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.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

Inflation Rate in the United States decreased to 2.80 percent in February from 3 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In December 2024, the inflation rate for food in the European Union (EU) reached 2.4 percent compared to the same month the year prior. Starting in the beginning of 2022, food prices started to rise rapidly. In March 2023, the food inflation rate in the EU reached its peak at 19.19 percent. Since April 2023, the rate started to decrease. Food inflation in Europe One of the main drivers of the increase in consumer prices was the rapid rise in energy prices. In the energy sector, the harmonized index of consumer prices inflation of the EU, a concept to measure and compare inflation internationally, was at 41.1 percent in June 2022, whereas the other categories were all below 10 percent. In Germany, the year-on-year consumer price index development for food and beverages was at 12.33 percent in the year 2023, just a slight dip from the all-time high of 12.51 percent in 2022. By 2024, this had dropped to 1.92 percent. There are a number of ways in which European consumers are trying to save on food costs due to rising prices. The most popular way to deal with the rising food prices is to reduce at-home food waste. An average of about half of consumers in selected European countries stated that this is how they responded to the price increases. Other popular ways were to buy only the essentials or to purchase mostly store brands. Food inflation worldwide In 2022, Europe and Central Asia were the regions with the highest food inflation rates worldwide. The rate of food inflation in those regions was about 18 percent in 2022, which is more than twice as high as it was in the previous year. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the food inflation rate rose from 5.4 to 11.9 percent during the same period. When categorized by income classification, low-income countries have significantly higher food price inflation, as compared to lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income countries. On average, low-income countries had a food price inflation rate of about 30 percent in 2023. The world average rate was at 6.5 percent. Zimbabwe was the country with the highest level of real food inflation worldwide. The southern African country experienced a food inflation of approximately 46 percent in 2024. This was more than two times as high as in any other country in the world.

In 2022 and through 2023, the world saw inflation rates increase amid, among other, post-COVID-19 effects and the Russia-Ukraine war. Argentina and Turkey were both plagued by hyperinflation at over 130 and 50 percent in 2023, respectively. Except for these, the United Kingdom had the highest inflation rate at nearly seven percent. On the other hand, China had the lowest rate of the countries included here at 0.2 percent. Argentinian inflation crisis During the 2020’s, Argentina has been struck by extreme levels of inflation, which has severely impacted the livelihoods of Argentinians. Specifically, the costs of goods have presented numerous challenges to Argentinian consumers. In Argentina, a basic food basket that cost around 26,000 Argentinian pesos cost over 100,000 Argentinian pesos by February 2024. Similarly, a basic consumer goods basket that cost around 57,000 Argentinian pesos in February 2023 rose to over 220,000 Argentinian pesos by February 2024. While these rising costs have been challenging for consumers, Argentina’s inflation rate is expected to decrease beginning in 2024 and is estimated to reach 8.9% by 2029.

British recession Besides the outliers of Argentina and Turkey, the United Kingdom had a comparatively high CPI rate. As of 2024, the British economy has entered a recession, the only G7 country to do so. As a general election will be held in July 2024, British voters indicate health, citing lack of financial support and staff shortages, as well as the economy as the most important issues to them.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for the United States (FPCPITOTLZGUSA) from 1960 to 2023 about consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

In January 2025, the UK inflation rate for goods was one percent and five percent for services. Prices for goods accelerated significantly, sharply between in 2021 and 2022 before falling in 2023. By comparison, prices for services initially grew at a more moderate rate, but have also not fallen as quickly. The overall CPI inflation rate for the UK reached a recent high of 11.1 percent in October 2022 and remained in double-figures until April 2023, when it fell to 8.7 percent. As of December 2024, the UK's inflation rate was 2.5 percent, down from 2.6 percent in the previous month. Sectors driving high inflation In late 2024, communication was the sector with the highest inflation rate, with prices increasing by 6.1 percent as of December 2024. During the recent period of high inflation that eased in 2023, food and energy prices were particular high, with housing and energy inflation far higher than in any other sector, peaking at 26.6 percent towards the end of 2022. High food and energy prices since 2021 have been one of the main causes of the cost of living crisis in the UK, especially for low-income households that spend a higher share of their income on these categories. This is likely one of the factors driving increasing food bank usage in the UK, which saw approximately 3.12 million people use a food bank in 2023/24, compared with 1.9 million just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The global inflation crisis The UK has not been alone in suffering rapid price increases since 2021. After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of economic and geopolitical shocks had a dramatic impact on the global economy. A global supply chain crisis failed to meet rising demand in 2021, leading to the beginning of an Inflation Crisis, which was only exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war directly influenced the prices of food and energy, as both countries were major exporters of important crops. European imports of hydrocarbons from Russia were also steadily reduced throughout 2022 and 2023, resulting in higher energy prices throughout the year.

