View source for Hyperinflation

{{short description|Rapidly accelerating inflation}}
{{For|the medical condition|Inhalation#Hyperinflation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
[[File:HUP_100MB_1946_obverse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|100 quintillion (10<sup>20</sup>) [[Hungarian pengő|pengő]], the largest denomination bill ever issued, Hungary, 1946. 1 sextillion pengő notes were printed, but never issued.]]
[[File:Time BsF would take to lose 90 percent of its value.png|thumb|upright=1.8|[[Hyperinflation in Venezuela]] represented by the time it would take for money to lose 90% of its value (301-day [[rolling average]], inverted logarithmic scale)]]
{{Economics sidebar}}
In [[economics]], '''hyperinflation''' is a very high and typically accelerating [[inflation]]. It quickly erodes the [[real versus nominal value (economics)|real value]] of the local [[currency]], as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as they usually switch to more stable foreign currencies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Arthur |author-link1=Arthur O'Sullivan (economist) |first2=Steven M. |last2=Sheffrin |title=Economics: Principles in action |url=https://archive.org/details/economicsprincip00osul |url-access=limited |publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall |year=2003 |location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey |pages=[https://archive.org/details/economicsprincip00osul/page/n357 341], 404 |isbn=0-13-063085-3}}</ref> Effective [[capital control]]s and [[currency substitution]] ("dollarization") are the orthodox solutions to ending short-term hyperinflation; however there are significant social and economic costs to these policies.<ref name="Country Risk Securities. 2001 v684">{{cite web | title=Full Dollarization: The Pros and Cons |first1=Andrew |last1=Berg |first2=Eduardo |last2=Borensztein | publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] | date=December 2000 | url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues24/ | access-date=2023-08-26}}</ref> Ineffective implementations of these solutions often exacerbate the situation. Many governments choose to attempt to solve structural issues without resorting to those solutions, with the goal of bringing inflation down slowly while minimizing social costs of further economic shocks.

Unlike low inflation, where the process of rising prices is protracted and not generally noticeable except by studying past market prices, hyperinflation sees a rapid and continuing increase in nominal prices, the nominal cost of goods, and in the [[money supply|supply of currency]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2012/08/09/wheres-the-hyperinflation/ |first=Jerry |last=Bowyer |title=Where's the Hyperinflation? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802072548/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2012/08/09/wheres-the-hyperinflation/ |archive-date=2 August 2018 |work=Forbes |date=9 August 2012}}</ref> Typically, however, the general price level rises even more rapidly than the money supply as people try ridding themselves of the devaluing currency as quickly as possible. As this happens, the real stock of money (i.e., the amount of circulating money divided by the price level) decreases considerably.<ref name="Bernholz, Peter 2003, chapter 5.3">Bernholz, Peter 2003, chapter 5.3</ref>

Hyperinflation is often associated with some stress to the government budget, such as wars or their aftermath, sociopolitical upheavals, a collapse in aggregate supply or one in export prices, or other crises that make it difficult for the government to collect tax revenue. A sharp decrease in real [[tax revenue]] coupled with a strong need to maintain government spending, together with an inability or unwillingness to borrow, can lead a country into hyperinflation.<ref name="Bernholz, Peter 2003, chapter 5.3"/>

==Definition==
[[File:Argentina Inflation.webp|thumb|upright=1.4|{{center|Argentina monthly inflation of over 50% in 1989 and 1990}}
{{legend|#F69F68|Year-over-year inflation|outline=#F27200}}
{{legend-line|red solid 3px|M2 money supply increases year over year<!--hyphens only needed for prepositive use-->}}
{{legend|#00A2FF|Month-over-month inflation|outline=#00A2FF}}
]]
In 1956, [[Columbia University]] economics professor [[Phillip D. Cagan|Phillip Cagan]] wrote ''The Monetary Dynamics of Hyperinflation'', often regarded as the first serious study of hyperinflation and its effects<ref name="On Cagan">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GBnqoV6eMCQC&q=Hyperinflation |title=The Four Ends of the Greek Hyperinflation of 1941–1946 |page=10 |first=Michael R. |last=Palairet |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |year=2000 |isbn=9788772895826 |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110050111/https://books.google.com/books?id=GBnqoV6eMCQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hyperinflation&sa=X&ei=E2SDVITBDoWEPN7hgZAG&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Cagan&f=false |archive-date=10 November 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> (though ''The Economics of Inflation'' by C. Bresciani-Turroni on the German hyperinflation was published in Italian in 1931<ref>{{cite journal|last=Robinson|first=Joan|date=1 January 1938|title=Review of The Economics of Inflation|jstor=2225440|journal=The Economic Journal|volume=48|issue=191|pages=507–513|doi=10.2307/2225440}}</ref>). In this work, Cagan defined a hyperinflationary episode as starting in the month that the monthly inflation rate exceeds 50%, and as ending when the monthly inflation rate drops below 50% and stays that way for at least a year.<ref name="Hyper">{{cite book |first=Phillip D. |last=Cagan |author-link=Phillip Cagan |chapter=The Monetary Dynamics of Hyperinflation |editor-first=Milton |editor-last=Friedman |editor-link=Milton Friedman |title=Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1956}}</ref> Economists usually follow Cagan's description that hyperinflation occurs when the monthly inflation rate exceeds 50% (accumulating to a yearly increase of 12,874.63%, or an increase by a factor of 129.7463).<ref name="On Cagan"/>

The [[International Accounting Standards Board]] has issued guidance on accounting rules in a hyperinflationary environment. It does not establish an absolute rule on when hyperinflation arises, but instead lists factors that indicate the existence of hyperinflation:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/standard28 |title=IAS 29 – Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies |access-date=10 April 2012 |author=International Accounting Standards |publisher=IASB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404011354/http://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/standard28/ |archive-date=4 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The general population prefers to keep its wealth in non-monetary assets or in a relatively stable foreign currency. Amounts of local currency held are immediately invested to maintain purchasing power;
* The general population regards monetary amounts not in terms of the local currency but in terms of a relatively stable foreign currency. Prices may be quoted in that currency;
* Sales and purchases on credit take place at prices that compensate for the expected loss of purchasing power during the credit period, even if the period is short;
* Interest rates, wages, and prices are linked to a price index; and
* The cumulative inflation rate over three years approaches, or exceeds, 100%.

==Causes==
While there can be a number of causes of high inflation, almost all hyperinflations have been caused by government [[budget deficit]]s financed by currency creation. Peter Bernholz analysed 29 hyperinflations (following Cagan's definition) and concludes that at least 25 of them have been caused in this way.<ref name=":4">Bernholz, Peter 2003, chapter 5.2 and Table 5.1</ref> A necessary condition for hyperinflation is the use of [[paper money]] instead of gold or silver coins. Most hyperinflations in history, with some exceptions, such as the French hyperinflation of 1789–1796, occurred after the use of [[fiat currency]] became widespread in the late 19th century. The French hyperinflation took place after the introduction of a non-convertible paper currency, the [[assignat]].

===Money supply===
[[Monetarism|Monetarist theories]] hold that hyperinflation occurs when there is a continuing (and often accelerating) rapid increase in the amount of money that is not supported by a corresponding growth in the output of goods and services.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas |title=A Monetary Model of the Inflationary Process |journal=Economic Review |date=1975 |volume=25 |issue=November/December 1975 |pages=13–23 |url=https://www.richmondfed.org/~/media/richmondfedorg/publications/research/economic_review/1975/pdf/er610602.pdf |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

The increases in price that can result from rapid [[money creation]] can create a vicious circle, requiring ever growing amounts of new money creation to fund government deficits. Hence both [[monetary inflation]] and price inflation proceed at a rapid pace. Such rapidly increasing prices cause widespread unwillingness of the local population to hold the local currency as it rapidly loses its buying power. Instead, they quickly spend any money they receive, which increases the [[velocity of money]] flow; this in turn causes further acceleration in prices.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hyperinflation|url=https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Hyperinflation.html|access-date=15 May 2021|website=Econlib|language=en-US}}</ref> This means that the increase in the price level is greater than that of the money supply.<ref>{{cite book |last=Parsson |first=Jens |author-link=Jens O. Parsson |title=Dying of Money |chapter=Chapter 17: Velocity |publisher=Wellspring Press |year=1974 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |pages=112–119}}</ref>

This results in an imbalance between the [[supply and demand]] for the money (including currency and bank deposits), causing rapid inflation. Very high inflation rates can result in a loss of confidence in the currency, similar to a [[bank run]]. The excessive money supply growth can result from speculating by private borrowers,<ref>{{cite report |last1=Kumhof |first1=Michael |last2=Benes |first2=Jaromir |title=The Chicago Plan Revisited |date=August 2012 |page=16 |url=https://www.imf.org/-/media/Websites/IMF/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/_wp12202.ashx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812183101/https://www.imf.org/-/media/Websites/IMF/imported-full-text-pdf/external/pubs/ft/wp/2012/_wp12202.ashx |archive-date=12 August 2021 |url-status=live |series=Working Paper No. 2012/202 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |format=PDF |isbn=9781475505528 |issn=1018-5941}}</ref> or may result from the government being either unable or unwilling to fully finance the government budget through taxation or borrowing. The government may instead finance a government deficit through the creation of money.<ref name="z">Bernard Mufute (2 October 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20080408131232/http://www.fingaz.co.zw/fingaz/2003/October/October2/1365.shtml "Hyperinflation: causes, cures"]. "Hyperinflation has its root cause in money growth, which is not supported by growth in the output of goods and services."</ref>

Governments have sometimes resorted to excessively loose monetary policy, as it allows a government to devalue its debts and reduce (or avoid) tax increases. Monetary inflation is effectively a flat tax on creditors that also redistributes proportionally to private debtors. Distributional effects of monetary inflation are complex and vary based on the situation, with some models finding regressive effects<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/economics/econref/workingpapers/researchreports/wp2000/wp2000_1.pdf|title=On Inflation as a Regressive Consumption Tax|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910064531/http://www.ssc.uwo.ca/economics/econref/workingpapers/researchreports/wp2000/wp2000_1.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=15 January 2010}}</ref> but other empirical studies progressive effects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Süssmuth|first1=Bernd|last2=Wieschemeyer|first2=Matthias|date=2017|title=Progressive tax-like effects of inflation: Fact or myth? The U.S. post-war experience|journal=IWH Discussion Papers|issue=33/2017|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/iwhdps/332017.html|language=en|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426163115/https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/iwhdps/332017.html|archive-date=26 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> As a form of tax, it is less overt than levied taxes and is therefore harder to understand by ordinary citizens. Inflation can obscure quantitative assessments of the true cost of living, as published price indices only look at data in retrospect, so may increase only months later. [[Monetary inflation]] can become hyperinflation if monetary authorities fail to fund increasing government expenses from [[tax]]es, [[government debt]], cost cutting, or by other means, because either

* during the time between recording or levying taxable transactions and collecting the taxes due, the value of the taxes collected falls in real value to a small fraction of the original taxes receivable; or
* government debt issues fail to find buyers except at very deep discounts; or
* a combination of the above.

