Inflation is generally defined as the continued increase in the average prices of goods and services in a given region. Following the extremely high global inflation experienced in the 1980s and 1990s, global inflation has been relatively stable since the turn of the millennium, usually hovering between three and five percent per year. There was a sharp increase in 2008 due to the global financial crisis now known as the Great Recession, but inflation was fairly stable throughout the 2010s, before the current inflation crisis began in 2021. Recent years Despite the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the global inflation rate fell to 3.26 percent in the pandemic's first year, before rising to 4.66 percent in 2021. This increase came as the impact of supply chain delays began to take more of an effect on consumer prices, before the Russia-Ukraine war exacerbated this further. A series of compounding issues such as rising energy and food prices, fiscal instability in the wake of the pandemic, and consumer insecurity have created a new global recession, and global inflation in 2024 is estimated to have reached 5.76 percent. This is the highest annual increase in inflation since 1996. Venezuela Venezuela is the country with the highest individual inflation rate in the world, forecast at around 200 percent in 2022. While this is figure is over 100 times larger than the global average in most years, it actually marks a decrease in Venezuela's inflation rate, which had peaked at over 65,000 percent in 2018. Between 2016 and 2021, Venezuela experienced hyperinflation due to the government's excessive spending and printing of money in an attempt to curve its already-high inflation rate, and the wave of migrants that left the country resulted in one of the largest refugee crises in recent years. In addition to its economic problems, political instability and foreign sanctions pose further long-term problems for Venezuela. While hyperinflation may be coming to an end, it remains to be seen how much of an impact this will have on the economy, how living standards will change, and how many refugees may return in the coming years.

In January 2025, prices had increased by three percent compared to January 2024 according to the 12-month percentage change in the consumer price index — the monthly inflation rate for goods and services in the United States. The data represents U.S. city averages. In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of the change in price level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal. A projection of the annual U.S. inflation rate can be accessed here and the actual annual inflation rate since 1990 can be accessed here. InflationOne of the most important economic indicators is the development of the Consumer Price Index in a country. The change in this price level of goods and services is defined as the rate of inflation. The inflationary situation in the United States had been relatively severe in 2022 due to global events relating to COVID-19, supply chain restrains, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. More information on U.S. inflation may be found on our dedicated topic page. The annual inflation rate in the United States has increased from 3.2 percent in 2011 to 8.3 percent in 2022. This means that the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar has weakened in recent years. The purchasing power is the extent to which a person has available funds to make purchases. According to the data published by the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) was about 258.84 in 2020 and is forecasted to grow up to 325.6 by 2027, compared to the base period from 1982 to 1984. The monthly percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban consumers in the United States was 0.1 percent in March 2023 compared to the previous month. In 2022, countries all around the world are experienced high levels of inflation. Although Brazil already had an inflation rate of 8.3 percent in 2021, compared to the previous year, while the inflation rate in China stood at 0.85 percent.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has led to changes in expenditure patterns that can introduce significant bias in the measurement of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation. I use publicly-available data on credit and debit card transactions to update the official CPI weights and re-calculate inflation with Covid consumption baskets. I find that the US CPI \emph{underestimated} the Covid inflation rate, particularly during the first three months of the Pandemic, as consumers spent relatively more on food and categories with inflation, and less on transportation and other categories experiencing deflation. By September, US Covid inflation was 1.90\% compared to 1.41\% in the official CPI, and was impacting low-income households the most. I also find evidence of higher Covid inflation in 12 out of 19 additional countries.

Globally, central banks prevented high inflation post-pandemic from becoming embedded in inflation expectations.

In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of the change in price of a basket of goods. The most common measure being the consumer price index. It is the percentage rate of change in price level over time, and also indicates the rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money. The annual rate of inflation for 2023, was 4.1 percent higher in the United States when compared to the previous year. More information on inflation and the consumer price index can be found on our dedicated topic page. Additionally, the monthly rate of inflation in the United States can be accessed here. Inflation and purchasing power Inflation is a key economic indicator, and gives economists and consumers alike a look at changes in prices in the wider economy. For example, if an average pair of socks costs 100 dollars one year and 105 dollars the following year, the inflation rate is five percent. This means the amount of goods an individual can purchase with a unit of currency has decreased. This concept is often referred to as purchasing power. The data presents the average rate of inflation in a year, whereas the monthly measure of inflation measures the change in prices compared with prices one year ago. For example, monthly inflation in the U.S. reached a peak in June 2022 at 9.1 percent. This means that prices were 9.1 percent higher than they were in June of 2021. The purchasing power is the extent to which a person has available funds to make purchases. The Big Mac Index has been published by The Economist since 1986 and exemplifies purchasing power on a global scale, allowing us to see note the differences between different countries currencies. Switzerland for example, has the most expensive Big Mac in the world, costing consumers 6.71 U.S. dollars as of July 2022, whereas a Big Mac cost 5.15 dollars in the United States, and 4.77 dollars in the Euro area. One of the most important tools in influencing the rate of inflation is interest rates. The Federal Reserve of the United States has the capacity to make changes to the federal interest rate . Changes to the rate of inflation are thought to be an imbalance between supply and demand. After COVID-19 related lockdowns came to an end there was a sudden increase in demand for goods and services with consumers having more funds than usual thanks to reduced spending during lockdown and government funded economic support. Additionally, supply-chain related bottlenecks also due to lockdowns around the world and the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant that there was a decrease in the supply of goods and services. By increasing the interest rate, the Federal Reserve aims to reduce spending, and thus bring demand back into balance with supply.

