History of World Economies with Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation Table

There have been 56 documented cases of hyperinflation outbreaks in history. Most people are still tantalised by Germany's 1922-3 episode associated with an advanced economy.

Click here or image to view full table (pdf)
 
From the Cato Institute, Steve Hanke and Nicholas Krus have recently completed a study listing the worst hyperinflation outbreaks in history. By rank, the top 3 are Hungary (1945-6), Zimbabwe (2007-8) and Yugoslavia (1992-4). Germany (1922-3) ranks number 5.

For the first time, a table contains all 56 episodes of hyperinflation from 1920 to the present day, including several which had previously gone unreported. The Hyperinflation Table is compiled in a systematic and uniform way. Most importantly, it meets the replicability test. It uses clean and consistent inflation metrics, indicates the start and end dates of each episode, identifies the month of peak hyperinflation, and signifies the currency that was in circulation, as well as the method used to calculate inflation rates.

Steve H. Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Nicholas Krus is a research associate at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise.