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.

The average for 2024 based on 175 countries was 5.42 index points. The highest value was in Iran: 10 index points and the lowest value was in Iceland: 0.2 index points. The indicator is available from 2007 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In December 2024, 11 percent of survey respondents said that the most important problem facing the United States was the high cost of living and inflation. Another 20percent said that the government and poor leadership was the most serious concern for the nation.

According to the Global Hunger Index 2024, which was adopted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Somalia was the most affected by hunger and malnutrition, with an index of 44.1. Yemen and Chad followed behind. The World Hunger Index combines three indicators: undernourishment, child underweight, and child mortality. Sub-Saharan Africa most affected The index is dominated by countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the region, more than one fifth of the population is undernourished . In terms of individuals, however, South Asia has the highest number of undernourished people. Globally, there are 735 million people that are considered undernourished or starving. A lack of food is increasing in over 20 countries worldwide. Undernourishment worldwide The term malnutrition includes both undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition occurs when an individual cannot maintain normal bodily functions such as growth, recovering from disease, and both learning and physical work. Some conditions such as diarrhea, malaria, and HIV/AIDS can all have a negative impact on undernutrition. Rural and agricultural communities can be especially susceptible to hunger during certain seasons. The annual hunger gap occurs when a family’s food supply may run out before the next season’s harvest is available and can result in malnutrition. Nevertheless, the prevalence of people worldwide that are undernourished has decreased over the last decades, from 18.7 percent in 1990-92 to 9.2 percent in 2022, but it has slightly increased since the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the Global Hunger Index, the reduction of global hunger has stagnated over the past decade.

The Economy was seen as the most important issue facing Germany as of June 2025, selected by 20 percent of people as a problem that month. Immigration was seen by 18 percent of people in Germany as a major issue, and was the second most-common response in the most recent survey. Germany's economic struggles Once the economic powerhouse of Europe, the Germany economy has been struggling for several years, and even shrank in 2023 and 2024. In part, this is due to external factors, such as the War in Ukraine putting an end to Germany's supply of cheap Russian gas, and a more protectionist global trade environment harming Germany's export-driven businesses. On the other hand, there has been a chronic lack of investment in the country, in part due to fiscal restraints built into the German constitution. Collapse of the traffic light coalition The issue of removing these fiscal restraints, in particular the "debt-brake", was the eventual reason that brought down the government of Olaf Scholz in late 2024. In power since the 2021 election, Scholz's government consisted of three political parties, Scholz's own SPD, the German Greens, and the pro-businesses FDP. The contradictions inherent in a three-party coalition eventually rose to the surface in late 2024, when the FDP leadership split with the government over economic policy, causing the collapse of the government. All three parties saw their vote share decline considerably, in the subsequent election in February 2025, with the FDP unable to clear the five percent threshold required to win seats in parliament.

The percentage of Asia-Pacific airlines reporting on the social topics (N = 10).

In 2024, Sudan was ranked as the most miserable country in the world, with a misery index score of 374.8. Argentina ranked second with an index score of 195.9. Quality of life around the worldThe misery index was created by the economist Arthur Okun in the 1960s. The index is calculated by adding the unemployment rate, the lending rate and the inflation rate minus percent change of GDP per capita. Another famous tool used for the comparison of development of countries around the world is the Human Development Index, which takes into account such factors as life expectancy at birth, literacy rate, education level and gross national income (GNI) per capita. Better economic conditions correlate with higher quality of life Economic conditions affect the life expectancy, which is much higher in the wealthiest regions. With a life expectancy of 85 years, Liechtenstein led the ranking of countries with the highest life expectancy in 2023. On the other hand, Nigeria was the country with the lowest life expectancy, where men were expected to live 55 years as of 2024. The Global Liveability Index ranks the quality of life in cities around the world, basing on political, social, economic and environmental aspects, such as personal safety and health, education and transport services and other public services. In 2024, Vienna was ranked as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide.