Abstract

Having reliable, timely data on poverty and inequality is critical to assess the distributional impact of and recovery from COVID-19 and high inflation on households and to make near-real time evidence-based strategic decisions. Partnering with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the South Caucasus team in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank conducted a series of Georgia High Frequency Survey to monitor the impact of these events on households in Georgia. This eighth round of the survey is augmented by including questions on the impact of high inflation, disruption in employment and schooling, concerns over environmental risks, and access to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geographic coverage

National coverage, representative at the national, rural/urban/Tbilisi-levels.

Analysis unit

Household, Individual (adult over age 18)

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The survey is based on phone-interviews with application of Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) and random digit dialing (RDD). The sampling frame is representative of the national and rural/urban/Tbilisi population. Around 2000 valid interviews were concluded in each round with response rates around 40%.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

The COVID-19 Georgia High Frequency Survey (GHFS) 2020-22 Wave 1 comprises following modules: 1- Household Identification, 2- Household Demographics, 3- Assets and Access to Internet, 4- Prevalence ofCOVID-19, 5- Distance Learning, 6- Employment Dynamics, 7- Income, 8- Food Security, 9- Shocks and Coping Strategies, 10- Vaccine, 11- Perception.

In waves 2, 3, and 4, module on remittances was added. In wave 4, module on shocks and coping strategies was dropped, but question on job disruption was added. In waves 5 and 6, modules on inflation impact and time use were added. Questions on income and remittances were dropped. In wave 7, questions on income and remittances were brought back. In wave 8, questions on the perception of environmental risks, perception of the country's development, and health services accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic were added.

Cleaning operations

Data cleaning was carried out to identify and, where possible, correct inconsistencies. In addition, open-ended questions with textual responses were recoded so that these answers matched numeric codes. With CATI, the cleaning process was straightforward: pre-programmed questionnaire forms helped to eliminate ambiguous codes from being entered in the dataset. Also, the form did not accept errors related to selecting more values than permitted in the questionnaire. Additional protocols for data cleaning are summarized in the CRRC Fieldwork Report.

Response rate

Response rates were around 40%.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for the United States (FPCPITOTLZGUSA) from 1960 to 2024 about consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

As of April 2025, the inflation rate in the European Union was 2.4 percent, with prices rising fastest in Romania, which had an inflation rate of 4.9 percent. By contrast, both France and Cyprus saw low inflation rates during the same period, with France having the lowest inflation rate in the EU during this month. The rate of inflation in the EU in the October 2022 was higher than at any other time, with the peak prior to 2021 recorded in July 2008 when prices were growing by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Before the recent rises in inflation, price rises in the EU had been kept at relatively low levels, with the inflation rate remaining below three percent between January 2012 and August 2021. Rapid recovery and energy costs driving inflation The reopening of the European economy in 2021 following the sudden shock of COVID-19 in 2020 is behind many of the factors that have caused prices to rise so quickly in 2022. Global supply chains have not yet recovered from production issues, travel restrictions, and workforce problems brought about by the pandemic. Rising energy costs have only served to exacerbate supply problems, particularly with regard to the transport sector, which had the highest inflation rate of any sector in the EU in December 2021. High inflation rates mirrored in the U.S. The high inflation rates seen in Europe have been reflected in other parts of the world. In the United States, for example, the consumer price index reached a 40-year-high of seven percent in December 2021, influenced by many of the same factors driving European inflation. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once these supply chain issues ease, inflation levels will start to fall throughout the course of 2022.

