 2.7% of the total currency in circulation, but they still account for Rs 1.4 billion of the total value. The ten rupees coin is the most popular at Rs 462 million, followed by the twenty rupee coin at Rs 364 million.
The Bank of Mauritius examined 63.2 million banknotes for an aggregate amount of Rs 32.6 billion in 2021/22, of which Rs 3.9 billion were unfit for circulation. The Bank had to destroy a whopping Rs 2.0 billion worth of soiled notes in 2021/22. Who doesn’t love watching money going up in smoke? Rs 1.6 billion of notes were destroyed in 2020/21, and Rs 3.2 billion in 2019/20.