19 of the 20 countries with the lowest estimated GDP per capita in the world in 2024 are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. South Sudan is believed to have a GDP per capita of just 351.02 U.S. dollars - for reference, Luxembourg has the highest GDP per capita in the world, at almost 130,000 U.S. dollars, which is around 400 times larger than that of Burundi (U.S. GDP per capita is over 250 times higher than Burundi's). Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa Many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have been among the most impoverished in the world for over a century, due to lacking nutritional and sanitation infrastructures, persistent conflict, and political instability. These issues are also being exacerbated by climate change, where African nations are some of the most vulnerable in the world, as well as the population boom that will place over the 21st century. Of course, the entire population of Sub-Saharan Africa does not live in poverty, and countries in the southern part of the continent, as well as oil-producing states around the Gulf of Guinea, do have some pockets of significant wealth (especially in urban areas). However, while GDP per capita may be higher in these countries, wealth distribution is often very skewed, and GDP per capita figures are not representative of average living standards across the population. Outside of Africa Yemen is the only country outside of Africa to feature on the list, due to decades of civil war and instability. Yemen lags very far behind some of its neighboring Arab states, some of whom rank among the richest in the world due to their much larger energy sectors. Additionally, the IMF does not make estimates for Afghanistan, which would also likely feature on this list.

South Sudan ranked as the least-electrified country in the world in 2022, with only 8.4 percent of its population having access to electricity. Burundi fared only slightly better, with an access rate of around 10 percent. Electricity access in Africa As of 2022, the top 20 least-electrified countries in the world were all located in Africa, except for Papua New Guinea. In fact, while the number of people without electricity worldwide more than halved in the past two decades, the figure for Sub-Saharan Africa has remained fairly stable in the period, accounting for roughly eight out of every 10 people without electricity in 2023. The region also shows great disparities in access between urban and rural areas. In 2022, over 80 percent of the urban population in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to electricity, while the same was true for only 31 percent of rural dwellers. Global power trends Despite disparities, electricity consumption worldwide has seen continuous growth in the past century, more than tripling since 1980. As more people gain access to this service, and different sectors (such as heating and transportation) see a growth in electrification, global power generation is forecast to double again by the middle of the century.

In 2023, Singapore dominated the ranking of the world's health and health systems, followed by Japan and South Korea. The health index score is calculated by evaluating various indicators that assess the health of the population, and access to the services required to sustain good health, including health outcomes, health systems, sickness and risk factors, and mortality rates. The health and health system index score of the top ten countries with the best healthcare system in the world ranged between 82 and 86.9, measured on a scale of zero to 100.

Global Health Security Index  Numerous health and health system indexes have been developed to assess various attributes and aspects of a nation's healthcare system. One such measure is the Global Health Security (GHS) index. This index evaluates the ability of 195 nations to identify, assess, and mitigate biological hazards in addition to political and socioeconomic concerns, the quality of their healthcare systems, and their compliance with international finance and standards. In 2021, the United States was ranked at the top of the GHS index, but due to multiple reasons, the U.S. government failed to effectively manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The GHS Index evaluates capability and identifies preparation gaps; nevertheless, it cannot predict a nation's resource allocation in case of a public health emergency.

Universal Health Coverage Index  Another health index that is used globally by the members of the United Nations (UN) is the universal health care (UHC) service coverage index. The UHC index monitors the country's progress related to the sustainable developmental goal (SDG) number three. The UHC service coverage index tracks 14 indicators related to reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, service capacity, and access to care. The main target of universal health coverage is to ensure that no one is denied access to essential medical services due to financial hardships. In 2021, the UHC index scores ranged from as low as 21 to a high score of 91 across 194 countries. 

In 2024, the United States experienced 29 natural disasters, which made it the most natural catastrophe-prone country in the world that year. Indonesia and China came second on that list, with 20 and 18 natural disasters occurring in the same year, respectively. Storms were the most common type of natural disaster in 2024. Types of natural disasters There are many different types of natural disasters that occur worldwide, including earthquakes, droughts, storms, floods, volcanic activity, extreme temperatures, landslides, and wildfires. Overall, there were 398 natural disasters registered all over the world in 2023. Costs of natural disasters Due to their destructive nature, natural disasters take a severe toll on populations and countries. Tropical cyclones have the biggest economic impact in the countries that they occur. In 2024, tropical cyclones caused damage estimated at more than 145 billion U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to natural disasters neared 18,100 that year. The Heat Wave in Saudi Arabia had the highest death toll, with 1,301 fatalities. Scientists predict that some natural disasters such as storms, floods, landslides, and wildfires will be more frequent and more intense in the future, creating both human and financial losses.

