Currency count falls to 163 from its 1994 peak of 192
Political independence creates currencies, while inflation and redenomination often end them, Bank for International Settlements (BIS) research finds. Its global database traces state-issued or authorised currencies over 1850–2026.
Political births, economic endings
Iñaki Aldasoro, Jon Frost, Rudraksh Kansal and Catherine Schenk document 568 currencies, including 405 discontinued and 163 circulating as of October 2026.
The count rose from about 67 in 1850 to 192 in 1994 before declining, principally through the euro, which replaced 23 currencies.
Independence accounts for 156 issuances, or 27.5 percent.
Name or unit changes explain 143 discontinuations, or 35.3 percent, and inflation another 79, or 19.5 percent.
The observed median lifespan is 33 years; 133 currencies lasted less than a decade.
Accounting for currencies still circulating, the survival estimate puts the halfway point at 44 years.
The risk of discontinuation is highest during the first decade after issuance and declines thereafter.
Longevity has a regional divide
Median currency lifespans range from 57 years in North America and 51 in Oceania to 33.5 in South America, 31 in Asia, 29.5 in Europe and 28 in Africa.
Brazil, China and Indonesia each record nine currencies, followed by Angola with eight, Argentina with seven and Venezuela with six.
Inflation drives many repeated reforms, but colonial and wartime fragmentation explains other cases.
The database tracks monetary units, not exchange-rate regimes, and excludes cryptoassets, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies.
Classification limits the verdict
Currency replacement is not a reliable proxy for monetary instability: even decimalisation counts as an ending.
The residual issuance category covers 26.2 percent, weakening the political-births comparison.
The authors also caution that pre-1900 coverage is less comprehensive than the record from 1978 onward.