World inflation. Inflation in countries around the world: where are prices rising fastest? Lowest inflation in the world

Venezuelan hyperinflation

The undisputed leader of the anti-rating this year was Venezuela. Hyperinflation in the country has reached truly monstrous proportions and even exceeded the latest forecasts of the International Monetary Fund. At the end of 2017, the country's authorities estimated it at 2616%, while according to the IMF it was predicted at 652.7% by the end of the year. In December alone, prices increased by 85%. But it is expected that the worst is yet to come for the country. Member of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly Rafael Guzman noted that if the calls of parliament are ignored, then in 2018 Venezuela will face hyperinflation of 14,000%.

The crisis in Venezuela was exacerbated by a sharp drop in oil prices in 2016. Production was declining, prices were rising, and the government of the country was also behind on payments on international debts, and therefore turned on the printing press in order to somehow pay off its obligations to the population.

Now residents of Venezuela are forced to stand in giant queues for basic necessities - food, washing powder, medicines. Many goods are completely in short supply. Meanwhile, in stores they accept money by weight, and wallets have become a completely unnecessary item - Venezuelans carry money in boxes and bags.

What inflation does the IMF expect?

States after New Year's holidays The actual rate of inflation is still being calculated, but for now let’s look at where in the world, according to the IMF, prices are rising fastest besides Venezuela.

According to the World Economic Outlook report for October 2017, extremely high inflation at the end of 2017 is expected in South Sudan - 182.2%. After it separated from Sudan as a result of a bloody war, inflation in the country continued to rise, and it was further aggravated by membership in international organizations, which is why the country began to accumulate international debts.

A similar situation is happening in the Congo, Angola and Libya - military actions on the territory of these countries in conjunction with low prices oil prices led to inflation of 30 to 40%. These are already rates of galloping inflation, since they fit into the range from 20% to 50%.

Prices in Yemen are expected to rise by 20% over the year. The situation in the country is far from ideal - the economy has been destroyed by the civil war, agricultural production has decreased and hydrocarbon production has practically ceased. Naturally, tax revenues to the budget have dropped sharply.

In Argentina, inflation is expected to be even higher – 26.9%, according to IMF estimates. But this is already a great achievement for the country, because over the past thirty years this has been a serious problem. For 15 years - from 1975 to 1990. – the average inflation rate was an impressive 300% per year.

Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein, in his article on Project Syndicate, using the example of Argentina, showed how inflation can create a “third world territory” from what was once one of the most promising countries, which, even in the long term, has no chance of joining the bloc of developed countries.

Argentina's inflation was driven by large foreign borrowings, and when foreign loans were denied, the government devalued the currency to increase its trade balance. Over the years, many reforms have been carried out, some of them were effective, others were not. At some point, the country's authorities decided to publish fake inflation statistics, but this did not help.

Today, economists note that due to the outflow of investment, Argentina is extremely difficult to increase production and increase its capital, and therefore about victory over high inflation We won't hear it anytime soon.

At the other end of the ranking

At the very end of the list with a negative indicator are Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Congo, Brunei Darussalam and Saudi Arabia. This means that over the year, prices for goods and services have decreased, not increased. However, what is good for the population is bad for the state. The fact is that prices fall, but people continue to buy the same amount as before, which means that producers’ incomes become less and they go bankrupt. At the same time, it becomes unprofitable for banks to provide loans, so this sector is also sinking. Deflation often becomes a harbinger of stagnation in the economy.

In 23 countries, including Ecuador, Thailand, Japan, Finland, Switzerland, almost zero inflation was recorded this year, and in a number of countries it is less than one. In general, the inflation rate in most countries of the world turned out to be quite low this year. In 137 countries it does not exceed 5%.

The distribution of countries around the world by inflation rate is presented on the map below.

Economists view inflation as part of normal economic development, if it is of a moderate nature, in which price increases do not exceed 10% per year. However, there are cases when such figures were not annual indicators, but daily ones.

As a result of the influence of external or internal factors, the country experienced hyperinflation with the ensuing consequences - a sharp jump in food prices and an increase in the number of zeros on banknotes.

