The inflation rate in the United States is expected to decrease to 2.1 percent by 2029. 2022 saw a year of exceptionally high inflation, reaching eight percent for the year. The data represents U.S. city averages. The base period was 1982-84. In economics, the inflation rate is a measurement of inflation, the rate of increase of a price index (in this case: consumer price index). It is the percentage rate of change in prices level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal. According to the forecast, prices will increase by 2.9 percent in 2024. The annual inflation rate for previous years can be found here and the consumer price index for all urban consumers here. The monthly inflation rate for the United States can also be accessed here. Inflation in the U.S.Inflation is a term used to describe a general rise in the price of goods and services in an economy over a given period of time. Inflation in the United States is calculated using the consumer price index (CPI). The consumer price index is a measure of change in the price level of a preselected market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. This forecast of U.S. inflation was prepared by the International Monetary Fund. They project that inflation will stay higher than average throughout 2023, followed by a decrease to around roughly two percent annual rise in the general level of prices until 2028. Considering the annual inflation rate in the United States in 2021, a two percent inflation rate is a very moderate projection. The 2022 spike in inflation in the United States and worldwide is due to a variety of factors that have put constraints on various aspects of the economy. These factors include COVID-19 pandemic spending and supply-chain constraints, disruptions due to the war in Ukraine, and pandemic related changes in the labor force. Although the moderate inflation of prices between two and three percent is considered normal in a modern economy, countries’ central banks try to prevent severe inflation and deflation to keep the growth of prices to a minimum. Severe inflation is considered dangerous to a country’s economy because it can rapidly diminish the population’s purchasing power and thus damage the GDP .

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.

According to latest figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the average annual inflation rate in China ranged at around 0.2 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. This was lower than formerly expected by the IMF. For 2025, projections by the IMF published in October 2024 expected the inflation rate to reach around 1.7 percent. The monthly inflation rate in China dropped to negative values in the second half of 2023 and remained comparatively low in 2024. Calculation of inflation The inflation rate is calculated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for China. The CPI is computed using a product basket that contains a predefined range of products and services on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. Included are expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities, and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. The product basked is adjusted every five years to reflect changes in consumer preference and has been updated in 2020 for the last time. The inflation rate is then calculated using changes in the CPI. As the inflation of a country is seen as a key economic indicator, it is frequently used for international comparison. China's inflation in comparison Among the main industrialized and emerging economies worldwide, China displayed comparatively low inflation in 2023 and 2024. In previous years, China's inflation ranged marginally above the inflation rates of established industrialized powerhouses such as the United States or the European Union. However, this changed in 2021, as inflation rates in developed countries rose quickly, while prices in China only increased moderately. According to IMF estimates for 2024, Zimbabwe was expected to be the country with the highest inflation rate, with a consumer price increase of about 561 percent compared to 2023. In 2023, Turkmenistan had the lowest price increase worldwide with prices actually decreasing by about 1.7 percent.

In 2023, the average annual inflation rate in Hong Kong ranged at around 2.1 percent compared to the previous year. Projections by the IMF expect the inflation rate to reach about 1.75 percent in 2024.

In 2023, the U.S. Consumer Price Index was 309.42, and is projected to increase to 352.27 by 2029. The base period was 1982-84. The monthly CPI for all urban consumers in the U.S. can be accessed here. After a time of high inflation, the U.S. inflation rateis projected fall to two percent by 2027. United States Consumer Price Index ForecastIt is projected that the CPI will continue to rise year over year, reaching 325.6 in 2027. The Consumer Price Index of all urban consumers in previous years was lower, and has risen every year since 1992, except in 2009, when the CPI went from 215.30 in 2008 to 214.54 in 2009. The monthly unadjusted Consumer Price Index was 296.17 for the month of August in 2022. The U.S. CPI measures changes in the price of consumer goods and services purchased by households and is thought to reflect inflation in the U.S. as well as the health of the economy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the CPI and defines it as, "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services." The BLS records the price of thousands of goods and services month by month. They consider goods and services within eight main categories: food and beverage, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education, and other goods and services. They aggregate the data collected in order to compare how much it would cost a consumer to buy the same market basket of goods and services within one month or one year compared with the previous month or year. Given that the CPI is used to calculate U.S. inflation, the CPI influences the annual adjustments of many financial institutions in the United States, both private and public. Wages, social security payments, and pensions are all affected by the CPI.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in the European Union and the Euro area from 2019 to 2022, with projections up until 2029. The term inflation, also known as currency devaluation (drop in the value of money), is characterized by a steady rise in prices for finished products (consumer goods, capital goods). The consumer price index tracks price trends of private consumption expenditure, and shows an increase in the index's current level of inflation. In 2022, the inflation rate in the EU was about 9.32 percent compared to the previous year. The economic situation in the European Union and the euro area The ongoing Eurozone crisis, which initially emerged in 2009, has dramatically affected most countries in the European Union. The crisis primarily prevented many countries from refinancing their debt without help from a third party and slowed economic growth throughout the entire EU. As a result, general gross debt escalated annually in the euro area and more prominently in the EU. The collective sum of debt is most likely going to continue, given the current global economic situation as well as Europe’s recovering, however struggling economy. Struggles are primarily evident in the EU’s budget balance, which saw itself in the negative every year over the same timeframe as the eurozone crisis, although the balances improved on a yearly basis. Despite economical struggles, the EU still grew in population almost every year over the past decade, primarily due to a high standard of living and job opportunities, compared to many of its surrounding neighbors.

