How Much Money is in Circulation Today?

How Much Money is in Circulation Today?

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has quite the task of determining just how much money should be printed and distributed each year.  Once the number of economic importance has been figured out, the fun part of shredding old bills to compensate for the new ones takes place and the value of a dollar is balanced out.  Have you ever wondered though just how much United States currency is circulating through the world right now?

Money in the United States changes hands constantly. Each day, millions of U.S. dollars and coins are circulated throughout the economy. Visual Economics has put together a graphic, shown below, which illustrates the amount of money in circulation, broken down by number of bills.  While the graphic is from 2008, the percentage of bills is very comparable today.

A more recent number provided by the Federal Reserve Statistical Release at the end of April 2010, shows that total USD currency in circulation was $878.8 billion. Many people believe that it is the Federal Reserve that prints our money, however, in actuality the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) produces the paper currency, while the U.S. Mint produces the coinage. Further, up to two thirds of U.S. currency in circulation worldwide is held outside of the United States.