7. Peru (1990) – 5% daily growth

The stagnation of the Peruvian economy began in the first half of the 80s of the last century, when, as a result of the Latin American crisis, the IMF took tough measures against the state. At that time, the country's president, Belaunde Terry, tried to adhere to the reforms recommended by external creditors, which caused disapproval among the population. After the 1985 elections, Alan Garcia came to power with a populist program that only weakened the economy and led to a complete closure of access to external credit.

As a result of these actions, persistent inflation turned into hyperinflation. If in 1986 the maximum denomination national banknote corresponded to 1000 inti, then by 1990 a banknote with a face value of 5 million inti was already in use.

It was in 1990 that the peak of price growth was recorded, when in August the monthly inflation rate reached 397%. Next year the rate of devaluation national currency slowed down, but it was possible to stop it completely only at the beginning of the 21st century, after replacing the inti with a new monetary unit - the salt.

6. China (1949) – 14%

After the end of World War II, China plunged into civil strife between communists and nationalists. The monetary unit was chosen as the main mechanism of the struggle for power. To finance the conflict, both sides resorted to huge budget deficits.

In 1945, the printing press worked 300 times more energetically than in 1941. This policy could not pass without a trace and led to a colossal increase in prices, which by the mid-40s were already 1000 times higher than pre-war levels.

The rapid devaluation of the monetary unit also occurred because in 1935 central bank completely seized control of the national banknote and began to issue currency not backed by gold. All military costs were covered by printed money, which became more abundant in the country every day. Later, the Central Bank of Taiwan was involved in the “game,” which led to hyperinflation on the island.

To assess the scale of the depreciation of the Chinese national unit, economists provide the following figures: in 1937, a little more than 3 yuan was given for $1, while in 1949 American currency was already estimated at 23 million yuan.

5. Greece (1944) – 18%

As a result of the occupation of Greece by the Hitlerite coalition in the period 1941-1944, the country's economy was destroyed. In addition to the fact that significant damage was caused to agriculture and foreign trade relations, the state regularly paid the costs of the occupation and provided financial support to the German army. If at the beginning of the war (1939) the Greek budget was 270 million drachmas, then a year later there was a deficit of 790 million drachmas.

Since tax revenues decreased threefold - from 67 billion to 20 billion, management Central Bank decided to turn on the printing press. This led to hyperinflation, which peaked in 1944, when the prices of goods and services doubled every 28 hours and the denomination of large banknote from 25 thousand grew to 100 trillion.

The German occupation and subsequent hyperinflation led to famine in Greece, population stratification, the emergence of black markets and a significant hindrance to economic development. The post-war government was forced to take emergency measures, including two monetary reforms in 1944 and 1953. As a result, 1 new drachma was exchanged for 50 trillion old drachmas used in the country before 1944.

4. Germany (1923) – 21%

As you know, during the First World War, Germany financed its military machine through external loans. Confident of its victory, the German government expected that all loans would be repaid by the losing side.

In addition to external debts, after the war Germany was faced with the need to pay huge reparations. In total, the debts exceeded Country's GDP, whose leadership began to print money, gradually increasing its denomination.

Since the new banknotes depreciated very quickly, and prices doubled in 3 days, people were forced to leave their entire salary in the store in order to purchase at least some food. The peak of inflation was observed in November 1923, when one dollar was worth 4.2 trillion marks (for comparison, in 1920, $1 was worth 50 marks).

The situation was saved by introducing the Rentenmark, which was equivalent to 1 trillion papermarks that had been in circulation before. After the Rentenmark was replaced by the Reichmark in 1924, confidence in the national currency was restored to pre-war levels.

3. Yugoslavia (1994) – 65%

Yugoslavia, as a powerful geopolitical player during the Soviet era, was among the parties most affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Having ceased to be a link between Western and Eastern Europe, the Yugoslav Republic became a victim of intranational confrontations.