The average inflation rate in Mexico was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.7 percentage points. The inflation is estimated to amount to three percent in 2029. This indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more statistics on other topics about Mexico with key insights such as the current account balance as a share of the GDP, the general government structural balance as share of the GDP, and the annual change in imports of trade goods and services.

This statistic shows the average inflation rate in Indonesia from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, the average inflation rate in Indonesia amounted to about 3.71 percent compared to the previous year.

The global financial crisis and economic consequences

The global economy underwent a drastic slump due to the global financial crisis in 2008, which caused a continued increase in the general level of prices of goods and services; the highest recorded global inflation of the past decade took place in 2008, when the global inflation rate increased by more than 6.4 percent in comparison with the previous year. As for Indonesia, the country's inflation rate amounted to around 9.8 percent in comparison to the previous year.

The financial crisis also impacted the global unemployment rate. In 2009, the global unemployment rate jumped to around 6.2 percent, and it is not expected to recover to pre-crisis levels anytime soon. The financial crisis impact on the Indonesian economy was slightly more severe: In 2008, the unemployment rate in Indonesia was around 8.4 percent, much higher than the global unemployment rate for the same year. It has, however, now decreased significantly, even though it is still not below the global level, the country itself has reached lower levels than before the crisis.

After the financial crisis, the Indonesian government implemented several economic reforms and increased exports in order to strengthen the economy. In 2011, Indonesia exported goods with a value of more than 200 billion U.S. dollars. The main export partners of Indonesia are Japan, China and Singapore. As a result of increased exports, the Indonesian economy was able to grow, making Indonesia one of the twenty nations in the world with the largest gross domestic product in 2015.

The average inflation rate in Romania was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 2.3 percentage points. The inflation is estimated to amount to three percent in 2029. This indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more key insights for the average inflation rate in countries like Bulgaria, Albania, and Turkey.

In 2023, Japan had an average inflation rate estimated at 3.21 percent, marking the highest rate of inflation in Japan in almost a decade. However, this figure was still very low compared to most other major economies, such as Japan's fellow G7 members, four of which had inflation rates around six or seven percent in 2023 due to the global inflation crisis. Why is Japan's inflation rate lower? There are a number of contributing factors to Japan's relatively low inflation rate, even during economic crises. Japan eased its Covid restrictions more slowly than most other major economies, this prevented post-pandemic consumer spending that may have driven inflation through supply chain issues caused by higher demand. As the majority of Japan's food and energy comes from overseas, and has done so for decades, the government has mechanisms in place to prevent energy and wheat prices from rising too quickly. Because of this, Japan was able to shield its private sector from many of the negative knock on effects from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which had a significant impact on both sectors globally. Persistent deflation and national debt An additional factor that has eased the impact of inflation on Japan's economy is the fact that it experienced deflation before the pandemic. Deflation has been a persistent problem in Japan since the asset price bubble burst in 1992, and has been symptomatic of Japan's staggering national debt thereafter. For almost 30 years, a combination of quantitative easing, low interest rates (below 0.5 percent since 1995, and at -0.1% since 2016), and a lack of spending due to low wages and an aging population have combined to give Japan the highest national debt in the world in absolute terms, and second-highest debt in relation to its GDP, after Venezuela. Despite this soaring debt, Japan remains the fourth-largest economy in the world, behind the U.S., China, and Germany.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in India from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2023, the inflation rate in India was around 5.36 percent compared to the previous year. See figures on India's economic growth for additional information. India's inflation rate and economy Inflation is generally defined as the increase of prices of goods and services over a certain period of time, as opposed to deflation, which describes a decrease of these prices. Inflation is a significant economic indicator for a country. The inflation rate is the rate at which the general rise in the level of prices, goods and services in an economy occurs and how it affects the cost of living of those living in a particular country. It influences the interest rates paid on savings and mortgage rates but also has a bearing on levels of state pensions and benefits received. A 4 percent increase in the rate of inflation in 2011 for example would mean an individual would need to spend 4 percent more on the goods he was purchasing than he would have done in 2010. India’s inflation rate has been on the rise over the last decade. However, it has been decreasing slightly since 2010. India’s economy, however, has been doing quite well, with its GDP increasing steadily for years, and its national debt decreasing. The budget balance in relation to GDP is not looking too good, with the state deficit amounting to more than 9 percent of GDP.