Inflation in the table below is defined as the percent change in the CPI from the same month last year. The first column of numbers shows the latest value available from the national authorities and the next two columns show the levels of annual inflation three months and one year prior to the latest release. The data are updated daily. Over long stretches of time - typically years - inflation is a byproduct of the expansion of money supply. In the short run the inflation rate fluctuates with economic growth as recessions slow down the increase in prices and rapid output growth accelerates it. Shits in exchange rates, commodity prices, and natural phenomena like droughts also have an impact. Over time, however, these factors have only a transitory effect and the only variable that matters is money supply growth. The control of inflation is delegated to central banks that typically try to balance between relatively low inflation and low unemployment. For more, you can read our articles about optimal inflation and the causes of inflation in the short run and the long run.

The Consumer Price Index gauges the price changes in a basket of goods and services in a defined time period. During August 2024, the product category with the highest Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase compared with the previous month in Argentina was household, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with a seven percent increase. Followed by education with a 6.6 percent increase. Nonetheless, when compared with the previous year, communications registered the highest price increase with over 320 percent year-over-year. The expectation of inflation Despite Argentina’s efforts to reduce inflation, the country ranks in the top three Latin American countries with the highest rate, only with a lower figure than Venezuela and Suriname. The situation is not a recent one, the inflation rate has been reaching double digits every year since 2012, reaching over 50 percent in 2019, making the constant rising prices nothing out of the ordinary for Argentinian families. The expectation of inflation is one of the main causes of inflation with low central bank interest-rates and increases in the money supply, which helps to explain the chronic inflation of the country. Both firms and people expect inflation in their lives, workers demand increasing wages to coop with inflation, while companies increase prices of goods and services because they expect production costs to grow, creating a vicious circle in the economy. Inflation and poverty Inflation negatively affects consumers and savers alike. For the latter, 100 Argentinian pesos in 2020 was worth just under 52 pesos in 2021, after adjusting for the 48.41 percent inflation rate. For the consumers, rising prices of the basic products increase the vulnerability of the population. In January 2023, the value of the basic food basket, which establishes the extreme poverty line, stood at 23,315 pesos, more than ten times higher than during the same month in 2018. Between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2022, the share of households under the poverty line increased by over 8 percentage points reaching 27.7 percent.

Inflation Rate in Japan decreased to 3.70 percent in February from 4 percent in January 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.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food at Home in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SAF11) from Jan 1952 to Feb 2025 about urban, food, consumer, CPI, housing, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Cost of food in the United States increased 2.60 percent in February of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Food Inflation - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Inflation Rate in Brazil increased to 5.06 percent in February from 4.56 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - Brazil Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

Graph and download economic data for 5-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate (T5YIE) from 2003-01-02 to 2025-03-26 about spread, interest rate, interest, 5-year, inflation, rate, and USA.

Abstract

Food price inflation is an important metric to inform economic policy but traditional sources of consumer prices are often produced with delay during crises and only at an aggregate level. This may poorly reflect the actual price trends in rural or poverty-stricken areas, where large populations reside in fragile situations. This data set includes food price estimates and is intended to help gain insight in price developments beyond what can be formally measured by traditional methods. The estimates are generated using a machine-learning approach that imputes ongoing subnational price surveys, often with accuracy similar to direct measurement of prices. The data set provides new opportunities to investigate local price dynamics in areas where populations are sensitive to localized price shocks and where traditional data are not available.

Geographic coverage notes

The data cover the following areas: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Gambia, The, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, Rep.

Inflation Rate in Russia increased to 10.10 percent in February from 9.90 percent in January of 2025. This dataset provides - Russia Inflation Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Inflation in Argentina was 54 percent in 2019, before falling to 42 percent in 2020. Despite Argentina's fluctuating economic instability over the twentieth century, the largest factor in its current economic status is the legacy of poor fiscal discipline left by the economic depression from 1998 to 2002. Although data is not available from 2014 to 2016, Argentina's inflation rate has been among the highest in the world for the past five years.

What causes inflation?

Inflation is a rise in price levels for all goods. Major causes of inflation include an increase in money supply, low central bank interest rates, and expectation of inflation. In a country such as Argentina, the expectation can be one of the biggest obstacles. People expect inflation to be high and demand increasing wages, and firms continue raising prices because they expect the costs of inputs to increase. Banks follow suit, charging high interest rates on fixed deposits.

Effects of inflation

Inflation negatively affects savers. 100 Argentinian pesos in 2018 was worth just under 75 pesos in 2019, after adjusting for the 34 percent inflation rate. Similarly, frequently changing prices has its own inherent cost, called “menu cost” after the price of printing new menus. Inflation will also have a positive effect on national debt when that debt is denominated in Argentinian pesos, because the pesos will be cheaper when the loan matures. However, the majority of Argentina’s debts are in foreign currency, which means that inflation will make these debts larger in peso terms.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Apparel in U.S. City Average (CPIAPPSL) from Jan 1947 to Feb 2025 about apparel, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.