As a result of the breakup along ethnic lines into several sovereign states, the country was mired in military conflicts, which practically stopped internal trade. The situation worsened further when the UN adopted a resolution banning the export of Yugoslav products.

The newly formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, unlike its neighbors, remained committed to the communist system, continuing a policy of overspending and excessive borrowing, which ultimately led to a complete loss of control over the creation of money.

During the period 1993-1994, prices doubled every 34 hours, the national currency was revalued several times, and the final denomination of the banknote was 500 billion dinars. The situation was somewhat stabilized (but not stopped completely) through the introduction of a new dinar in 1994.

2. Zimbabwe (2008) – 98%

The land reform launched at the end of the 20th century by Robert Mugabe, when land previously owned by the white population began to be redistributed among the country's black residents, led to a sharp decline in the level of agriculture and practically stopped the flow of external capital.

Since the implementation of the reform was carried out, by and large, by violent methods, such actions were perceived extremely negatively by investors and international organizations(Zimbabwe was stripped of its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations in 2002 due to regular human rights violations).

The "successes" of land reform, as well as the financing of the civil war in the Congo, led to huge increases in prices and unemployment in the country. The peak of inflation was observed in 2008, when the daily price increase was close to 100%, and on an annual basis it amounted to over 100,000%. To hide the results of its policies, the Zimbabwean government even temporarily stopped publishing official data. Naturally, this did not help save the situation, as a result of which many residents of the country abandoned Zimbabwean dollars, switching to payments in American currency.

1. Hungary (1946) – 207%

In addition to the fact that the country's economy was completely destroyed after the war, Hungary had to pay serious reparations as a member of Hitler's coalition. Since all costs were about half state budget, the treasury had to be filled by turning on the printing press. As a result, the national monetary currency Penge set a world record for devaluation.

At the beginning of August 1945, $1 corresponded to 1,320 penge, two months later the rate rose to 8,200, and a month later to 108,000. However, the greatest increase in the dollar against the Hungarian monetary unit observed in the spring and summer of 1946:

• March 1 – 1750000
• May 1 – 59000000000
• June 1 – 42000000000000000
• July 1 – 4600000000000000000000000000000

The completely abnormal growth of the exchange rate was stopped in August 1946 by introducing a new national currency - the forent, the equivalent of which corresponded to 4∙10²⁹ penge.

The modern population, who grew up in the Soviet Union, does not need to explain what inflation is. The collapse of the empire and its economy, the liberalization of the cost of goods - many people know about these events not from literature.

But it was not only in the USSR that people witnessed the six-figure figures that a loaf of bread cost - the 20th century, filled with turmoil, saw the most significant spikes in inflation, which diversified the content of books on finance.

In 1923, the inhabitants of Germany learned from their own experience what inflation of 3.25 × 106% meant. They could see prices double every 50 hours.
- In wartime Greece (1944), local financiers observed inflation of 8.55x109% and prices doubling every 30 hours.
- In the post-war period (1946), inflation in Hungary was 4.19 × 1016%. People saw prices double every 15 hours.

Based on the results of last year, one could observe the situation in the world when the following countries turned out to be the leaders in inflation:

1. Venezuela with an inflation rate of more than 42.5% with a GDP growth of 2.6%. The country found itself in such a difficult situation after losing its leader Hugo Chavez. On this moment there is a rampant shortage of goods. The country's economy is supported by the oil business - it provides a 95% share of exports, which falls specifically on oil supplies.

2. Argentina with 21% inflation, with a GDP growth rate of three percent. Not easy economic situation the state is explained by the dubious data issued by the government - it practically unsuccessfully controls the exchange rate. Growth estimates consumer prices government and alternative sources were different - the first claimed that they were equal to 0.9%, the second - that 2%. Judging by unofficial estimates of the annual inflation rate, it amounted to more than 20% in 2013.

3. Egypt closes the top three with an inflation rate of more than 10% and a GDP growth rate of 2.2%. Political and economic situation this country got worse from year to year. After the Arab Spring, two regimes changed in the state, and it experienced a military coup. Amid civil unrest, foreign businesses withdrew their staff, leading to a near collapse in tourism and increased demand for imports.