The average inflation rate in Brazil was forecast to decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.3 percentage points. This overall decrease does not happen continuously, notably not in 2029. The inflation is estimated to amount to 2.97 percent in 2029. This indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more statistics on other topics about Brazil with key insights such as the annual inflation rate of end of period consumer prices, the general government structural balance, and the general government revenue.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in Spain from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2023, the average inflation rate in Spain increased by about 3.4 percent compared to the previous year.

Inflation in Spain

As explained briefly above, inflation is commonly defined as the level of prices for goods and services in a country’s economy over a certain time span. It increases when the total money supply of a country increases, causing the money’s value to decrease, and prices to increase again in turn. Nowadays the term “inflation” is used more or less synonymously with “price level increase”. Its opposite is deflation, which, in short, means a decrease of the price level.

Spain and its economy have been severely affected by the financial crisis of 2008 (as can be seen above), when the real estate bubble imploded and caused the demand for goods and services to decrease and the unemployment rate in Spain to increase dramatically. Even though deflation only occurred for one year in 2009 and the price level has been increasing since, Spain’s economy still has a long way to go until full recovery. Apart from the inflation rate and the unemployment rate, gross domestic product / GDP growth in Spain and the trade balance of goods in Spain, i.e. the exports of goods minus the imports, are additional indicators of Spain’s desolate condition during the economic crisis and its slow and difficult recovery ever since.

Still, there is a silver lining for Spain’s economy. All in all, things seems to be improving economically, albeit slowly; many key indicators are starting to stabilize or even pick up again, while others still have some recovering to do.

The statistic depicts the average inflation rate in Mexico from 1987 to 2022, with projections up until 2029. The inflation rate measures price changes for a fixed basket of goods which includes a representative selection of goods and services. In 2022, Mexico's average inflation rate was around 7.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Mexico’s economy

Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been increasing slightly over the last decade, however, its national debt still amounts to almost half of its GDP. The majority of Mexico’s GDP is yielded by the services sector, as a look at the distribution of gross domestic product in Mexico by sector shows. More than 60 percent of GDP are generated in this sector; the majority of the Mexican workforce is employed in services. One important contributor to Mexico’s GDP is tourism. The total unemployment rate in Mexico took a turn for the worse during the recession of 2008 and is still to bounce back to previous levels.

Mexico’s main export and import partner is the United States which accounts for approximately half of the value of both. Thus, the trade balance of goods in Mexico, showing the value of exports minus the value of imports, is heavily dependant on the United States. For the past decade, Mexico’s trade balance has run at a deficit of more than 10 billion US dollars. The trade balance of services sector in Mexico has also been in the red with a deficit of more than 6 percent since the recession and higher than 9 percent since 2011.

Mexico is also one of the largest drug exporting countries worldwide. Specific trade figures are not available, however, Mexico is among the top countries for opium cultivation based on acreage, and thousands of illegal poppy fields, processed into opium, have been destroyed in Mexico year after year.

The inflation rate in Germany was 1.35 percent in 2019. The current rate meets the European Central Bank’s target rate, which is “below, but close to, 2 percent.” Many central bankers favor inflation between 2 and 3 percent, but Germans in particular would rather risk deflation than too much inflation.