Theories of hyperinflation generally look for a relationship between [[seigniorage]] and the [[inflation tax]]. In both Cagan's model and the neo-classical models, a tipping point occurs when the increase in money supply or the drop in the monetary base makes it impossible for a government to improve its financial position. Thus when [[fiat money]] is printed, government obligations that are not denominated in money increase in cost by more than the value of the money created.

[[File:German Hyperinflation.jpg|right|thumb|The price of gold in Germany, 1 January 1918 – 30 November 1923. (The vertical scale is [[logarithmic scale|logarithmic]].)]]

In neo-classical economic theory, hyperinflation is rooted in a deterioration of the [[monetary base]], that is the confidence that there is a store of value that the currency will be able to command later. In this model, the perceived risk of holding currency rises dramatically, and sellers demand increasingly high premiums to accept the currency. This in turn leads to a greater fear that the currency will collapse, causing even higher premiums. One example of this is during periods of warfare, civil war, or intense internal conflict of other kinds: governments need to do whatever is necessary to continue fighting, since the alternative is defeat. Expenses cannot be cut significantly since the main outlay is armaments. Further, a civil war may make it difficult to raise taxes or to collect existing taxes. While in peacetime the deficit is financed by selling bonds, during a war it is typically difficult and expensive to borrow, especially if the war is going poorly for the government in question. The banking authorities, whether central or not, "monetize" the deficit, printing money to pay for the government's efforts to survive. The hyperinflation under the [[Chinese Nationalists]] from 1939 to 1945 is a classic example of a government printing money to pay civil war costs. By the end, currency was flown in over the Himalayas, and then old currency was flown out to be destroyed.

Hyperinflation is a complex phenomenon and one explanation may not be applicable to all cases. In both of these models, however, whether loss of confidence comes first, or central bank [[seigniorage]], the other phase is ignited. In the case of rapid expansion of the money supply, prices rise rapidly in response to the increased supply of money relative to the supply of goods and services, and in the case of loss of confidence, the monetary authority responds to the risk premiums it has to pay by "running the printing presses".

===Supply shocks===
A number of hyperinflations were caused by some sort of extreme negative [[supply shock]], sometimes but not always associated with wars or natural disasters.<ref>{{cite web |last=Montier |first=James |date=February 2013 |title=Hyperinflations, Hysteria, and False Memories|publisher=GMO LLC |url=https://www.gmo.com/America/CMSAttachmentDownload.aspx?target=JUBRxi51IIDV3C26gZvJ6r5NLthcX%2f9Q0ZPBQkExvMSh%2bvK1CMTHyV1xpwPa69Che8Ur%2b3GtnBdlT1z8uTf9QasTtYoks5h9OAqo9c0oc22JsBb%2fSWtTBA%3d%3d |access-date=10 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701133838/https://www.gmo.com/America/CMSAttachmentDownload.aspx?target=JUBRxi51IIDV3C26gZvJ6r5NLthcX%2f9Q0ZPBQkExvMSh%2bvK1CMTHyV1xpwPa69Che8Ur%2b3GtnBdlT1z8uTf9QasTtYoks5h9OAqo9c0oc22JsBb%2fSWtTBA%3d%3d |archive-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Effects==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00104, Inflation, Tapezieren mit Geldscheinen.jpg|right|thumb|[[inflation in the Weimar Republic|Germany, 1923]]: banknotes had lost so much value that they were used as wallpaper.]]

Hyperinflation increases stock market prices, wipes out the purchasing power of private and public savings, distorts the economy in favor of the hoarding of real assets, causes the monetary base (whether [[money|specie]] or hard currency) to flee the country, and makes the afflicted area anathema to investment.

One of the most important characteristics of hyperinflation is the accelerating substitution of the inflating money by stable money—gold and silver in former times, then relatively stable foreign currencies after the breakdown of the gold or silver standards ([[Thiers' law]]<!--Do not also link to Thiers' article. He is off topic here. Interested readers can follow the link chain.-->). If inflation is high enough, government regulations like heavy penalties and fines, often combined with exchange controls, cannot prevent this currency substitution. As a consequence, the inflating currency is usually heavily undervalued compared to stable foreign money in terms of purchasing power parity. So foreigners can live cheaply and buy at low prices in the countries hit by high inflation. It follows that governments that do not succeed in engineering a successful currency reform in time must finally legalize the stable foreign currencies (or, formerly, gold and silver) that threaten to fully substitute the inflating money. Otherwise, their tax revenues, including the inflation tax, will approach zero.<ref name="Bernholz, Peter 2003">Bernholz, Peter 2003</ref> The last episode of hyperinflation in which this process could be observed was in [[Zimbabwe]] in the first decade of the 21st century. In this case, the local money was mainly driven out by the US dollar and the South African rand.

Enactment of price controls to prevent discounting the value of [[paper money]] relative to gold, silver, [[hard currency]], or other commodities fail to force acceptance of a paper money that lacks intrinsic value. If the entity responsible for printing a currency promotes excessive money printing, with other factors contributing a reinforcing effect, hyperinflation usually continues. Hyperinflation is generally associated with paper money, which can easily be used to increase the money supply: add more zeros to the plates and print, or even stamp old notes with new numbers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/03/06/jefferson-county-memories/ |title=Jefferson County Miracles |department=Marketbeat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119120102/https://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/03/06/jefferson-county-memories/ |archive-date=19 January 2018 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=6 March 2008}}</ref>

Much attention on hyperinflation centers on the effect on savers whose investments become worthless. Interest rate changes often cannot keep up with hyperinflation or even high inflation, certainly with contractually fixed interest rates. For example, in the 1970s in the United Kingdom inflation reached 25% per annum, yet interest rates did not rise above 15%—and then only briefly—and many fixed interest rate loans existed. Contractually, there is often no bar to a debtor clearing his long term debt with "hyperinflated cash", nor could a lender simply somehow suspend the loan. Contractual "early redemption penalties" were (and still are) often based on a penalty of ''n'' months of interest/payment; again no real bar to paying off what had been a large loan. In interwar Germany, for example, much private and corporate debt was effectively wiped out—certainly for those holding fixed interest rate loans.

As more and more money is provided, interest rates decline towards zero. Realizing that fiat money is losing value, investors will try to place money in assets such as real estate, stocks, even art; as these appear to represent "real" value. Asset prices are thus becoming inflated. This potentially spiraling process will ultimately lead to the collapse of the monetary system. The Cantillon effect<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azizonomics.com/2012/08/07/the-cantillon-effect/|title=The Cantillon Effect|first=John|last=Aziz|website=azizonomics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230917171230/https://azizonomics.com/2012/08/07/the-cantillon-effect/|archive-date=2023-09-17|date=7 August 2012|url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{self-published inline|certain=y|date=June 2024}} says that those institutions that receive the new money first are the beneficiaries of the policy.

===Aftermath===
Hyperinflation is ended by drastic remedies, such as imposing the [[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]] of slashing government expenditures or altering the currency basis. One form this may take is [[dollarization]], the use of a foreign currency (not necessarily the [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]]) as a national unit of currency. An example was dollarization in Ecuador, initiated in September 2000 in response to a 75% loss of value of the [[Ecuadorian sucre]] in early 2000. Usually the "dollarization" takes place in spite of all efforts of the government to prevent it by exchange controls, heavy fines and penalties. The government has thus to try to engineer a successful currency reform stabilizing the value of the money. If it does not succeed with this reform the substitution of the inflating by stable money goes on. Thus it is not surprising that there have been at least seven historical cases in which the good (foreign) money did fully drive out the use of the inflating currency. In the end, the government had to legalize the former, for otherwise its revenues would have fallen to zero.<ref name="Bernholz, Peter 2003"/>

Hyperinflation has always been a traumatic experience for the people who suffer it, and the next political regime almost always enacts policies to try to prevent its recurrence. Often this means making the central bank very aggressive about maintaining price stability, as was the case with the German [[Bundesbank]], or moving to some hard basis of currency, such as a [[currency board]]. Many governments have enacted extremely stiff [[wage and price controls]] in the wake of hyperinflation, but this does not prevent further inflation of the money supply by the [[central bank]], and always leads to widespread shortages of consumer goods if the controls are rigidly enforced.

===Currency===
[[File:HUP 100MB 1946 obverse.jpg|thumb|100 million b.-pengő (100 quintillion pengő) banknote from the period of postwar hyperinflation in Hungary in 1946, the largest denomination banknote ever officially issued for circulation]]
[[File:HUP 1000MB 1946 obverse.jpg|thumb|1 {{Not a typo|milliard}} b.-pengő (1 sextillion pengő) banknote, printed but never issued]]
In countries experiencing hyperinflation, the [[central bank]] often prints money in larger and larger denominations as the smaller denomination notes become worthless. This can result in the production of unusually large denominations of [[banknote]]s, including those denominated in amounts of 1,000,000,000 (10{{sup|9}}, 1 billion) or more.
* By late 1923, the [[Weimar Republic]] of Germany was issuing two-trillion mark banknotes and postage stamps with a face value of fifty billion marks. The highest value banknote issued by the Weimar government's Reichsbank had a face value of 100 trillion marks (10{{sup|14}}; 100,000,000,000,000; 100 million million).<ref>1 billion in the German long scale = 1000 milliard = 1 trillion US scale.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sammler.com/coins/inflation.htm |title=Values of the most important German Banknotes of the Inflation Period from 1920 – 1923 |access-date=3 May 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040413214534/http://sammler.com/COINS/inflation.htm |archive-date=13 April 2004 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the height of the inflation, one US dollar was worth 4 trillion German marks. One of the firms printing these notes submitted an invoice for the work to the Reichsbank for 32,776,899,763,734,490,417.05 (3.28 × 10{{sup|19}}, roughly 33 [[quintillion]]) marks.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Penniless Billionaires |first=Max |last=Shapiro |publisher=New York Times Book Co. |year=1980 |page=203 |isbn=0-8129-0923-2 |quote=Of course, one must not forget the 5 pfennig!}}</ref>
* The largest denomination banknote ever officially issued for circulation was in 1946 by the [[Hungarian National Bank]] for the amount of 100 quintillion [[pengő]] (10{{sup|20}}; 100,000,000,000,000,000,000; 100 million million million). (A banknote worth 10 times as much, 10{{sup|21}} (1 [[sextillion]]) pengő, was printed but not issued.) The banknotes did not show the numbers in full: "hundred million b.-pengő" ("hundred million trillion pengő") and "one milliard b.-pengő" were spelled out instead. This makes the 100,000,000,000,000 [[Zimbabwean dollar]] banknotes the note with the greatest number of zeros shown.
* The Post-World War II hyperinflation of Hungary held the record for the most extreme monthly inflation rate ever – 41.9 quadrillion percent ({{val|4.19|e=16}}%; 41,900,000,000,000,000%) for July 1946, amounting to prices doubling every 15.3 hours. By comparison, on 14 November 2008, Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate was estimated to be 89.7 [[sextillion]] (10{{sup|21}}) percent.<ref name="cato">{{cite web |url=http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe |title=New Hyperinflation Index (HHIZ) Puts Zimbabwe Inflation at 89.7 sextillion percent |last=Hanke |first=Steve H. |publisher=[[Cato Institute]] |date=17 November 2008 |access-date=17 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113221554/http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe |archive-date=13 November 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The highest monthly inflation rate of that period was 79.6 billion percent ({{val|7.96|e=10}}%; 79,600,000,000%), and a doubling time of 24.7 hours.

