Retail government bonds in the United Kingdom: how much individuals hold and what is on sale
Short answer: Individuals in the United Kingdom hold GBP 139.6 billion of Premium Bonds as of 31 March 2026. The United Kingdom is not ranked by share among the 13 countries that have one, because the official source gives no matching debt figure. Premium Bond holdings rose every year in our data, from GBP 69.6 billion on 31 March 2017 to GBP 139.6 billion on 31 March 2026. Across all NS&I products investors held GBP 251.8 billion on 31 March 2026 and about GBP 255.5 billion on 30 September 2026 (provisional figure).
How has it changed?
Amount outstanding, GBP billion
Amount held on 31 March of each year, the end of the NS&I financial year: investors’ funds including interest and prizes credited. NS&I does not publish these amounts as a share of government debt. Source: NS&I Annual Reports and Accounts. File: obieg-szereg.csv.
Every figure for the United Kingdom in the dataset
Each row is one figure as published in an official source, with what it covers. Class A is a programme sold only to individuals; class C counts all government securities that households hold, with no retail programme; class X is a broader line or one that includes deposits, so it is never added to the A rows it contains.
| Programme | What it covers | Class | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Bonds | NS&I prize bonds | A | 139.6 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Guaranteed Bonds (Guaranteed Growth and Guaranteed Income) | fixed-rate NS&I bonds | A | 32.7 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Savings Certificates (fixed interest and index-linked) | closed to new money except renewals | A | 20.0 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Green Savings Bonds | A | 1.3 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given | |
| NS&I total investors' funds | all NS&I products incl. deposit-type accounts (Direct Saver 32,144,746; Income Bonds 17,298,651; ISA 5,868,184; Investment Account 1,535,167; Junior ISA 734,588; Residual 646,370; Children's Bonds 1,842 £000) | X | 251.8 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| NS&I total stock (provisional) | all NS&I products, provisional, unaudited | X | 255.5 bn GBP | 2026-09-30 | not given |
How the United Kingdom compares
An official source gives the amount of government bonds sold to individuals in 16 countries; for 13 of them it also gives the debt, so we can compute a share. The figures are not fully comparable: each country measures its debt differently, and the class column above says what the amount covers.
| Country | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 12,542.1 bn HUF | 2026-09-30 | 18.51% |
| Portugal | 45.4 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 14.44% |
| Poland | 194.4 bn PLN | 2026-08-31 | 8.64% |
| Ireland | 19.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 8.36% |
| Italy | 112.6 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 4.16% |
| Czechia | 130.7 bn CZK | 2026-09-30 | 3.53% |
| Latvia | 503 m EUR | 2026-09-30 | 2.20% |
| Spain | 26.0 bn EUR | 2026-08-31 | 1.73% |
| Austria | 5.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 1.73% |
| South Africa | 21.9 bn ZAR | 2025-03-31 | 0.43% |
| United States | 145.2 bn USD | 2026-10-31 | 0.36% |
| Belgium | 1.6 bn EUR | 2026-06-30 | 0.29% |
| Canada | under 0.05 bn CAD | 2025-03-31 | 0.00% |
| United Kingdom | 139.6 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Singapore | 20.2 bn SGD | 2026-11-02 | not given |
| Brazil | 279.3 bn BRL | 2026-09-30 | not given |
What is on sale today
- Premium Bonds (prize draw)
- Guaranteed Growth, Guaranteed Income, Green Savings Bonds (all fixed)
- Index-linked Savings Certificates (renewals only), inflation + margin
Sales: continuously; index-linked certificates only on renewal since 2011. We checked this on the issuer’s page, nsandi.com, on 25 October 2026.