Surveys fielded in 2023 in 142 countries around the world found that the countries/regions in which people were most likely to state that they experienced stress in the previous day were Northern Cyprus, Israel, and Nigeria. In Israel, around 62 percent of respondents reported feeling stressed in the day prior to being surveyed. Stress is a major health problem around the world In 2023, a survey of adults from 31 countries asked what the biggest health problems facing their country were, and stress was the third most common response, behind cancer and mental health. The countries most likely to report stress as the biggest health problem in their country were South Korea, Turkey, and Switzerland. At that time, around 44 percent of people in South Korea felt stress was their country’s biggest health problem, compared to just 15 percent of people in India and Great Britain. Young people worldwide are more likely to report moderate to severe symptoms of stress, but still, a quarter of those aged 65 years and older reported having moderate to severe symptoms of stress in 2022. Causes of stress and its impact Although stress is a global problem, the causes of stress can vary from country to country. In the United States, some common sources of stress include personal finances, politics and current events, relationships with family and friends, and work. How stress manifests itself also differs, but common symptoms of stress include headache, fatigue, feeling nervous or anxious, feeling sad or depressed, and a loss of interest, motivation, and energy. A recent survey of U.S. adults found that around 36 percent stated that their mental health is negatively impacted when they feel stressed, while 32 percent said stress impacts their physical health. Some healthy ways to cope with stress include avoiding possible stress triggers like reading the news too often, exercising, eating healthy, talking to others, and avoiding drugs and alcohol.

The twenty countries with the worst human rights and rule of law index scores are located in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. On a scale from zero to ten, zero being the best human rights and rule of law conditions, Iran had the maximum index score of **, followed by Burma and China. On the contrary, Norway was the best country for human rights and rule of law.

As of February 2025, India was the country with the largest offline population worldwide. The South Asian country had over 651 million people without internet connection. China ranked second, with around 311.9 million people not connected to the internet. Despite these large shares of the disconnected population in these countries, China and India ranked first and second, respectively, as countries with the highest number of internet users worldwide. Internet access in Africa In 2023, Africa lagged behind other global regions regarding internet penetration rate, as only 37 percent of the continent’s population accessed the web. In contrast, around 91 percent of Europe’s population were internet users. This is heavily influenced by the infrastructure development in the region. However, some improvements are forecasted, as by 2028, the internet penetration rate in Africa will be at an estimated 48.15 percent. Global internet access challenges: disruptions and restrictions Government internet shutdowns around the world are another challenge for internet access. Between 2015 and the first half of 2023, 172 local internet connection disruptions occurred due to protests globally. Moreover, according to a 2023report on internet freedom, almost four out of ten global internet users were deprived of essential freedoms on online platforms. In 2023, 76 new restrictions on internet usage were implemented worldwide. Asia led in imposing these restrictions, accounting for approximately 55 cases across various countries in the region.

At the end of 2023, Zimbabwe had the highest inflation rate in the world, at 667.36 percent change compared to the previous year. Inflation in industrialized and in emerging countries Higher inflation rates are more present in less developed economies, as they often lack a sufficient central banking system, which in turn results in the manipulation of currency to achieve short term economic goals. Thus, interest rates increase while the general economic situation remains constant. In more developed economies and in the prime emerging markets, the inflation rate does not fluctuate as sporadically. Additionally, the majority of countries that maintained the lowest inflation rate compared to previous years are primarily oil producers or small island independent states. These countries experienced deflation, which occurs when the inflation rate falls below zero; this may happen for a variety of factors, such as a shift in supply or demand of goods and services, or an outflow of capital.