One way to avoid the use of large numbers is by declaring a new unit of currency. (As an example, instead of 10,000,000,000 dollars, a central bank might set 1 new dollar = 1,000,000,000 old dollars, so the new note would read "10 new dollars".) One example of this is Turkey's revaluation of the lira on 1 January 2005, when the old [[Turkish lira]] (TRL) was converted to the [[new Turkish lira]] (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new lira. While this does not lessen the actual value of a currency, it is called [[redenomination]] or [[revaluation]] and also occasionally happens in countries with lower inflation rates. During hyperinflation, currency inflation happens so quickly that bills reach large numbers before revaluation.

Governments may try to disguise the true rate of inflation through a variety of techniques. If these actions do not address the root causes of inflation they may undermine trust in the currency, causing further increases in inflation. [[Price controls]] will generally result in shortages and hoarding and extremely high demand for the controlled goods,{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} causing disruptions of [[supply chain]]s. Products available to consumers may diminish or disappear as businesses no longer find it economic to continue producing and/or distributing such goods at the legal prices, further exacerbating the shortages.

There are also issues with computerized money-handling systems. In Zimbabwe, during the hyperinflation of the Zimbabwe dollar, many [[automated teller machines]] and payment card machines struggled with [[arithmetic overflow]] errors as customers required many billions and trillions of dollars at one time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/31/zimbabwe |location=London |work=The Guardian |first=Mark |last=Tran |title=Zimbabwe knocks 10 zeros off currency amid world's highest inflation |date=31 July 2008 |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202084334/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/31/zimbabwe |archive-date=2 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Notable hyperinflationary periods==
===Argentina===
[[File:Argentina inflation 1994 - 2021.webp|thumb|upright=1.2|Argentina inflation 1994–2021]]
{{Excerpt|2018–present Argentine monetary crisis|Ongoing crisis}}

===Austria===
[[File:The Hanke Krus Hyperinflation Table.pdf|left|thumb|Hanke Krus Hyperinflation Table that lists 56 episodes of hyperinflation (following Cagan's definition)]]
In 1922, inflation in Austria reached 1,426%, and from 1914 to January 1923, the consumer price index rose by a factor of 11,836, with the highest banknote in denominations of 500,000 [[Austrian krone|Kronen]].{{efn|A banknote with a value of one million krones was printed, but not issued.<ref>{{cite web |title=Austria - 1,000,000 Kronen (1 July 1924) |url=http://www.banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/EUR/AUT/AUT0086.htm |website=Bank Note Museum |access-date=18 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118180937/http://www.banknote.ws/COLLECTION/countries/EUR/AUT/AUT0086.htm |archive-date=18 January 2019}}</ref>}} After [[World War I]], essentially all State enterprises ran at a loss, and the number of state employees in the capital, Vienna, was greater than in the earlier monarchy, even though the new republic was nearly one-eighth of the size.<ref>{{cite book|author=Adam Fergusson|title=When Money Dies: The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxUBAwAAQBAJ|date=12 October 2010|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=978-1-58648-994-6}}</ref>

Observing the Austrian response to developing hyperinflation, which included the hoarding of food and the speculation in foreign currencies, Owen S. Phillpotts, the Commercial Secretary at the British Legation in Vienna wrote: "The Austrians are like men on a ship who cannot manage it, and are continually signalling for help. While waiting, however, most of them begin to cut rafts, each for himself, out of the sides and decks. The ship has not yet sunk despite the leaks so caused, and those who have acquired stores of wood in this way may use them to cook their food, while the more seamanlike look on cold and hungry. The population lack courage and energy as well as patriotism."<ref>{{cite book|author=Adam Fergusson |year=2010|title=When Money Dies – The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany|page=92|publisher=Public Affairs – Perseus Books Group|isbn=978-1-58648-994-6}}</ref>
* Start and end date: October 1921 – September 1923
* Peak month and rate of inflation: August 1922, 129%<ref name="Sargent, T. J. 1986">Sargent, T. J. (1986) ''Rational Expectations and Inflation''. New York: Harper & Row.</ref>

=== Bolivia ===
Increasing hyperinflation in [[Bolivia]] has plagued, and at times crippled, its economy and [[Bolivian peso|currency]] since the 1970s. At one time in 1985, the country experienced an annual inflation rate of more than 20,000%. Fiscal and monetary reform reduced the inflation rate to single digits by the 1990s, and in 2004 Bolivia experienced a manageable 4.9% rate of inflation.<ref>{{cite web|title= Country Profile: Bolivia|work= Library of Congress Federal Research Division|date= January 2006|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Bolivia.pdf|access-date= 9 June 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140707012753/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Bolivia.pdf|archive-date= 7 July 2014|url-status= live}}</ref>

In 1987, the [[Bolivian peso|peso boliviano]] was replaced by the new [[Bolivian boliviano|boliviano]] at a rate of one million to one (when 1 US dollar was worth 1.8–1.9 million pesos bolivianos). At that time, 1 new boliviano was roughly equivalent to 52 U.S. cents.

=== Brazil ===
[[File:Brazil Inflation 1981-1995.webp|thumb|upright=1.5|Brazil Inflation 1981-1995]]
{{main|Hyperinflation in Brazil}}
Brazilian hyperinflation lasted from 1985 (the year when the [[Military dictatorship in Brazil|military dictatorship]] ended) to 1994, with prices rising by 184,901,570,954.39% (or {{val|1.849e11}} percent; equivalent to a tenfold increase on average a year) in that time<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www3.bcb.gov.br/CALCIDADAO/publico/corrigirPorIndice.do?method=corrigirPorIndice|title=BCB - Calculadora do cidadão|website=www3.bcb.gov.br|access-date=27 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501184156/https://www3.bcb.gov.br/CALCIDADAO/publico/corrigirPorIndice.do?method=corrigirPorIndice|archive-date=1 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> due to the uncontrolled printing of money.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} There were many economic plans that tried to contain hyperinflation including zeroes cuts, [[price freeze]]s and even confiscation of [[bank account]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/entenda-os-planos-economicos-bresser-verao-collor-1-e-collor-2-e-as-perdas-na-poupanca.ghtml|title=Entenda os planos econômicos Bresser, Verão, Collor 1, Collor 2 e as perdas na poupança|website=G1|date=29 November 2017 |language=pt-br|access-date=27 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427025946/https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/entenda-os-planos-economicos-bresser-verao-collor-1-e-collor-2-e-as-perdas-na-poupanca.ghtml|archive-date=27 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The highest value was in March 1990, when the government inflation index reached 82.39%. Hyperinflation ended in July 1994 with the [[Plano Real|Real Plan]] during the government of Itamar Franco.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.politize.com.br/plano-real/|title=O que foi o Plano Real?|date=3 October 2017|website=Politize!|language=pt-BR|access-date=27 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414190916/https://www.politize.com.br/plano-real/|archive-date=14 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> During the period of inflation Brazil adopted a total of six different currencies, as the government constantly changed due to rapid devaluation and increase in the number of zeros.<ref name=":3" />
* Start and end date: January 1985 – mid-July 1994
* Peak month and rate of inflation: March 1990, 82.39%

===China===
{{Main|Chinese hyperinflation}}
{{See also|Economic history of China (1912–1949)}}
Hyperinflation was a major factor in the collapse of the [[Nationalist government]] of [[Chiang Kai-shek]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Coble |first=Parks M. |title=The Collapse of Nationalist China: How Chiang Kai-shek Lost China's Civil War |date=2023 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-29761-5 |location=Cambridge and New York |author-link=Parks M. Coble}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=5–6}}

After a brief decrease following the defeat of Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War, hyperinflation resumed in October 1945.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=7}} From 1948 to 1949, near the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]], the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] went through a period of hyperinflation. In 1947, the highest denomination bill was 50,000 [[Chinese yuan#First yuan, 1889–1948|yuan]]. By mid-1948, the highest denomination was 180,000,000 yuan.