Margin over inflation
NS&I Index-linked Savings Certificates paid inflation plus a margin fixed for each issue. The last issue open to new money, the 5-year Issue 48 from 12 May 2011, paid 0.50%, and new money was accepted until 6 September 2011. Since then the certificates can only be renewed when they mature; renewals since March 2016 pay 0.01% over inflation, measured by CPI instead of RPI since May 2019. The highest 5-year margin since December 2005 was 1.35% (Issue 42, April 2007). All 17 rates are in marze.csv.
| Series | On sale from | Matures | Margin over inflation (RPI; CPI for renewals since May 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewal | 23 July 2023 | after 5 years | 0.01% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 1 May 2019 | after 5 years | 0.01% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 28 March 2016 | after 5 years | 0.01% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 5 July 2013 | after 5 years | 0.05% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 27 February 2013 | after 5 years | 0.15% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 20 September 2012 | after 5 years | 0.25% (renewals only) |
| Renewal | 7 September 2011 | after 5 years | 0.25% (renewals only) |
| Issue 48 | 12 May 2011 | after 5 years | 0.50% |
| Issue 47 | 7 April 2010 | after 5 years | 1.00% |
| Issue 46 | 29 April 2009 | after 5 years | 1.00% |
| Issue 45 | 18 June 2008 | after 5 years | 1.00% |
| Issue 44 | 21 May 2008 | after 5 years | 0.70% |
Source: the issuer’s documents for each series. File: marze.csv.
Sources
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I Annual Report and Accounts 2025-26 (accessible), Product Accounts note 2 Transactions with investors by product (read on 7 November 2026)
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I Annual Report and Accounts and Product Accounts 2023-24 (HC 51) (read on 7 November 2026)
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I Annual Report 2021-22 (digital) (read on 7 November 2026)
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I Annual Report 2019-20 (digital) (read on 7 November 2026)
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I Annual Report 2017-18 (accessible) (read on 7 November 2026)
- National Savings and Investments: NS&I provisional Q2 2026-27 results (press release, 28.10.2026, unaudited) (read on 7 November 2026)
- Issuer’s page for individuals: https://www.nsandi.com/ (checked on 25 October 2026)
Data and citation
Every number on this page comes from our open dataset on government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23638786 for all versions; the citation below gives the DOI of this version). Files for the United Kingdom and the other countries: obieg.csv, obieg-szereg.csv, obieg-zrodla.csv, produkty.csv and marze.csv (column names in Polish, described on the dataset page).
Błażewski, R. (2026). Government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (version 2026-11-13) [Data set]. obrotomierz.pl. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24168443
Frequently asked questions
How much do individuals hold in the United Kingdom’s retail government bonds?
Individuals in the United Kingdom hold GBP 139.6 billion of Premium Bonds as of 31 March 2026. The United Kingdom is not ranked by share among the 13 countries that have one, because the official source gives no matching debt figure. Premium Bond holdings rose every year in our data, from GBP 69.6 billion on 31 March 2017 to GBP 139.6 billion on 31 March 2026. Across all NS&I products investors held GBP 251.8 billion on 31 March 2026 and about GBP 255.5 billion on 30 September 2026 (provisional figure).
Can individuals buy government bonds directly in the United Kingdom?
Yes. The United Kingdom sells Premium Bonds (prize draw), Guaranteed Growth, Guaranteed Income, Green Savings Bonds (all fixed) and Index-linked Savings Certificates (renewals only), inflation + margin. Sales: continuously; index-linked certificates only on renewal since 2011. The issuer’s page is nsandi.com.
What margin over inflation do the United Kingdom’s retail bonds pay?
NS&I Index-linked Savings Certificates paid inflation plus a margin fixed for each issue. The last issue open to new money, the 5-year Issue 48 from 12 May 2011, paid 0.50%, and new money was accepted until 6 September 2011. Since then the certificates can only be renewed when they mature; renewals since March 2016 pay 0.01% over inflation, measured by CPI instead of RPI since May 2019. The highest 5-year margin since December 2005 was 1.35% (Issue 42, April 2007). All 17 rates are in marze.csv.
Other countries
- Retail government bonds in Hungary
- Retail government bonds in Portugal
- Retail government bonds in Ireland
- Retail government bonds in Italy
- Retail government bonds in South Africa
- Retail government bonds in Czechia
- Retail government bonds in Austria
- Retail government bonds in the United States
- Retail government bonds in Spain
- What all 195 countries sell to individuals
By Rafał Błażewski, obrotomierz.pl. Amounts and debt figures as published in the official sources listed above; shares calculated by us. We show who sells what and do not recommend any product; we earn nothing from government bonds.