4. India with an inflation rate of almost 9.7% and a GDP growth rate of less than 5%. The most a big problem The main advantage of the country lies in its huge population. Due to unstable stock market showing weakness, many investors withdrew their assets. The national infrastructure is not able to support the population - it does not stop growing. The projected current account deficit of this country was the largest in the world - it stood at 4.5% of last year's GDP.

5. Türkiye. Inflation in this country is 8.9%, GDP growth is 3%. The country was not prepared for the acts of defiance that occurred last summer. Like most countries in the eurozone, Türkiye experienced a recession after an economic boom. Last year its unemployment rate as well as inflation was almost 9%.

The biggest inflations in history

An unrealistic inflation rate was recorded in Hungary in, as already mentioned, 1946. Then 1 gold pengo, issued in 1931, was equivalent to 130,000,000 trillion (1.3 × 1020) paper. The Hungarians of that time used banknotes worth 1,000 trillion pengos (in everyday life - a billion billion).
However, no matter how unhappy the Hungarians may seem, they were far from the Zimbabweans - their country experienced inflation of unprecedented proportions in 2008. Officially it was calculated at 231,000,000%. According to unofficial data, its figure was six and a half quinquatrigintillion percentage points.

There are several examples that give an idea of ​​what six and a half quinquatrigintillion is. So, in 2007, a banknote of only 750,000 Zimbabwean dollars was introduced into circulation in Zimbabwe. Two months later in wallets local residents There were ten million banknotes. In the spring of 2008, a 50 million dollar bill appeared (its price at that time was 1 American dollar), and at the end of spring, 100- and 250-million denomination bills were easily accepted in stores and markets. And this was not the limit. Further more. Less than a few months later, the surprised citizens of this exotic state were given salaries in money, the “faces” of which showed simply terrifying figures of 5, 25 and 50 billion.

Visitors to haberdashery stores were left confused - an inexpensive roll of toilet paper was listed at $100,000. People with even the most simple entrepreneurial spirit could quickly calculate - the average roll consists of 72 pieces, and 100 thousand Zimbabwean dollars, if exchanged for the smallest banknote of 5 dollars, consists of 20,000 bills. In the literal sense of the word, in such a situation it is almost 280 times more profitable to use money instead of toilet paper.

In July 2008, any thirsty Zimbabwean could buy a cold bottle of beer for 100 billion local dollars. Despite the impressive amount, he was in a hurry - in an hour the price of beer could rise by 50 billion!

October 29

The largest inflation in the world occurred in Zimbabwe. In 2008, in this small African state, according to official data, inflation amounted to 231 million percent per year, and according to unofficial data - 6.5 quinquatrigintillion percent!!!

To make it clear how high inflation was in Zimbabwe, it’s easier to give a few examples. In December 2007, a banknote of 750 thousand Zimbabwean dollars was introduced into circulation in the country, and already in January 2008 - a banknote of ten million. And away we go... appeared in April new banknote 50 million dollars (at the time of its appearance it cost about 1 US dollar), in May - 100 and 250 million, then more - soon citizens were paying for basic necessities with 5, 25 and 50 billion bills.

The government did not have time to draw zeros, and citizens did not have time to keep track of the increase in the cost of food and goods. Here is one of illustrative examples the largest inflation in the history of mankind - on July 4, 2008 at 17:00 local time, the price of one bottle was one hundred billion Zimbabwean dollars, and an hour later it was fifty billion more.

Another interesting fact— in Zimbabwe the cheapest cost 100 thousand dollars. If you take into account the fact that on average there are about 72 pieces in a roll, and 100 thousand can be exchanged for 5 dollars and get 20,000 bills, then it turns out that in Zimbabwe, using money instead of toilet paper is 278 times more profitable than buying toilet paper with it the paper itself.

The cause of inflation in Zimbabwe and the last straw that overflowed the cup of economic collapse was the rise in prices for bread and grains. This happened after the permanent dictator of this small African state, Robert Mugabe, took away land from white farmers.