In October 1948, the Nationalist government replaced its fabi currency with the gold yuan.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=8}} The gold yuan deteriorated even faster than the fabi had.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=8}}
#First episode:
#* Start and end date: July 1943 – August 1945
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: June 1945, 302%
#Second episode:
#* Start and end date: October 1947 – mid May 1949
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: April 5,070%<ref>Chang, K. (1958) [https://books.google.com/books?id=pGAiAQAAMAAJ ''The Inflationary Spiral: The Experience in China, 1939–1950''], New York: The Technology Press of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and John Wiley and Sons.</ref>
The Communists gained significant legitimacy by defeating hyperinflation in the late 1940s and early 1950s.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Weber |first=Isabella |author-link=Isabella Weber |url= |title=How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate |date=2021 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-429-49012-5 |location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire |pages=70 |oclc=1228187814}}</ref> Their development of state trading agencies reintegrated markets and trading networks, ultimately stabilizing prices.<ref name=":2" />

===France===
During the [[French Revolution]] and [[French First Republic|first Republic]], the National Assembly issued bonds, some backed by seized church property, called [[assignat]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf |first=J. E. |last=Sandrock |title=Bank notes of the French Revolution and First Republic |access-date=18 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208193306/http://thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/BankNotesoftheFrenchRevolutionPartII.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Napoleon replaced them with the franc in 1803, at which time the assignats were basically worthless. Stephen D. Dillaye pointed out that one of the reasons for the failure was massive counterfeiting of the paper currency, largely through London. According to Dillaye: "Seventeen manufacturing establishments were in full operation in London, with a force of four hundred men devoted to the production of false and forged Assignats."<ref>Stephen D. Dillaye, ''Assignats and Mandats: A True History, Including an Examination of Dr. Andrew Dickson White's 'Paper Money in France{{'}}'', (Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird & Co, 1877)</ref>
* Start and end date: May 1795 – November 1796
* Peak month and rate of inflation: mid August 1796, 304%<ref>White, E. N. (1991). "Measuring the French Revolution's Inflation: the Tableaux de depreciation". ''Histoire & Mesure'', 6 (3): 245–274.</ref>

===Germany (Weimar Republic)===
{{Main|Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic}}
[[File:5milmkbk.jpg|thumbnail|5 million marks would have been worth $714.29 in January 1923, but was only worth about one-thousandth of one cent by October 1923.]]
By November 1922, the value in gold of money in circulation had fallen from [[Pound sterling|£]]300&nbsp;million before World War I to £20&nbsp;million. The Reichsbank responded by the unlimited printing of notes, thereby accelerating the devaluation of the mark. In his report to London, [[Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon|Lord D'Abernon]] wrote: "In the whole course of history, no dog has ever run after its own tail with the speed of the Reichsbank."<ref>{{cite book|author=Adam Fergusson|year=2010|title=When Money Dies – The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany|page=117|publisher=Public Affairs – Perseus Books Group|isbn=978-1-58648-994-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Lord D'Abernon|year=1930|title=An Ambassador of Peace, the diary of Viscount D'Abernon, Berlin 1920–1926 (V1–3)|publisher=London: Hodder and Stoughton}}</ref> Germany went through its worst inflation in 1923. In 1922, the highest denomination was 50,000[[German Papiermark|ℳ]]. By 1923, the highest denomination was 100,000,000,000,000ℳ ({{val|e=14}} marks). In December 1923 the exchange rate was 4,200,000,000,000ℳ ({{val|4.2|e=12}} marks) to 1 US dollar.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web |url=https://mises.org/books/economicsofinflation.pdf |title=Bresciani-Turroni, page 335 |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912142514/http://www.mises.org/books/economicsofinflation.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2013 |url-status=live |date=18 August 2014 }}</ref> In 1923, the rate of inflation hit {{val|3.25|e=6}} percent per month (prices double every two days). Beginning on 20 November 1923, 1,000,000,000,000ℳ ({{val|e=12}}ℳ, 1 trillion marks) were exchanged for 1 [[Rentenmark]], so that RM&nbsp;4.2 was worth 1 US dollar, exactly the same rate the mark had in 1914.<ref name=autogenerated1/>
#First phase:
#* Start and end date: January 1920 – January 1920
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: January 1920, 56.9%
#Second phase:
#* Start and end date: August 1922 – December 1923
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: November 1923, 29,525%<ref name="Sargent, T. J. 1986"/>

===Greece (German–Italian occupation)===
{{main|Hyperinflation in Greece}}
With the German invasion in April 1941, there was an abrupt increase in prices. This was due to psychological factors related to the fear of shortages and to the hoarding of goods. During the German and Italian [[Axis occupation of Greece]] (1941–1944), the agricultural, mineral, industrial etc. production of Greece were used to sustain the occupation forces, but also to secure provisions for the [[Afrika Korps]]. One part of these "sales" of provisions was settled with bilateral clearing through the German [[DEGRIGES]] and the Italian Sagic companies at very low prices. As the value of Greek exports in drachmas fell, the demand for drachmas followed suit and so did its forex rate. While shortages started due to naval blockades and hoarding, the prices of commodities soared. The other part of the "purchases" was settled with drachmas secured from the Bank of Greece and printed for this purpose by private printing presses. As prices soared, the Germans and Italians started requesting more and more drachmas from the Bank of Greece to offset price increases; each time prices increased, the note circulation followed suit soon afterwards. For the year starting November 1943, the inflation rate was {{val|2.5|e=10}}%, the circulation was {{val|6.28|e=18}} drachmae and one gold sovereign cost 43,167 billion drachmas. The hyperinflation started subsiding immediately after the departure of the German occupation forces, but inflation rates took several years to fall below 50%.<ref>{{cite book|author=Athanassios K. Boudalis|year=2016|title=Money in Greece, 1821–2001: The history of an institution|page=618|publisher=MIG|isbn= 978-9-60937-758-4}}</ref>
* Start and end date: June 1941 – January 1946
* Peak month and rate of inflation: December 1944, {{val|3.0e10}}%

===Hungary===
{{Main|Hungarian pengő hyperinflation}}
[[File:HUP 100MB 1946 obverse.jpg|right|thumb|The 100&nbsp;million&nbsp;b.-P note was the highest denomination of banknote ever issued, worth 10<sup>20</sup>P, or 100 quintillion [[Hungarian pengő|pengoes]] (1946). ''B.-pengő'' was short for "billió pengő", equal to 1 trillion pengő (10<sup>12</sup>P).]]
The [[Treaty of Trianon]] and political instability between 1919 and 1924 led to a major inflation of Hungary's currency. In 1921, in an attempt to stop this inflation, the national assembly of Hungary passed the [[Lóránt Hegedüs|Hegedüs]] reforms, including a 20% levy on bank deposits, but this precipitated a mistrust of banks by the public, especially the peasants, and resulted in a reduction in savings, and thus an increase in the amount of currency in circulation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Adam Fergusson |year=2010|title=When Money Dies&nbsp;– The Nightmare of Deficit Spending, Devaluation, and Hyperinflation in Weimar Germany|page=101 |publisher=Perseus |isbn=978-1-58648-994-6}}</ref> Due to the reduced tax base, the government resorted to printing money, and in 1923 inflation in Hungary reached 98% per month.

Between the end of 1945 and July 1946, Hungary went through the highest inflation ever recorded. In 1944, the highest banknote value was 1,000&nbsp;[[Hungarian pengő|P]]. By the end of 1945, it was 10,000,000&nbsp;P, and the highest value in mid-1946 was 100,000,000,000,000,000,000&nbsp;P (10<sup>20</sup> pengő). A special currency, the adópengő (or ''tax pengő'') was created for tax and postal payments.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://heindorffhus.motivsamler.dk/shoebox/frame-HungaryInflation02.htm |title=Hungary: Postal history – Hyperinflation (part 2) |access-date=29 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417063102/http://heindorffhus.motivsamler.dk/shoebox/frame-HungaryInflation02.htm |archive-date=17 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The inflation was such that the value of the adópengő was adjusted each day by radio announcement. On 1 January 1946, one adópengő equaled one pengő, but by late July, one adópengő equaled 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000&nbsp;P or 2×10<sup>21</sup>&nbsp;P (2 [[sextillion]] pengő).

When the pengő was replaced in August 1946 by the [[forint]], the total value of all Hungarian banknotes in circulation amounted to {{frac|1,000}} of one US cent.<ref>{{cite book |title=Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 |last=Judt |first=Tony |publisher=Penguin |year=2006 |isbn=0-14-303775-7 |page=87}}</ref> Inflation had peaked at {{val|1.3|e=16}}% per month (i.e. prices doubled every 15.6 hours).<ref name="zwdinf">[http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/nov14_2008.html#Z2 "Zimbabwe hyperinflation 'will set world record within six weeks{{'"}}]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114195509/http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/nov14_2008.html#Z2 |date=14 November 2008 }}. ''Zimbabwe Situation''. 14 November 2008.</ref> On 18 August 1946, 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000&nbsp;P (4{{e|29}} pengő, or four hundred [[octillion]] on [[short scale]]) became 1&nbsp;[[Hungarian forint|Ft]].
* Start and end date: August 1945 – July 1946
* Peak month and rate of inflation: July 1946, {{val|41.9|e=15}}%<ref>Nogaro, B. (1948) "Hungary's Recent Monetary Crisis and Its Theoretical Meaning", ''American Economic Review'', 38 (4): 526–542.</ref>

===Malaya and Singapore (Japanese occupation)===
[[File:Notes issued by the Japanese Government during the occupation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, used in Batu Lintang camp, Sarawak (1942–1945, obverse).jpg|thumb|Banana banknotes issued by the Japanese Government during the occupation of Malaya. The term "banana notes" originates from the [[motif (art)|motif]] of banana trees on the currency's 10-dollar banknote.]]

Malaya and [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Singapore]] were under [[Japanese occupation of Malaya|Japanese occupation]] from [[Fall of Singapore|1942]] until [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|1945]]. The Japanese issued "[[banana notes]]" as the official currency to replace the [[Straits dollar|Straits currency]] issued by the British. During that time, the cost of basic necessities increased drastically. As the occupation proceeded, the Japanese authorities printed more money to fund their wartime activities, which resulted in hyperinflation and a severe depreciation in value of the banana note.

