Polymer Banknotes Around the World, First Issue by Country

Key points from the chart

• Australia issued the first polymer banknote in 1988, a ten-dollar note marking its bicentennial.
• The chart places 58 countries on a circular timeline from 1988 to 2023, by the year each first introduced a polymer note.
• 2014 was the busiest year, with six countries: Vanuatu, Poland, The Gambia, Mauritania, Cape Verde and Trinidad and Tobago.
• Romania was the first country in Europe to issue a plastic note, in 1999, the same year Northern Bank issued the UK’s first polymer notes in Northern Ireland.
• Australia (1996), New Zealand (1999) and Romania (2003) were the first three nations to move all their banknotes to polymer.

Polymer banknotes around the world in text

Title: Polymer Banknotes Around the World. Subtitle: First Introduction of Polymer Banknotes in Each Country. How to read: “The outer bars represent the number of countries that introduced polymer banknotes in each year. If the country’s flag appears in a circle, it means the polymer banknote was issued for commemorative or celebratory purposes. The circle’s colors denote the type of event being celebrated.”

Ring colours: Independence and National Sovereignty; Historical Milestones and Anniversaries; Sports Events; Scientific and Astronomical Events; Institutional and Economic Milestones.

Callouts: “Australia introduced the ten-dollar note to celebrate its bicentennial. This was the world’s first true polymer banknote.” “Romania was the first country in Europe to issue a plastic note.” “In 1999, Northern Bank in Northern Ireland issued the UK’s first polymer banknotes to mark the millennium.”

Bottom panel: First Three Nations to Fully Transition to Polymer Banknotes, 1996 Australia, 1999 New Zealand, 2003 Romania. Footer: “Data: Wikipedia.org, Banknoteworld.com, banknotenews.com, National Banks” and “Design: Edit Gyenge”.

Countries are placed on the chart by flag, without printed years. The table lists them by the year line each flag sits on, spelled as on the chart. No country appears for 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2004 to 2006, 2012, 2016 or 2017.

Why countries commemorate with polymer notes

Many first polymer issues were special notes rather than everyday currency. Visual Capitalist’s write-up of the chart explains that Gyenge classified issues by milestone: independence and national sovereignty, historical milestones or anniversaries, sporting events, scientific events and economic milestones [1]. In its table, Singapore’s 1990 note and Kuwait’s 1993 note are listed under independence and national sovereignty, Papua New Guinea’s 1991 note and Malaysia’s 1998 note under sports events, and Brunei’s 1996 and Thailand’s 1997 issues as non-commemorative [1].

Wikipedia, which the chart lists as a data source, gives examples: Singapore’s S$50 note of 1990 marked 25 years of independence, and Romania’s 1999 note celebrated the total solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 [2].

What polymer banknotes are

Polymer banknotes are made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and can carry security features not available on paper notes, including metameric inks [2]. They last significantly longer than paper notes, which lowers their environmental impact and the cost of production and replacement [2]. Modern polymer notes were developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the CSIRO and the University of Melbourne [2].

Visual Capitalist describes polymer’s security, durability and reduced environmental impact as the reasons it has become a replacement for paper currency, and notes that Romania and Mexico were the first nations in Europe and North America to introduce polymer notes, in 1999 and 2002 [1].

Notes on this infographic

• The chart starts in 1988. Wikipedia notes that DuPont Tyvek polymer notes were issued experimentally by Haiti, Costa Rica and the Isle of Man from 1982 [2], so the chart’s 2020 entry for Costa Rica is not that country’s first polymer note.
• Some years differ from the current Wikipedia list, which is updated over time: it gives Bangladesh’s first polymer note as January 2001 (chart 2000), Samoa’s as June 2019 (chart 2008) and Mozambique’s as June 2024 (chart 2011) [2]. We have kept the chart’s years in the table.
• The UK’s first polymer notes in 1999 were issued by a commercial bank in Northern Ireland, not by the Bank of England, which began issuing polymer notes in September 2016 [2].
• The ring colours on the small flags are hard to tell apart, so the table does not assign event types beyond those Visual Capitalist names [1].
• Labels are as printed, including “The Solomons” (Solomon Islands), “Trinidad Tobago” and “Dominican Rep.”.

Questions about polymer banknotes

What are polymer banknotes made of?

They are made from a synthetic polymer, such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), rather than paper [2].

Who made polymer banknotes?

Modern polymer banknotes were developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the University of Melbourne, and first issued in Australia in 1988 [2].

Is Canadian money plastic?

Yes. The Bank of Canada introduced a polymer $100 note in November 2011, and the Canadian dollar has switched completely to polymer banknotes [2].

Sources

1. Visual Capitalist, When Polymer Banknotes Were Introduced, by Country (1988 to 2023), 20 August 2024, by creator Edit Gyenge. The creator’s published page for this chart.
2. Wikipedia, Polymer banknote. The chart’s main data source.

Last reviewed 30 October 2026