In August 2009, the Zimbabwean government carried out a redenomination that removed ten zeros from the local dollar bill. However, inflation in Zimbabwe continued to grow, the country was running out of paper for printing money, and the leadership of this African state was forced to ban the circulation of the Zimbabwe dollar and allow the circulation of the Euro, American dollar, pound sterling and the currencies of neighboring countries with more stable economies.

Inflation is very simple: the prices of goods and services in your country are rising because... money loses its value. The cause of this economic “trouble”, leading the economy to collapse, today can be anything: wars, diseases, coups, cataclysms, mistakes of politicians (the most common reason), etc. The causes of inflation can be explained in this way. The level of production and exports in the country is falling, and accordingly the state earns less or nothing at all. , the currency of the state, and the state itself, is of less and less interest to anyone as a business partner, and it begins to gradually waste its resources ( gold and foreign exchange reserve), if there is one. Accordingly, a difficult time is coming for the people of this country, and they go to the store for groceries not with “”, as before, but with, if the people have any. Which countries experienced the most powerful, “galloping” inflation?

1 Zimbabwe (2000-2009)

“The talk of the town” among all economists and bankers of our time is precisely Zimbabwe. This predominantly agricultural country grew and exported tobacco, cotton, tea and sugar cane. In 2000, Zimbabwean authorities began illegally confiscating land from European farmers in order to give it to local “businessmen,” most of them veterans of the civil war of the 70s. As a result, production and exports almost completely ceased. The country suffered huge losses because... foreign investors They simply stopped investing in the economy of this country and introduced numerous sanctions and trade embargoes. In 2008, inflation in Zimbabwe amounted to 231,000,000% per year! Those. prices doubled every 1.5 hours!!! All these years, the authorities did nothing but print new banknotes with more and more zeros. In July 2008, three chicken eggs in a store cost 100 billion Zimbabwean dollars. In 2009, the president of the country (who, in fact, started this mess) “had an epiphany,” and the country abandoned own currency in favor of the US dollar. The situation has improved a little, but the land that was forcibly taken from farmers remains empty.

2 Hungary (1945-1946)

Devastated by the Second World War, Hungary was left without production and, as a “Hitler accomplice,” fell into economic dependence from the USSR. Having paid huge reparations to the participating countries, Hungary became bankrupt with huge debts and devastation in the country. Inflation did not have to wait long. At the time of its start in 1945, the big bill the country had a ten-thousandth pengo (the currency of Hungary before the forint). A couple of months later, a bill of 10 million “pengyō” was printed, a little later - 100 million, and then 1 billion. At that time, inflation reached 400% per day - prices doubled every 15 hours! Banknotes of 1 trillion, 1 quadrillion and 1 sextillion appeared... The National Bank of Hungary might have continued the search for the largest number, but in August 1946 it all ended with the introduction of a new currency - the forint.

3 Greece (1944)

In 1941, Germany, together with Italian troops, occupied Greece. Before that, the Greeks successfully repelled the attacks of the Italians. By forcing Greece to pay a huge sum for “occupation costs,” Germany paralyzed the country’s entire economy. Agriculture, the main artery of the economy, and foreign trade came to a complete standstill. Hunger began. Back in 1943, the largest denomination was 25,000 drachmas, and a year later a denomination of 100 billion drachmas appeared. Prices doubled every 28 hours. The population survived only thanks to barter and natural exchange. Only thanks to the competent actions of the Greek authorities, the country’s economy got out of the “debt hole.” This happened after 7 long years.

4 Yugoslavia (1992-1994)

After the collapse of the USSR, Yugoslavia also began to disintegrate. The process was actively supported by the West, and the negative result was not long in coming. Serbia, Croatia and, in fact, Yugoslavia itself appeared. Civil war began, and the UN imposed all possible sanctions and embargoes against Yugoslavia. Production and trade, even within the country, virtually stopped. Prices rose every 34 hours, and the government began to print money... From the largest banknote in 1992 of 5,000 dinars, Yugoslavia reached a denomination of 500 billion dinars in two years. The economy has completely withered, despite the visible efforts of the government. Only the German mark, introduced into circulation in 1994, was able to revive it.