From February to December 1942, $100 of Straits currency was worth $100 in Japanese [[scrip]], after which the value of Japanese scrip began to erode, reaching $385 in December 1943 and $1,850 one year later. By 1 August 1945, this had inflated to $10,500, and 11 days later it had reached $95,000. After 13 August 1945, Japanese scrip had become valueless.<ref>{{cite web|title=Banana Money Exchange|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19481217-1.2.75.aspx|work=The Straits Times|access-date=27 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527105225/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19481217-1.2.75.aspx|archive-date=27 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===North Korea===
North Korea most likely experienced hyperinflation from December 2009 to mid-January 2011. Based on the price of rice, North Korea's hyperinflation peaked in mid-January 2010, but according to black market exchange-rate data, and calculations based on purchasing power parity, North Korea experienced its peak month of inflation in early March 2010. These data points are unofficial, however, and therefore must be treated with a degree of caution.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/market.php |title=Brightening the future of Korea |publisher=DailyNK |access-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110150151/http://www.dailynk.com/english/market.php |archive-date=10 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Peru ===
{{main|Lost Decade (Peru)}}
{{see also|La Década Perdida}}
In modern history, [[Peru]] underwent a period of hyperinflation in the 1980s to the early 1990s starting with [[Fernando Belaúnde Terry|President Fernando Belaúnde's]] second administration, heightened during [[Alan García|Alan García's]] first administration, to the beginning of [[Alberto Fujimori|Alberto Fujimori's term]]. 1 [[United States dollar|US dollar]] was worth over [[Peruvian sol (1863-1985)|S/]]3,210,000,000. Garcia's term introduced the [[Peruvian inti|inti]], which worsened inflation into hyperinflation. Peru's currency and economy were stabilized under Fujimori's [[Peruvian sol|Nuevo Sol]] program, which has remained Peru's currency since 1991.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tashu|first=Melesse|date=February 2015|title=Drivers of Peru's Equilibrium Real Exchange Rate: Is the Nuevo Sol a Commodity Currency?|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2015/wp1526.pdf|journal=IMF Working Paper|pages=6|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609135736/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2015/wp1526.pdf|archive-date=9 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Poland===
[[Poland]] has gone through two episodes of hyperinflation since the country regained independence following the end of [[World War I]], the first in 1923, the second in 1989–1990. Both events resulted in the introduction of new currencies. In 1924, the [[Polish złoty|złoty]] replaced the original currency of post-war Poland, the mark. This currency was subsequently replaced by another of the same name in 1950. As a result of the second hyperinflation crisis, the current ''new złoty'' was introduced in 1995 (ISO code: PLN).

The newly independent Poland had been struggling with a large budget deficit since its inception in 1918 but it was in 1923 when inflation reached its peak. The exchange rate of the [[Polish mark]] (Mp) to the US dollar dropped from Mp&nbsp;9.— per dollar in 1918 to Mp&nbsp;6,375,000.— per dollar at the end of 1923. A new personal 'inflation tax' was introduced. The resolution of the crisis is attributed to [[Władysław Grabski]], who became [[prime minister of Poland]] in December 1923. Having nominated an all-new government and being granted extraordinary lawmaking powers by the [[Sejm]] for a period of six months, he introduced a new currency, the ''złoty'' ("golden" in Polish), established a new national bank and scrapped the inflation tax, which took place throughout 1924.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbportal.pl/slownik/pozycje-slownika/hiperinflacja|title=Hiperinflacja |publisher=Polish National Bank|date=7 May 2015|language=pl|access-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211235445/https://www.nbportal.pl/slownik/pozycje-slownika/hiperinflacja|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The economic crisis in Poland in the 1980s was accompanied by rising inflation when new money was printed to cover a budget deficit. Although inflation was not as acute as in 1920s, it is estimated that its annual rate reached around 600% in a period of over a year spanning parts of 1989 and 1990. The economy was stabilised by the adoption of the [[Balcerowicz Plan]] in 1989, named after the main author of the reforms, minister of finance [[Leszek Balcerowicz]]. The plan was largely inspired by the previous Grabski's reforms.<ref name=":0"/>

===Philippines===
The Japanese government occupying the Philippines during [[World War II]] issued fiat currencies for general circulation. The Japanese-sponsored [[Second Philippine Republic]] government led by [[Jose P. Laurel]] at the same time outlawed possession of other currencies, most especially "guerrilla money". The fiat money's lack of value earned it the derisive nickname "Mickey Mouse money". Survivors of the war often tell tales of bringing suitcases or ''bayong'' (native bags made of woven coconut or [[Corypha|buri]] leaf strips) overflowing with Japanese-issued notes. Early on, 75 [[Japanese government-issued Philippine fiat peso|JIM pesos]] could buy one duck egg.<ref name="LATimes.com_pera">{{cite news|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |title=A Return to Wartime Philippines |first=Barbara A. |last=Noe |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-tr-philippines7aug07,0,648886,full.story?coll=la-editions-valley |date=7 August 2005 |access-date=16 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217145642/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-tr-philippines7aug07%2C0%2C648886%2Cfull.story?coll=la-editions-valley |archive-date=17 February 2009 }}</ref> In 1944, a box of matches cost more than 100 JIM pesos.<ref>{{cite book |author1-link=Teodoro Agoncillo|last1=Agoncillo |first1=Teodoro A. |last2=Guerrero |first2=Milagros C. |title=History of the Filipino People |year=1986 |publisher=R. P. Garcia |location=Quezon City, Philippines}}</ref>

In 1942, the highest denomination available was ₱10. Before the end of the war, because of inflation, the Japanese government was forced to issue ₱100, ₱500, and ₱1,000 notes.
* Start and end date: January 1944 – December 1944
* Peak month and rate of inflation: January 1944, 60%<ref>Hartendorp, A. (1958). ''History of Industry and Trade of the Philippines'', Manila: American Chamber of Commerce on the Philippines.</ref>

===Soviet Union===
{{Main|Hyperinflation in early Soviet Russia}}

A seven-year period of uncontrollable spiralling inflation occurred in the early [[Soviet Union]], running from the earliest days of the [[Bolshevik Revolution]] in November 1917 to the reestablishment of the [[gold standard]] with the introduction of the [[chervonets]] as part of the [[New Economic Policy]]. The inflationary crisis effectively ended in March 1924 with the introduction of the so-called "gold ruble" as the country's standard currency.

The early Soviet hyperinflationary period was marked by three successive [[redenomination|redenominations of its currency]], in which "new rubles" replaced old at the rates of 10,000:1 (1 January 1922), 100:1 (1 January 1923), and 50,000:1 (7 March 1924), respectively.

Between 1921 and 1922, inflation in the [[Soviet Union]] reached 213%.

=== Venezuela ===
{{main|Hyperinflation in Venezuela}}
{{See also|Crisis in Venezuela}}
[[File:Venezuela inflation on the black market (DolarToday) on a logarithmic scale.png|thumb|upright=1.8|The value of one US dollar in Venezuelan bolivares on the black market through time, according to DolarToday.com. Blue and red vertical lines represent every time the currency has lost 99% of its value. This has happened almost five times since 2012, meaning that the currency is worth, as of November 2020, almost 1 billion times less than in August 2012.]]

Venezuela's hyperinflation began in November 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2018/08/18/venezuelas-great-bolivar-scam-nothing-but-a-face-lift/#7edf9d24c23e|title=Venezuela's Great Bolivar Scam, Nothing but a Face Lift|last1=Hanke|first1=Steve|date=18 August 2018|work=[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]]|access-date=19 August 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819002426/https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2018/08/18/venezuelas-great-bolivar-scam-nothing-but-a-face-lift/#7edf9d24c23e|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Inflation of [[Venezuela]]'s [[Bolivar fuerte|bolivar fuerte (VEF)]] in 2014 reached 69%<ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela 2014 inflation hits 68.5 pct -central bank|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-inflation/venezuela-2014-inflation-hits-68-5-pct-central-bank-idUSL1N0VN2H720150214|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509113916/https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-inflation/venezuela-2014-inflation-hits-68-5-pct-central-bank-idUSL1N0VN2H720150214|archive-date=9 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and was the highest in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-annual-inflation-180-percent-opposition-newspaper-idUSKCN0RV4WN20151001|title=Venezuela annual inflation 180 percent|date=1 October 2015|work=Reuters|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027232729/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-annual-inflation-180-percent-opposition-newspaper-idUSKCN0RV4WN20151001|archive-date=27 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Three Countries with the Highest Inflation|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2014/05/09/the-three-countries-with-the-highest-inflation/#6128ab54172e|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224012719/https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2014/05/09/the-three-countries-with-the-highest-inflation/#6128ab54172e|archive-date=24 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, inflation was 181%, the highest in the world and the highest in the country's history at that time,<ref name="FPblackbox">{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/13/looking-into-the-black-box-of-venezuelas-economy-caracas-bolivar-maduro/|title=Looking into the Black Box of Venezuela's Economy|last1=Cristóbal Nagel|first1=Juan|date=13 July 2015|access-date=14 July 2015|work=[[Foreign Policy]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714062948/http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/13/looking-into-the-black-box-of-venezuelas-economy-caracas-bolivar-maduro/|archive-date=14 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Venezuela annual inflation 180 percent: opposition newspaper|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-annual-inflation-180-percent-opposition-newspaper-idUSKCN0RV4WN20151001|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027232729/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-annual-inflation-180-percent-opposition-newspaper-idUSKCN0RV4WN20151001|archive-date=27 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> 800% in 2016,<ref>[https://worldinfigures.com/country-profiles/VE Venezuela country profile (Economy tab)], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804165323/https://worldinfigures.com/country-profiles/VE |date=4 August 2019 }} ''World in Figures''. Retrieved 14 June 2017.</ref> over 4,000% in 2017,<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-food/venezuelans-report-big-weight-losses-in-2017-as-hunger-hits-idUSKCN1G52HA|title=Venezuelans report big weight losses in 2017 as hunger hits|last=Sequera|first=Vivian|date=21 February 2018|work=Reuters|access-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222223217/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-food/venezuelans-report-big-weight-losses-in-2017-as-hunger-hits-idUSKCN1G52HA|archive-date=22 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-2016-inflation-hits-800-percent-gdp-shrinks-19-percent-document-idUSKBN154244|title=Venezuela 2016 inflation hits 800 percent, GDP shrinks 19 percent: document|last=Corina|first=Pons|date=20 January 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115215302/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuela-2016-inflation-hits-800-percent-gdp-shrinks-19-percent-document-idUSKBN154244|archive-date=15 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="assetmacro">{{cite web|title=AssetMacro|url=https://www.assetmacro.com/venezuela/unemployment-rate/|access-date=15 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216214206/https://www.assetmacro.com/venezuela/unemployment-rate/|archive-date=16 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BBCVenezuela">{{cite news|last1=Davies|first1=Wyre|title=Venezuela's decline fuelled by plunging oil prices|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-35622188|access-date=20 February 2016|publisher=BBC News, Latin America|date=20 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221035418/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-35622188|archive-date=21 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and 1,698,488% in 2018,<ref>{{cite news|title=Inflación de 2018 cerró en 1.698.488%, según la Asamblea Nacional|language=es|trans-title=Inflation in 2018 closed at 1,698,488%, according to the National Assembly|url=http://efectococuyo.com/principales/inflacion-de-2018-cerro-en-1-698-488-segun-la-asamblea-nacional|access-date=9 January 2019|agency=Efecto Cocuyo|date=9 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110133641/http://efectococuyo.com/principales/inflacion-de-2018-cerro-en-1-698-488-segun-la-asamblea-nacional/|archive-date=10 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> with Venezuela spiraling into hyperinflation.<ref name="NYThyperinflation">{{cite news|last1=Herrero|first1=Ana Vanessa|last2=Malkin|first2=Elisabeth|title=Venezuela Issues New Bank Notes Because of Hyperinflation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/world/americas/nuevos-billetes-venezuela-new-banknotes.html?_r=0|access-date=17 January 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731041129/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/world/americas/nuevos-billetes-venezuela-new-banknotes.html?_r=0|archive-date=31 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> While the Venezuelan government "has essentially stopped" producing official inflation estimates as of early 2018, one estimate of the rate at that time was 5,220%, according to inflation economist [[Steve Hanke]] of [[Johns Hopkins University]].<ref name="NYRoB-2018">{{cite journal|last1=Krauze|first1=Enrique|title=Hell of a Fiesta|journal=New York Review of Books|date=8 March 2018|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/03/08/venezuela-hell-fiesta/|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222031050/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/03/08/venezuela-hell-fiesta/|archive-date=22 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Inflation has affected Venezuelans so much that in 2017, some people became video game [[gold farmer]]s and could be seen playing games such as ''[[RuneScape]]'' to sell in-game currency or characters for real currency. In many cases, these gamers made more money than salaried workers in Venezuela even though they were earning just a few dollars per day.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rosati|first1=Andrew|title=Desperate Venezuelans Turn to Video Games to Survive|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/desperate-venezuelans-turn-to-video-games-to-survive|access-date=6 December 2017|work=[[Bloomberg.com|Bloomberg]]|date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206014208/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-05/desperate-venezuelans-turn-to-video-games-to-survive|archive-date=6 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> During the Christmas season of 2017, some shops would no longer use price tags since prices would inflate so quickly, so customers were required to ask staff at stores, known as {{lang|la|habladores}} ("talkers"), how much each item was. Some then further cut costs by replacing the "talkers" with computer screens.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tiendas de ropa eliminan etiquetas y habladores para agilizar aumento de precios |trans-title=Clothing stores eliminate price labels and talkers to speed up price increases |url=http://www.diariolaregion.net/2017/12/12/tiendas-de-ropa-eliminan-etiquetas-y-habladores-para-agilizar-aumento-de-precios/|access-date=16 December 2017|work=Diario La Region|date=12 December 2017|language=es-ES|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215211841/http://www.diariolaregion.net/2017/12/12/tiendas-de-ropa-eliminan-etiquetas-y-habladores-para-agilizar-aumento-de-precios/|archive-date=15 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[International Monetary Fund]] estimated in 2018 that Venezuela's inflation rate would reach 1,000,000% by the end of the year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/venezuelan-inflation-predicted-to-hit-1-million-percent-this-year.html|title=Venezuelan inflation predicted to hit 1 million percent this year|last=Amaro|first=Silvia|date=27 July 2018|work=[[CNBC]]|access-date=29 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728105617/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/27/venezuelan-inflation-predicted-to-hit-1-million-percent-this-year.html|archive-date=28 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> This forecast was criticized by Steve H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at The Johns Hopkins University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute. According to Hanke, the IMF had released a "bogus forecast" because "no one has ever been able to accurately forecast the course or the duration of an episode of hyperinflation. But that has not stopped the IMF from offering inflation forecasts for Venezuela that have proven to be wildly inaccurate".<ref name=Hanke>{{cite web |last1=Hanke |first1=Steve |title=IMF Produces Another Bogus Venezuela Inflation Forecast |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2018/07/31/imf-produces-another-bogus-venezuela-inflation-forecast/#78430a7b7dc8 |website=Forbes |access-date=31 August 2018 |date=31 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831104955/https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2018/07/31/imf-produces-another-bogus-venezuela-inflation-forecast/#78430a7b7dc8 |archive-date=31 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2018, hyperinflation in Venezuela was sitting at 33,151%, "the 23rd most severe episode of hyperinflation in history".<ref name="Hanke" />