Inflation Rate in China decreased to -0.40 percent in August from 0 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides - China Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Inflation Rate in Russia decreased to 8.10 percent in August from 8.80 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides - Russia Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Inflation Rate in Japan decreased to 2.70 percent in August from 3.10 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Japan Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Inflation Rate in Germany increased to 2.20 percent in August from 2 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Germany Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Inflation data was reported at 41.000 % in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 41.000 % for Feb 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Inflation data is updated monthly, averaging 41.000 % from Jan 2014 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 41.000 % in Mar 2025 and a record low of 41.000 % in Mar 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Inflation data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Federation of Independent Business. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S042: NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Inflation Rate in Vietnam increased to 3.24 percent in August from 3.19 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Vietnam Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Inflation Rate in Brazil decreased to 5.13 percent in August from 5.23 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides - Brazil Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Inflation Rate in Poland decreased to 2.90 percent in August from 3.10 percent in July of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Poland Inflation Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Of the major developed and emerging economies, China had the lowest inflation rate at *** percent in June 2025. On the other end of the spectrum, the inflation rate in Russia stood at nearly ** percent. The country's inflation rate increased sharply after the country's President, Vladimir Putin, decided to invade Ukraine, declined somewhat in 2023, before increasing slowly again since. The rate of inflation reflects changes in the cost of a specified basket containing a representative selection of goods and services. It is derived from the consumer price index (CPI).

Abstract

Like the rest of the world, Sudan has been experiencing the unprecedented social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. From restrictions on movement to school closures and lockdowns, the economic situation worsened, and commodity prices soared across the country. Results from the first six rounds of the High-Frequency Phone survey indicated that household welfare was negatively affected. The situation led to the loss of employment and income, decreased access to essential commodities and services, and food insecurity, particularly among the poor and vulnerable Sudanese. Moreover, the inability to access food and medicine degraded in July/August 2021 despite a slight amelioration in February/April 2021.

After COVID-19 in 2020, Sudan experienced situations that are more likely to compromise the recovery process. Political instability, unrest, and protests occurred before and after the military takeover in October 2021. Meanwhile, Sudan Central Bank devalued the currency, which may increase the already high commodities price. Besides, Sudan encountered historic flooding since the onset of the rainy season between May and June 2022. To monitor and assess the dynamics of the impacts of the country's economic and political situation (high inflation, social unrest, food shortages, asset loss, displacement, etc.) on households' welfare, another round of the Sudan High-Frequency Phone survey took place in June to August 2022.

Similar to the six previous rounds, the survey was conducted using mobile phones and covered all 18 states of Sudan. Round 7 sample is composed of 2816 Households from both urban and rural areas of Sudan. This sample allows us to draw statistical inferences about the Sudanese population at the national and rural/urban levels. The risk of nonresponse was a concern, so efforts were made to minimize this risk, including follow-up with respondents who failed to respond and keep the interviews short (15–20 minutes) to reduce respondent fatigue.

The questions are similar to the previous six rounds of the High-Frequency Phone survey but with added context. Households are asked about the key channels through which individuals and households are expected to be affected by the exchange rate distortions, country political instability, or flooding that occurred in May/June 2022, as well as how they have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic impacts. Furthermore, questions cover a range of topics/themes including, but not limited to, health conditions, access to health facilities, access to other social services, availability of common food and non-food items (including medicines), nutrition and food security, employment/labor, income, assets, coping strategies, remittances, subjective welfare, climate/weather events, and the safety nets assistance.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals

Sampling procedure

The sampling methodology adopted for the implementation of this survey is probabilistic. Each of the units in the targeted population of the study must have a nonzero and known probability of selection. The sample was stratified by rural/urban for all 18 states. The distribution of the sub-sample between states and rural/urban is proportional to the size of the individuals owning mobile phones, i.e., not equal allocation. The selection of the individual phones (the households) is random, i.e., with equal probability, using a systematic sample procedure in the list (frame) of phones. This allows for extrapolating the results of the sample to the target population and estimating the precision of the results obtained. However, the implementation of this approach requires the availability of an adequate sampling frame containing all the units of the population without omissions or duplications.

In this survey, the sampling frame is provided by the phone lists. Considerable efforts were made to compile the frame using multiple lists of phone numbers collected during the implementation of various projects/surveys during the last few years at the household level across the country. This reduces the chances of having more than one phone number per household. Moreover, the interviewers double-checked during data collection that only one number was called for each selected surveyed household. Therefore, selecting individual phone numbers is the same as selecting households. It is worth noting that for West Kordofan and Central Darfur, the proportionality of rural/urban cannot be done according to the size of phones since there are no details for rural/urban. So, the size of the rural and urban populations (projection 2020) was used instead.