After defeat in the First World War, Germany also experienced all the “delights” of poverty. Having paid huge reparations to the winners, the authorities did their best to restrain the rise in prices for some time, but to no avail. Every 49 hours people saw new price tags, and every month they looked in surprise at new bills of even higher denominations. The largest bill was a bill of 100 trillion marks, which actually cost less than 25 dollars. In November 1923, a new currency was introduced - the “rent mark”. At that time, it saved the economy, which later became one of the strongest in the world.

6 France (1795-1796)

The French Revolution (1789-1799) occurred at a time when France's debt reached 4 billion livres! The colossal sum was formed mainly due to the reign of the most wasteful king in history - Louis XV. The revolutionary government chose the nationalization of church lands under a bond issue as the main means of combating such debts - of course, with subsequent sale. In a “revolutionary impulse” they printed as many bonds as there had never been land in France. At the peak of inflation, prices rose every 5-10 days, and a pair of boots, which once cost 200 paper livres, had a price of 20,000. The coin, the franc, saved the situation. The authorities publicly burned everything in the treasury on Place Vendôme paper bills(about 1 billion livres) and all the machines for their production. Having thus begun the wholesale exchange of “paper” for “metal,” by the end of 1797 the French made the franc a stable currency for many years.

7 Peru (1984-1990)

In the distant past, the great Inca Empire, the Republic of Peru already in the twentieth century learned the disadvantages of economic progress. Due to problems in production and foreign trade, Peru's currency, “salt,” began to rapidly depreciate. In 1984 the most large bill 50 thousand soles turned into 500 thousand. The authorities carried out monetary reform and entered new currency- “inti.” But this move is nothing without resuscitating production and trade relations. By 1990, a bill of 1 thousand inti had become a bill of 5 million of the same long-suffering inti. In 1991, through many reforms, it was possible to stabilize the situation and at that time the “new salt” was equal to 1 billion salts of the 1984 model.

8 Ukraine (1993-1995)

Ukraine experienced one of the worst inflations in the post-Soviet space. Within 2 years, inflation reached 1400% per month. The reasons are the same as in other cases - a drop in production and export profits. The largest denomination after the declaration of independence was 1000 coupons. By 1995 it was already 1 million coupons. Without reinventing the wheel, the National Bank withdraws coupons from circulation and introduces hryvnia, changing at the rate of 1:100,000. At that time, this was equal to approximately 20 American cents.
At that time, amazing stories happened: people who took out loans to buy a car or a home, after a while paid off these loans from their monthly salary.

9 Nicaragua (1986-1991)

After the 1979 revolution, Nicaragua's new authorities nationalized much of the economy. Considering the huge external debts countries, this caused economic crisis and inflation. The largest bill of 1 thousand cordobas became a bill of 500 thousand in less than a year. In 1988 the old cordoba was replaced by a new one. This, of course, didn't help. In mid-1990, the “golden cordoba” was introduced, equal to 5 million new cordobas. It turned out that 1 gold cordoba was equal to 5 billion cordobas issued before 1987. This “cordo fermentation” slowed down a little, and later almost stopped when it was possible to resume the agricultural sector of the economy.

10 Krajina (Serbian) (1993)

Krajina is an unrecognized country, annexed to Croatia in 1998. But while still independent, she was subjected to economic decline, because couldn't fix it, neither own production, nor trade with neighbors. In just a year, 50,000 dinars turned into 50 billion! Gradually, with battles and negotiations, Krajina was returned to Croatia, although many Serbs left...
Inflation as a result of the illiteracy of the authorities can be easily defeated, but provided that these same authorities look at things realistically. By borrowing money from other countries, a country can live without troubles, but for a very short time. Only by setting up production and establishing trade in your own goods, accumulating resources along the way, can you not only not be afraid of this phenomenon, but also successfully help others. Of course, with benefit for yourself. These are market relations that were invented by man.