Causes of inflation

Central bankers like low, stable inflation because this is a sign of a growing economy. When the economy grows, workers become more productive and spend more, and prices slowly rise. Monetary policy can cause inflation, but Germany has given this responsibility to the European Central Bank (ECB). Importantly, inflation expectations affect inflation, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The German context

During the eurozone crisis, German politicians were advocating for the ECB to raise interest rates quickly. This would have reduced inflation, possibly causing deflation, but would have presented another hurdle for the struggling Greek economy. This is because of the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, when Germans carried their pay home in wheelbarrows because the banknotes had lost so much value. Ever since, Germans often warn that inflation harms pensioners and that personal provisions are necessary in any case. Fortunately for them, this statistic forecasts stable, modest inflation that does not alarm many economists.

The average inflation rate in the United Kingdom was forecast to continuously decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.6 percentage points. The inflation is estimated to amount to two percent in 2029. Following the definitions provided by the International Monetary Fund, this indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. Depicted here is the year-on-year change in said index measure, expressed in percent.Find more statistics on other topics about the United Kingdom with key insights such as the total population, the national debt, and the share in the global GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in the Netherlands from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. The inflation rate is calculated using the price increase of a defined product basket. This product basket contains products and services, on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. They include expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. In 2023, the average inflation rate in the Netherlands was about 4.12 percent compared to the previous year.

Economy of the Netherlands

The Netherlands has an open economy, which implies that the country is highly dependent on foreign activities, such as imports and exports. The country’s economic policies and regulations have allowed for the country to highly benefit from strong international relations, however have increased the chances of economic struggles that correspond with the economic situations in other countries as well. The Netherlands is one of the main countries for foreign direct investments in Europe due to its strategic location, superior technological infrastructure as well as international business environment, a reputation that has all but grown more formidable over the years. Additionally, the country’s tourism industry makes up a rather large part of its GDP.

Despite feeling the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 as well as the Eurozone crisis, many aspects of the Dutch economy are highly prosperous, most notably with its low inflation rates. Unemployment within the country, in spite of a slight increase over the past several years, has remained relatively low in comparison many other European countries that were equally as affected by recession.

The UK inflation rate was three percent in January 2025, up from 2.5 percent in the previous month, and the fastest rate of inflation since March 2024. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. Due to this long period of high inflation, UK consumer prices have increased by over 20 percent in the last three years. As of the most recent month, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, but were falling in both the furniture and transport sectors, at -0.3 percent and -0.6 percent respectively.
The Cost of Living Crisis High inflation is one of the main factors behind the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis in the UK, which, despite subsiding somewhat in 2024, is still impacting households going into 2025. In December 2024, for example, 56 percent of UK households reported their cost of living was increasing compared with the previous month, up from 45 percent in July, but far lower than at the height of the crisis in 2022. After global energy prices spiraled that year, the UK's energy price cap increased substantially. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers, reached 3,549 British pounds per year in October 2022, compared with 1,277 pounds a year earlier. Along with soaring food costs, high-energy bills have hit UK households hard, especially lower income ones that spend more of their earnings on housing costs. As a result of these factors, UK households experienced their biggest fall in living standards in decades in 2022/23. Global inflation crisis causes rapid surge in prices The UK's high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial waves of the virus, global supply chains struggled to meet the renewed demand for goods and services. Food and energy prices, which were already high, increased further in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an end to the era of cheap gas flowing to European markets from Russia. The war also disrupted global food markets, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of cereal crops. As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024.

The average inflation rate in Italy was forecast to increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.7 percentage points. This overall increase does not happen continuously, notably not in 2026. The inflation is estimated to amount to two percent in 2029. This indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more statistics on other topics about Italy with key insights such as the number of employed people, the budget balance in relation to the gross domestic product, and the ratio of government expenditure to the gross domestic product.

In 2019, the average inflation rate in Thailand amounted to about 0.71 percent compared to the previous year, when it was just recovering from a slump below the 0-percent-mark in 2015.

Political turmoil begets economic turmoil

In 2014, after a coup d’etat following months of political crisis, the Thai military took over the country, and the senate and government were dissolved. As a result, Thailand’s economy experienced a sudden downturn, GDP growth and inflation slumped, while unemployment, which is usually delayed in reflecting economic struggles, has been increasing ever since.

Services help stabilization

Apart from the struggles in recent years, Thailand’s economy as a whole is quite stable. Its main GDP generator is the services sector , which includes tourism and telecommunications, and which has shown a stable real GDP growth for the past few years. The new military government also wants to boost the economy further by focusing on high-tech industries and services, with the goal of making Thailand a high-income nation with an economic focus on innovation and growth.