In April 2019, the International Monetary Fund estimated that inflation would reach 10,000,000% by the end of 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEO/WEOWORLD/VEN |title=
Inflation rate, average consumer prices: Annual percent change |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529113756/https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEO/WEOWORLD/VEN |archive-date=29 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2019, the [[Central Bank of Venezuela]] released economic data for the first time since 2015. According to this release, the inflation of Venezuela was 274% in 2016, 863% in 2017 and 130,060% in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2019/05/29/venezuela-l-inflation-a-ete-de-130-060-en-2018_5469091_3210.html|title=Au Venezuela, l'inflation a été de 130 060 % en 2018 |language=fr |trans-title=In Venezuela, inflation was 130,060% in 2018|date=29 May 2019|work=Le Monde|access-date=31 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530200722/https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2019/05/29/venezuela-l-inflation-a-ete-de-130-060-en-2018_5469091_3210.html|archive-date=30 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The annualised inflation rate as of April 2019 was estimated to be 282,972.8% as of April 2019, and cumulative inflation from 2016 to April 2019 was estimated at 53,798,500%.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.venezuelaaldia.com/2019/05/28/banco-central-venezuela-hiperinflacion-2016/|title=BCV admits hyperinflation of 53,798,500% since 2016|date=28 May 2019|work=Venezuela Al Dia|access-date=5 June 2019|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529191528/http://www.venezuelaaldia.com/2019/05/28/banco-central-venezuela-hiperinflacion-2016/|archive-date=29 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The new reports imply a contraction of more than half of the economy in five years, according to the ''Financial Times'' "one of the biggest contractions in Latin American history".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5cb83c1c-821b-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b|title=Venezuela data offer rare glimpse of economic chaos|last=Long|first=Gideon|date=29 May 2019|website=Financial Times|access-date=31 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530085333/https://www.ft.com/content/5cb83c1c-821b-11e9-b592-5fe435b57a3b|archive-date=30 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> According to undisclosed sources from Reuters, the release of these numbers was due to pressure from China, a Maduro ally. One of these sources claims that the disclosure of economic numbers may bring Venezuela into compliance with the IMF, making it harder to support [[Juan Guaidó]] during [[2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis|the presidential crisis]].<ref name=reutersIMFdeniesBCV>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-imf-idUSKCN1T01YW|title=IMF denies pressuring Venezuela to release economic data|last1=Wroughton|first1=Lesley|date=30 May 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=31 May 2019|last2=Pons|first2=Corina|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530193700/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-imf-idUSKCN1T01YW|archive-date=30 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, the IMF was not able to support the validity of the data as they had not been able to contact the authorities.<ref name=reutersIMFdeniesBCV />
* Start and end date: November 2016 – present
* Peak month and rate of inflation: April 2018, 234% ([[Steve Hanke|Hanke]] estimate);<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fstevehanke%2Ffiles%2F2018%2F05%2FHanke-Krus-World-Hyperinflation-Table-For-Latin-America-1200x673.jpg |title=The Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table for Latin America (2013, Amended May 2018) |website=Forbes |access-date=26 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522044709/https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fstevehanke%2Ffiles%2F2018%2F05%2FHanke-Krus-World-Hyperinflation-Table-For-Latin-America-1200x673.jpg |archive-date=22 May 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Please cite the article this image comes from, instead of the image itself, which has no metadata|date=June 2024}} September 2018, 233% ([[National Assembly (Venezuela)|National Assembly]] estimate)<ref>{{cite news|title=El Parlamento venezolano cree que la inflación llegará al 4.300.000 % en 2018|language=es|trans-title=Venezuelan parliament believes inflation will reach 4,300,000% in 2018|url=https://es.finance.yahoo.com/noticias/parlamento-venezolano-cree-inflaci%C3%B3n-llegar%C3%A1-4-300-000-181614580--business.html|access-date=8 October 2018|agency=EFE|work=Yahoo! Finance|date=8 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008222621/https://es.finance.yahoo.com/noticias/parlamento-venezolano-cree-inflaci%C3%B3n-llegar%C3%A1-4-300-000-181614580--business.html|archive-date=8 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Vietnam===
Vietnam went through a period of chaos and high inflation in the late 1980s, with inflation peaking at 774% in 1988, after the country's "price-wage-currency" reform package, led by then-Deputy Prime Minister {{ill|Trần Phương|vt|Trần Phương (phó thủ tướng)}}, had failed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Napier |first1=Nancy K. |last2=Vuong |first2=Quan Hoang |title=What we see, why we worry, why we hope: Vietnam going forward |publisher=Boise State University CCI Press |year=2013 |location=Boise, Idaho |page=140 |isbn=978-0985530587}}</ref> High inflation also occurred in the early stages of the socialist-oriented market economic reforms commonly referred to as the [[Đổi Mới]].

===Yugoslavia===
[[File:500000000000 dinars.jpg|thumb|right|A 500&nbsp;billion&nbsp;<small>DIN</small> banknote circa 1993, the largest nominal value ever officially printed in Yugoslavia, the final result of hyperinflation]]

[[Hyperinflation in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] happened before and during the period of [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], from 1989 to 1991. In April 1992, one of its successor states, [[FR Yugoslavia]], entered a period of [[hyperinflation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], that lasted until 1994. One of several regional conflicts accompanying the dissolution of Yugoslavia was the Bosnian War (1992–1995). The Belgrade government of Slobodan Milošević backed ethnic Serbian forces in the conflict, resulting in a United Nations boycott of Yugoslavia. The UN boycott collapsed an economy already weakened by regional war, with the projected monthly inflation rate accelerating to one million percent by December 1993 (prices double every 2.3 days).<ref>{{cite news|date=31 December 1993|work=The New York Times|title=Where Zillion Loses Meaning}}</ref>

The highest denomination in 1988 was 50,000&nbsp;<small>[[Yugoslav dinar|DIN]]</small>. By 1989, it was 2,000,000&nbsp;<small>DIN</small>. In the 1990 currency reform, 1 new dinar was exchanged for 10,000 old dinars. After socialist Yugoslavia broke up, the 1992 currency reform in FR Yugoslavia led to 1 new dinar being exchanged for 10 old dinars. The highest denomination in 1992 was 50,000&nbsp;<small>DIN</small>. By 1993, it was 10,000,000,000&nbsp;<small>DIN</small>. In the 1993 currency reform, 1 new dinar was exchanged for 1,000,000 old dinars. Before the year was over, however, the highest denomination was 500,000,000,000 dinars. In the 1994 currency reform, 1 new dinar was exchanged for 1,000,000,000 old dinars. In another currency reform a month later, 1 novi dinar was exchanged for 13 million dinars (1 novi dinar = 1 [[Deutsche mark|Deutschmark]] at the time of exchange). The overall impact of hyperinflation was that 1 novi dinar was equal to {{val|1|e=27}} – {{val|1.3|e=27}} pre-1990 dinars. [[Yugoslavia]]'s rate of inflation hit {{val|5|e=15}}% cumulative inflation over the time period 1 October 1993 and 24 January 1994. <!--PLEASE DO NOT ADD A PRICE DOUBLING OF EVERY 16 HOURS. This is a figure over the nearly 4 month period given, not a monthly inflation, please don't confuse it with a monthly inflation and also don't change it to per month since I believe the inflation was higher near the end so it would be misleading--><!--The 313 million percent per month in January 1994 was the correct one-->

