A total of 317,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the first half of the year, 26.3 per cent more than in the same period last year.

The European Central Bank said in a statement the €20 and €50 denominations continue to be the most counterfeited.

In the past six months, the share of counterfeit €20 banknotes decreased and the share of counterfeit €50 banknotes increased slightly.

The two denominations accounted for 82.1 per cent of the total counterfeits in the first half of this year. The €100 banknote, which is the third most counterfeited denomination, accounting for 12.4 per cent of the total.

A total 98.5 per cent of counterfeits recovered in the first half of this year were found in euro area countries, with only around 1.2 per cent being found in EU states outside the eurozone and 0.3 per cent in other parts of the world

The table below indicates the half-yearly trend in the number of counterfeits recovered.

The following table provides a percentage breakdown, by denomination, of the total number of counterfeits withdrawn from circulation in the first half of 2013.