Richer countries have cleaner banknotes

Bloomberg News
Tue Aug 10 2010


PARIS - The richer and more economically free a country, the fewer bacteria its banknotes carry, according to a study of paper money in 10 countries ranging from Burkina Faso to the United States.

Researchers found a “strong correlation” between the amount of bacteria per square centimeter on banknotes and a country’s ranking on the Index of Economic Freedom, Wageningen University in the Netherlands said on its website Monday

Currencies studied included the euro, dollar, British pound, Chinese yuan and Mexican peso. (The Canadian dollar was not part of the study.)

Countries that rank lower on the economic freedom index presumably have older banknotes to which bacteria more easily cling, the university said.

“The age of banknotes plays a role,” Wageningen University said. “The older banknotes are, the more wrinkled they are, which means dirt and bacteria can more easily settle into the folds of the bills.”

The material from which banknotes are made also plays a role in their cleanliness. Polymer-based bills such as euro notes contained a quarter of the bacteria on the cotton-based banknotes used by most countries.

Researchers in Australia, Burkina Faso, China, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Britain and the United States studied a total of 1,280 banknotes collected at food-retail locations from stores to cafeterias, Wageningen said.

Concentrations of illness-causing bacteria were low and in no case “alarming,” the university said. “If everyone washes their hands before eating or preparing a meal, the chances to get ill are not very big,” it said.