#SFR Yugoslavia:
#* Start and end date: September 1989 – December 1989
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: December 1989, 59.7%
#FR Yugoslavia:
#* Start and end date: April 1992 – January 1994
#* Peak month and rate of inflation: January 1994, {{val|3.13e9}}%<ref>{{cite book |last=Rostowski |first=J. |year=1998 |title=Macroeconomic Instability in Post-Communist Countries |location=New York |publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref>

===Zimbabwe===
{{Main|Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe}}
[[File:Zimbabwe $100 trillion 2009 Obverse.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Zimbabwean dollar|Z$]]100&nbsp;trillion banknote (Z$10<sup>14</sup>), equal to Z$10<sup>27</sup> (1 [[octillion]]) pre-2006 dollars]]
[[File:Zimbabwe inflation.webp|thumb|Zimbabwe inflation of almost 25,000% in 2007]]

Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was one of the few instances that resulted in the abandonment of the local currency. At independence in 1980, the [[Zimbabwe dollar]] (ZWD) was worth about US$1.49 (or 67 Zimbabwean cents per U.S. dollar). Afterwards, however, rampant inflation and the collapse of the economy severely devalued the currency. Inflation was relatively steady until the early 1990s when economic disruption caused by failed [[Land reform in Zimbabwe|land reform]] agreements and rampant government corruption resulted in reductions in food production and the decline of foreign investment. Several multinational companies began [[hoarding]] retail goods in warehouses in Zimbabwe and just south of the border, preventing commodities from becoming available on the market.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2077774.stm |date=1 July 2002 |title=Mugabe warns of business take-overs |work=BBC News |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2077774.stm |archive-date=2 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201709260656.html |title=Zimbabwe: Industry Allays Fears of Shortages |work=allAfrica
|date=26 September 2017 |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223645/https://allafrica.com/stories/201709260656.html |archive-date=2 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.news24.com/News24/Archive/0,,2-1659_1401988,00.html |title=Zim: More white farms listed |date=14 August 2003|access-date=10 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108210236/http://www.news24.com/News24/Archive/0,,2-1659_1401988,00.html |archive-date=8 January 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Greenspan, Alan. ''The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World''. New York: The Penguin Press. 2007. Page 339.</ref> The result was that to pay its expenditures Mugabe's government and [[Gideon Gono]]'s [[Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe|Reserve Bank]] printed more and more notes with higher face values.

Hyperinflation began early in the 21st century, reaching 624% in 2004. It fell back to low triple digits before surging to a new high of 1,730% in 2006. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe revalued on 1 August 2006 at a ratio of 1,000 ZWD to each second dollar (ZWN), but year-to-year inflation rose by June 2007 to 11,000% (versus an earlier estimate of 9,000%). Larger denominations were progressively issued in 2008:
# 5 May: banknotes or "bearer cheques" for the value of Z$100&nbsp;million and Z$250&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Zimbabwe_issues_250_mn_dollar_banknote_to_tackle_price_spiral/articleshow/3015531.cms |title=Zimbabwe issues 250 mn dollar banknote to tackle price spiral |work=The Economic Times |access-date=8 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111174158/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Zimbabwe_issues_250_mn_dollar_banknote_to_tackle_price_spiral/articleshow/3015531.cms |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>
# 15 May: new bearer cheques with a value of Z$500&nbsp;million (then equivalent to about US$2.50).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7402943.stm |date=15 May 2008 |title=Zimbabwe bank issues $500m note |work=BBC News |access-date=15 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519194436/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7402943.stm |archive-date=19 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
# 20 May: a new series of notes ("agro cheques") in denominations of Z$5&nbsp;billion, Z$25&nbsp;billion and Z$50&nbsp;billion.
# 21 July: a "[[special agro-cheque]]" for Z$100&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL19624102/ |title=Zimbabwe to introduce 100 bln dollar bank note |website=Reuters |date=19 July 2008}}</ref>

Inflation by 16 July officially surged to 2,200,000%<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7509715.stm |work=BBC News |title=Zimbabwe inflation at 2,200,000% |date=16 July 2008 |access-date=26 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930035003/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7509715.stm |archive-date=30 September 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> with some analysts estimating figures surpassing 9,000,000%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thezimbabweindependent.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20637:inflation-gallops-ahead&catid=28:zimbabwe%20business%20stories&Itemid=59 |title=Inflation gallops ahead: 9000&nbsp;000% |date=26 June 2008|work=The Zimbabwe Independent |access-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809003510/http://www.theindependent.co.zw/?option=com_content&view=article&id=20637:inflation-gallops-ahead&catid=28:zimbabwe%2520business%2520stories&Itemid=59 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As of 22 July 2008 the value of the Zimbabwe dollar fell to approximately Z$688&nbsp;billion per US$1, or Z$688&nbsp;trillion in pre-August 2006 Zimbabwean dollars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zimbabweanequities.com/ |title=ZimbabweanEQUITIES |access-date=30 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820125348/http://www.zimbabweanequities.com/ |archive-date=20 August 2008 }}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=Source doesn't cite this figure|date=September 2019}}

{|class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Date of<br />redenomination !! Currency<br />code !! Value
|-
| 1 August 2006
| ZWN
| style="text-align:right;"|$1,000 ZWD
|-
| 1 August 2008
| ZWR
| style="text-align:right;"|${{10^|10}} ZWN<br />= ${{10^|13}} ZWD
|-
| 2 February 2009
| ZWL
| style="text-align:right;"|${{10^|12}} ZWR<br />= ${{10^|22}} ZWN<br />= ${{10^|25}} ZWD
|}

On 1 August 2008, the Zimbabwe dollar was redenominated at the ratio of {{10^|10}} ZWN to each third dollar (ZWR).<ref>{{cite news |last=Dzirutwe |first=MacDonald |date=9 December 2014 |title=Zimbabwe's Mugabe fires deputy, seven ministers |url=https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0JN1JD20141209 |work=Reuters |access-date=10 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213220157/http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0JN1JD20141209 |archive-date=13 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 19 August 2008, official figures announced for June estimated the inflation over 11,250,000%.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7569894.stm |work=BBC News |title=Zimbabwe inflation rockets higher |date=19 August 2008 |access-date=26 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224190511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7569894.stm |archive-date=24 February 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Zimbabwe's annual inflation was 231,000,000% in July<ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081009/wl_africa_afp/zimbabweeconomyinflation] {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> (prices doubling every 17.3 days). By October 2008 Zimbabwe was mired in hyperinflation with wages falling far behind inflation. In this dysfunctional economy hospitals and schools had chronic staffing problems, because many nurses and teachers could not afford bus fare to work. Most of the capital of Harare was without water because the authorities had stopped paying the bills to buy and transport the treatment chemicals. Desperate for foreign currency to keep the government functioning, Zimbabwe's central bank governor, Gideon Gono, sent runners into the streets with suitcases of Zimbabwean dollars to buy up American dollars and South African rand.<ref>{{cite news|author=Celia W. Dugger|work=The New York Times|title=Life in Zimbabwe: Wait for Useless Money|date=1 October 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/africa/02zimbabwe.html |access-date=25 September 2019}}</ref>

For periods after July 2008, no official inflation statistics were released. Prof. Steve H. Hanke overcame the problem by estimating inflation rates after July 2008 and publishing the Hanke Hyperinflation Index for Zimbabwe.<ref>Steve H. Hanke. "[http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe New Hyperinflation Index (HHIZ) Puts Zimbabwe Inflation at 89.7 Sextillion Percent]". Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute. (Retrieved 17 November 2008) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112062319/http://www.cato.org/zimbabwe |date=12 November 2008 }}</ref> Prof. Hanke's HHIZ measure indicated that the inflation peaked at an annual rate of 89.7 sextillion percent (89,700,000,000,000,000,000,000%, or {{val|8.97e22}}%) in mid-November 2008. The peak monthly rate was 79.6 billion percent, which is equivalent to a 98% daily rate, or around {{gaps|7|base=10|e=108}}% yearly rate. At that rate, prices were doubling every 24.7 hours. Note that many of these figures should be considered mostly theoretical since hyperinflation did not proceed at this rate over a whole year.<ref name="catohanke">Steve H. Hanke and Alex K. F. Kwok. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090820193841/http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj29n2/cj29n2-8.pdf "On the Measurement of Zimbabwe's Hyperinflation"]. ''[[Cato Journal]]'', Vol. 29, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 2009).</ref>

[[File:Zimbabwe dollar notes 1 to 100 trillion 2007 08 Front.jpg|thumb|Selection of 16 original un-circulated Zimbabwe notes ranging in denomination from Z$1 to Z$100&nbsp;trillion. They are all signed by Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, in the period 2007 to 2008, who promises "to pay the bearer on demand".]]
At its November 2008 peak, Zimbabwe's rate of inflation approached, but failed to surpass, Hungary's July 1946 world record.<ref name=catohanke/> On 2 February 2009, the dollar was redenominated for the third time at the ratio of {{10^|12}} ZWR to 1 ZWL, only three weeks after the Z$100&nbsp;trillion banknote was issued on 16 January,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=africa&item=090116063500.qczog3x4.php |url-status=dead |title=IC Publications |access-date=16 January 2009 |archive-date=19 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219230624/http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=africa&item=090116063500.qczog3x4.php }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7865259.stm |title=Zimbabwe dollar sheds 12 zeros |work=BBC News |date=2 February 2009 |access-date=2 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203151639/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7865259.stm |archive-date=3 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> but hyperinflation waned by then as official inflation rates in USD were announced and foreign transactions were legalised,<ref name=catohanke/> and on 12 April the Zimbabwe dollar was abandoned in favour of using only foreign currencies. The overall impact of hyperinflation was US$1 = Z${{10^|25}}.
* Start and end date: March 2007 – mid November 2008
* Peak month and rate of inflation: mid November 2008, {{val|7.96e10}}%<ref>Hanke, S. H. and Kwok, A. K. F. (2009). "On the Measurement of Zimbabwe's Hyperinflation". ''Cato Journal'', 29 (2): 353–364.</ref>
Ironically, following the abandonment of the ZWR and subsequent use of reserve currencies, banknotes from the hyperinflation period of the old Zimbabwe dollar began attracting international attention as collectors items, having accrued [[Numismatics|numismatic value]], selling for prices many orders of magnitude higher than their old purchasing power.<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 May 2016 |first=Dominic |last=Frisby |title=Zimbabwe's trillion-dollar note: from worthless paper to hot investment|url=http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/may/14/zimbabwe-trillion-dollar-note-hyerinflation-investment|access-date=27 March 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last2=Mutsaka |first2=Farai |first1=Patrick |last1=McGroarty|date=11 May 2011|title=How to Turn 100 Trillion Dollars Into Five and Feel Good About It|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576314953091790360.html|access-date=27 March 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