In Sudan, under the present federal system, the state is considered a semiautonomous entity mandated to take care of the affairs of the citizen, provide governance, and be responsible for planning, policy formulation, and implementation of the annual program. Consequently, the sample needed to cover all 18 states of the country. The sample is conceived to provide reliable estimates for the country (urban and rural) and to give statistically meaningful results at the national level.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

BASELINE (ROUND 1): One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Knowledge regarding the spread of COVID-19 - Behavior and social distancing - Access to basic goods and services (medicines, staple food, health, education, financial services) - Employment - Income loss - Food insecurity experience - Welfare - Shocks and Coping strategies - Social safety nets

ROUND 2: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Knowledge regarding the spread of COVID-19 - Behavior and social distancing - Access to basic goods and services (medicines, staple food, health, education, financial services, water, transportation, housing, internet, energy) - Employment - Income loss - Food insecurity experience - Welfare - Shocks and Coping strategies - Social safety nets ROUND 3: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Behavior and social distancing - Access to basic goods and services (medicines, staple food, health, education, financial services) - Employment - Income loss - Food insecurity experience - Welfare - Shocks and Coping strategies - Social safety nets ROUND 4: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Youth module screening - Behavior and social distancing - Access to basic goods and services (medicines, staple food, health, education, transportation, fuel) - Employment - Income loss - Food insecurity experience - Welfare - Shocks and Coping strategies - Social safety nets ROUND 5: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. Respondent were asked to think about each child in their household for the education question. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Mental health of the respondent - Children education.

ROUND 6: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. One youth per household is interviewed in the youth section of the questionnaire. The Questionnaire provides information on: - Demographics - Access to basic goods (medicines, staple food) - Youth employment - Youth job search - Youth aspirations and expectations - Youth skills and mental health.

ROUND 7: One questionnaire, the Household Questionnaire, was administered to all households in the sample. The Household Questionnaire provides information on: - Geography - Access to basic goods and services (medicines, staple food, health, education, water, housing, electricity) - Employment - Income loss - Food insecurity experience - Welfare - Experience of Climate/Weather events - Shocks and Coping strategies

Response rate

BASELINE (ROUND 1): A total of 4,032 households were successfully interviewed during the first round of data collection (conducted during June 16–July 5, 2020). Selected households from each state include both rural and urban households, with the representation of each state in the final sample being proportional to the state’s population relative to the overall population. Households who refused to tell their location (mode of living and state) were dropped to minimize bias. The final sample size accounts 4,027 households.

ROUND 2: Interviewers attempted to contact and interview all 4,032 households that were successfully interviewed in the baseline of the Sudan HFS on COVID-19. 2,989 households were successfully interviewed in the second round. However, households who refused to tell their location (mode of living and state) were dropped to minimize bias. The final sample size accounts 2,987 households.

ROUND 3: Interviewers attempted to contact and interview all 4,032 households that were successfully interviewed in the Baseline of the Sudan HFS on COVID-19. 2,990 households were successfully interviewed in the third round. Households who refused to tell their location (mode of living and state) were dropped to minimize bias. The final sample size accounts 2,987 households.

ROUND 4: Interviewers attempted to contact and interview all 4,032 households that were successfully interviewed in the Baseline of the Sudan

Russia Inflation Perception: Last 1-2 Months: Very High data was reported at 53.848 % in Jan 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 55.439 % for Dec 2023. Russia Inflation Perception: Last 1-2 Months: Very High data is updated monthly, averaging 45.000 % from Apr 2017 (Median) to Jan 2024, with 81 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.000 % in Dec 2021 and a record low of 29.750 % in Oct 2022. Russia Inflation Perception: Last 1-2 Months: Very High data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Russian Public Opinion Research Center. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Household Survey – Table RU.HE007: Inflation Expectations and Perception: Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). [COVID-19-IMPACT]

The inflation rate for both Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean reached more than 12 percent in 2023. Among the provided continents or regions, Asia and the Pacific had the lowest inflation rate that year. Consumer prices increased around the world following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Inflation and food security Increases in food costs are one of the most prominent impacts of inflation globally. In the United Kingdom, for example, consumers have indicated that they have worried more about food costs in 2023 than in previous years. Meanwhile, in Canada, only a small fraction of survey respondents have said that inflation has had little impact on household food costs. Consumers have responded to rising food costs through various coping mechanisms. For example, Italian consumers have indicated that they purchase less unnecessary products, cut down on waste, and buy more discounted items in order to save costs. Changing consumer behvaiors Outside of food consumption, consumers have changed their purchasing behaviors with other types of goods and services. Surveying has indicated that nearly 60 percent of consumers have adjusted their shopping habits due to inflation. When holiday shopping in 2023, over 50 percent of Americans and over one third of British consumers said inflation had considerable impact on their holiday shopping. By generation, the Millenial generation has suffered the most due to rising inflation, while older generations have experienced less serious impacts.