Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation is extreme inflation in which the inflation rate exceeds 50% per month. Because the United States has never experienced hyperinflation, many Americans might think it is a theoretical curiosity. In the 20th century, however, there were more than a dozen instances of hyperinflation in the world.

Examples of hyperinflation in the 20th Century

HYPERINFLATION in the 20th Century
Country	Years
Russia	1911-1916
Germany	1923
Hungary	1939-1945
China	1946-1948
Indonesia	1959-1965
Israel	1982-1984
Brazil	1984-1994
Bolivia	1985
Peru	1987
Poland	1989-1990
Argentina	1990-1991
Peru	1990-1992
Russia	1992-1995

Table 1. Examples of hyperinflation in the 20th century.

Hyperinflation is typically caused by the government creating too much money.

A Zimbabwean man holds a new five hundred million dollar note in Harare on May 16, 2008. Zimbabwe was grappling with a record 2.2 million percent inflation rate.


Figure 1. This is a 20 million mark note used during Germany’s hyperinflation in 1923. Even with large denomination notes, it was not uncommon to see people carrying large amounts of currency in a wheelbarrow.