==Most severe hyperinflations in world history==
{{Update section|date=November 2020}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="7"| Highest monthly inflation rates in history as of August 2012<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cato.org/publications/working-paper/world-hyperinflations |title=World Hyperinflations {{pipe}} Steve H. Hanke and Nicholas Krus {{pipe}} Cato Institute: Working Paper |publisher=Cato.org |date=15 August 2012 |access-date=15 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017012645/http://www.cato.org/publications/working-paper/world-hyperinflations |archive-date=17 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.karlwhelan.com/IMB/Hyperinflations.pdf|title=World Hyperinflations|publisher=CNBC|date=14 February 2011|access-date=13 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905085358/http://www.karlwhelan.com/IMB/Hyperinflations.pdf|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!Country
!Currency name
!Month
!Rate (%)
!Equivalent daily inflation rate (%)
!Time required for prices to double
!Highest denomination
|-
|{{flag|Second Hungarian Republic|name=Hungary}}
|[[Hungarian pengő]]
|July 1946
|{{val|4.19e16}}
|207.19
|14.82 hours
|100&nbsp;quintillion&nbsp;P ({{10^|20}})
|-
|{{flag|Zimbabwe}}
|[[Zimbabwe dollar]]
|November 2008
|{{val|7.96e10}}
|98.01
|24.35 hours
|$100&nbsp;trillion ({{10^|14}})
|-
|{{flag|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|name=Yugoslavia}}
|[[Yugoslav dinar]]
|January 1994
|{{val|3.13e8}}
|64.63
|1.39 days
|500 billion&nbsp;<small>DIN</small> ({{val|5e11}})
|-
|{{flaglink|Republika Srpska|variant=1994|(1992–1995)}}
|[[Republika Srpska dinar]]
|January 1994
|{{val|2.97e8}}
|64.35
|1.40 days
|50&nbsp;billion&nbsp;<small>DIN</small> ({{val|5e10}})
|-
|{{flag|Weimar Republic|name=Germany}}
|[[German Papiermark]]
|October 1923
|29,500
|20.89
|3.65 days
|100&nbsp;trillion&nbsp;ℳ ({{10^|14}})
|-
|{{flag|Kingdom of Greece|name=Greece}}
|[[Modern drachma|Greek drachma]]
|October 1944
|13,800
|17.88
|4.21 days
|₯100&nbsp;billion ({{10^|11}})
|-
|{{flag|Republic of China (1912–1949)|name=China}}
|[[Yuan (currency)#Republican era|Chinese yuan]]
|April 1949
|5,070
|14.06
|5.27 days
|¥6&nbsp;billion
|-
|{{flag|Italy}}
|[[Italian lira|Italian Lire]]
|June 1986
|700
|8.99
|15.77 days
|500,000 Lire
|-
|{{flag|Soviet Union}}
|[[Soviet ruble]]
|September 1989
|674
|7.03
|13.09 days
|100,000 Ruble
|}

==Units of inflation==
[[Inflation rate]] is usually measured in percent per year. It can also be measured in percent per month or in price doubling time.

<!-- TABLES NOTE: "Unfortunately, the only way to align columns of numbers at the decimal point is to use two columns, with the first right-justified and the second left-justified." This can be confusing. For example, ... | 1 || ...| .001 below is correct because it displays together as 1.001. See [[Help:Table#Decimal point alignment]] -->
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+'''Example of inflation rates and units'''<br />When first bought, an item cost 1 currency unit. Later, the price rose...
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! style="text-align:center;"| Old price !! style="text-align:center;"| New price 1 year later !! style="text-align:center;"| New price 10 years later !! style="text-align:center;"| New price 100 years later !! style="background:#dcfcdc; text-align:center;"| (Annual) inflation [%] !! style="text-align:center;"| Monthly<br />inflation<br />[%] !! style="text-align:center;"| Price<br />doubling<br />time<br />[years] !! style="text-align:center;"| Zero add time [years]
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .0001
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .001
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .01
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''0.01''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .0008
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 6931 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"|
|}
|23028
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .001
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .01
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .11
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''0.1''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .00833
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 693 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"|
|}
|2300
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .003
|}
|
{| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .03
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .35
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''0.3''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .0250
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 231 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"|
|}
|769
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .01
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .10
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 2 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .70
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''1''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .0830
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 69 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .7
|}
|231
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .03
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .34
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 19 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .2
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''3''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .247
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 23 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .4
|}
|77.9
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .1
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 2 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .59
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 13800 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''10''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .797
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 7 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .27
|}
|24.1
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 2 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1024 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.27 × 10<sup>30</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''100''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 5 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .95
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 1 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"|
|}
|3.32
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10<sup>10</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10<sup>100</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''900''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 21 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .2
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .301 ''({{frac|3|2|3}} months)''
|}
|1
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 31 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 8.20 × 10<sup>14</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.37 × 10<sup>149</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''3000''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 32 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"| .8
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .202 ''({{frac|2|1|2}} months)''
|}
|0.671 ''(8 months)''
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 129.7463 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.35 × 10<sup>21</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 2.04 × 10<sup>211</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''12874.63''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 50 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .1424 ''(52 days)''
|}
|0.4732 ''({{frac|5|2|3}} months)''
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10<sup>12</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10<sup>120</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 10<sup>1,200</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''10<sup>14</sup>''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 900 || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .0251 ''(9 days)''
|}
|0.0833 ''(1 month)''
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.67 × 10<sup>73</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.69 × 10<sup>732</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.87 × 10<sup>7,322</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''1.67 × 10<sup>75</sup>''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.26 × 10<sup>8</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .00411 ''(36 hours)''
|}
|0.0137 ''(5 days)''
|-
|1 ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.05 × 10<sup>2,637</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.69 × 10<sup>26,370</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 1.89 × 10<sup>263,702</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
| style="background:#f7fcf7;"| '''1.05 × 10<sup>2,639</sup>''' ||
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:120px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:80px;"| 5.65 × 10<sup>221</sup> || style="text-align:left; width:40px;"|
|}
|
{|cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:150px;"
|-
| style="text-align:right; width:30px;"| 0 || style="text-align:left; width:120px;"| .000114 ''(1 hour)''
|}
|0.000379 ''(3.3 hours)''
|-
|}

<math>\hbox{New price } y \hbox{ years later} = \hbox{old price} \times \left(1+\frac{\hbox{inflation}}{100}\right)^{y}</math>

<math>\hbox{Monthly inflation} = 100 \times \left(\left(1+\frac{\hbox{inflation}}{100}\right)^{\frac{1}{12}} -1\right)</math>

<math>\hbox{Price doubling time} = \frac{1}{\log_2 \left(1+ \frac{\hbox{inflation}}{100}\right)}</math>

<math>\hbox{Years per added zero of the price} = \frac{1}{\log_{10} \left(1+ \frac{\hbox{inflation}}{100}\right)}</math>

Often, at [[redenomination]]s, three zeros are cut from the face values of denominations. It can be read from the table that if the (annual) inflation is for example 100%, it takes about 3.32 years for prices to increase by an [[order of magnitude]] (e.g., to produce one more zero on the price tags), or 9.97 years to produce three zeros. Thus can one expect a redenomination to take place about ten years after the currency was introduced.

==See also==
* [[Blockade]]
* [[Chronic inflation]]
* [[Currency crisis]]
* [[Debt]]
* [[Fiat money]]
* The collection of [[precious metals]] for financial purposes, including as a hedge against inflation:
** [[Gold as an investment]]
** [[Silver as an investment]]
** [[Platinum as an investment]]
** [[Palladium as an investment]]
* [[Hoarding (economics)]]
* [[Hyperstagflation]]
* [[Inflation in India]] 
* [[Inflation accounting]]
* [[Inflationism]]
* [[Inflation hedge]]
* [[Liberty dollar (private currency)]]
* [[Negative interest rates]]
* [[Outline of economics]]
* [[Zero stroke]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|author=Peter Bernholz|title=Monetary Regimes and Inflation: History, Economic and Political Relationships|edition=2nd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u8TiBwAAQBAJ|year= 2015|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-78471-763-6}}
* Cagan, Phillip, "The Monetary Dynamics of Hyperinflation." In Milton Friedman, ed., [https://books.google.com/books?id=p0L6MAAACAAJ ''Studies in the Quantity Theory of Money'']. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956.
* Shun-Hsin Chou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6Po6AAAAIAAJ ''The Chinese Inflation 1937–1949''], New York, Columbia University Press, 1963, {{LCCN|6218260}}
* {{cite book|author=Andrew Dickson White|title=Fiat Money Inflation in France|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dn3OaX-71PIC|year=1933|publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute|isbn=978-1-61016-449-8}} a popular description of the 1789–1799 inflation
* Wolfgang Chr. Fischer (Editor), "[http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/11756/ German Hyperinflation 1922/23 – A Law and Economics Approach]", Eul Verlag, Köln, Germany 2010.
* {{cite book|editor=Pierre L. Siklos|title=Great Inflations of the 20th Century: Theories, Policies, and Evidence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jv9kzncj0gUC|date=1995|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1-78195-635-9}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://commodity.com/blog/hyperinflation/ Wheelbarrows of Money: 5 Times Currencies Crashed] at Commodity.com

{{Economics}}
{{Financial crises}}
{{Portal bar|Money|Economics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Economic collapses]]
[[Category:Financial crises]]
[[Category:Hyperinflation| ]]