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Taiwan experienced hyperinflation during the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940s. As the Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan, they brought with them a failing economy and massive inflation from the mainland. By the end of 1948, the nation was already issuing one million dollar bills.
The highest monthly inflation rate measured in Taiwan peaked at around 399%, with prices doubling roughly every 15 days. The old Taiwanese dollar was replaced by the New Taiwan Dollar (pictured) in June 1949, which ultimately stabilized the economy.
In the mid-1970s, Argentina started experiencing a substantial bout of hyperinflation, and the average rate increased at around 300% annually until it reached a high of 5,000%. Shockingly, the prices of products increased more than 20 billion times.
The crisis was caused by many factors, including excessive money printing and loss of confidence in the Argentinean currency, the peso. The economy was only stabilized in 1991 after the peso was pegged to the same value as the US dollar.
During the Bosnian War (1992–1995), Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered hyperinflation that caused the nation’s monthly rates to exceed 320%. Prices in the country doubled approximately every 12 days, which was caused by the war’s disruption of the nation’s economy.
Alongside economic disruptions, the Bosnian War also caused a major loss of industrial output, and so the Bosnian dinar (pictured) was excessively hyperinflated. The currency and economy were only stabilized after the war, when economic reforms were put in place.
Over an incredibly short period of two months in 1990, Peru experienced hyperinflation that reached rates of almost 400%. Economic mismanagement and political instability under President Alberto Fujimori (pictured) are factors that caused the crisis, and prices were eventually doubling every 13 days.
The Peruvian government introduced various economic reforms, including the "Fujishock" program that targeted inflation rates. The reforms certainly managed to stabilize the economy, and the country was able to adopt a new currency, the nuevo sol, in 1991.
Unlike the other countries in this gallery, Sudan’s hyperinflation is currently an ongoing problem. Indeed, the country has faced inflation issues for many years thanks to various political disturbances, and the nation’s high rate of population growth has only added to the problem.
Sudan has faced hyperinflation at multiple points in its history, but 2021 saw the highest inflation rates of 359%. The country has attempted to stabilize the economy multiple times by reducing spending and devaluing the currency, but these measures have proven wholly ineffective.
This is certainly the oldest example featured on this list. During the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, France experienced hyperinflation due to its unstable economy and huge war expenditures. The nation experienced its highest monthly inflation rate in August 1796, with a rate of more than 300%.
Prices at this time were doubling every 15 days, and public confidence in the country’s currency was rapidly diminishing. The Napoleonic regime was finally able to introduce the franc as a new currency in 1803, which helped stabilize the economy and restore financial order.
In the early 1990s, inflation rates in Turkmenistan peaked at more than 3,000%, and prices doubled almost every 12 days. Turkmenistan was one of many former Soviet countries to fall prey to hyperinflation due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Turkmenistan’s economy had poor control over its currency, the manat, and it also relied poorly on only a single export (natural gas). Stability was achieved only after the country established reforms in 1993.
Much like Turkmenistan, Armenia also experienced hyperinflation following the collapse of the Soviet Union, with inflation rates reaching over 11,000% annually in 1994. Shockingly, prices doubled approximately every nine days.
Hyperinflation in Armenia was also affected by the country’s war with Azerbaijan and blockades (like the one pictured here) that limited trade with other countries. Ultimately, the reintroduction of Armenia’s independent currency, the dram, was able to stabilize the economy.
As the Chinese Civil War (pictured) was reaching its end in 1949, the nation started experiencing a major surge of inflation that reached a peak of 5,070% in April of that year. Food prices increased 47 trillion times during this period, which started drastically affecting Taiwan’s economy as well.
The civil war disrupted economic activities extremely and led to excessive money printing by the Nationalist government. Eventually, the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, and the old yuan was replaced by a new currency, the renminbi.
After the Germans occupied Greece during World War II, the country started experiencing rapid hyperinflation that has been referenced as one of the more extreme examples in history. By October 1944, the country’s inflation rate had reached 13,800%, with prices doubling every four days.
The nation’s hyperinflation was made worse by a civil war that broke out in 1946. This, combined with the German occupation’s demands, led to the collapse of the Greek currency (the drachma). Astonishingly, the currency’s highest denomination was a 100 billion drachma note (pictured, top).
Germany's Weimar Republic suffered hyperinflation from 1921 to 1923, with the monthly inflation rate peaking at 29,500% in October 1923. The country had printed far too much money in order to finance its operations in World War I, and so the nation’s currency (the papiermark) was practically worthless.
By November 1923, one US dollar was equal to 238 million papiermarks, and more than a wheelbarrow full of bills was needed simply to buy a newspaper. The economy was only stabilized after the government introduced a new currency called the rentenmark.
Between 1992 and 1994, the former nation of Yugoslavia experienced massive economic instability that caused its monthly inflation rate to peak at an astounding 313 million percent in January 1994. Social order in the country essentially collapsed during this time, and government agencies found it difficult to maintain the peace.
The economic instability in Yugoslavia was caused by the country’s breakup into separate individual states, as well as government mismanagement and military conflict in the region. The old dinar was eventually replaced by the new dinar in an attempt to stabilize the economy.
One of the more famous examples of hyperinflation can be attributed to the southern African country of Zimbabwe, which occurred between 2007 and 2008. During this time, the country’s inflation rate reached a high of 79.6 billion percent, with prices doubling every 24.7 hours.
The Zimbabwean government printed money excessively, to the point where the currency’s highest denomination was 100 trillion dollars. The nation’s currency was eventually abandoned in favor of foreign currencies.
In the entirety of recorded history, Hungary has experienced the worst hyperinflation of any nation. The country’s hyperinflation period lasted about a year, from 1945 to 1946, and led to the biggest poverty crisis that the country has ever seen. In fact, the highest monthly inflation rate peaked at 4.19 × 10^16 percent in July 1946. That’s 41.9 quadrillion percent!
Hungary’s hyperinflation was driven by the economic aftermath of World War II and reparations payments that needed to be made by the government. At its height, prices in Hungary doubled approximately every 15 hours, and the Hungarian currency of the time (the pengő, pictured) became completely worthless, which led to the introduction of a new currency, the forint, in August 1946.
Sources: (Cato Institute) (Investopedia) (Business Insider) (CNBC) (SoFi Learn) (World Bank)
Intrigued? Click through the following gallery to see which nations have been hit the most by hyperinflation.
Countries that have experienced hyperinflation
These nations once experienced periods when their money was practically worthless
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Imagine living in a country where the price of a cup of coffee doubles in the time that it takes you to drink it. That is the reality of hyperinflation, where the rapid changes of prices can cause everyday items to become exorbitantly expensive, and money is essentially worthless. Many countries around the world have experienced situations like this, and some have never fully recovered.
Intrigued? Click through the following gallery to see which nations have been hit the most by hyperinflation.