Top 100 Countries by Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices), Latest Year
Why annual consumer-price inflation still matters more than a single monthly headline
Inflation is the annual percentage change in consumer prices. For international comparison, the most defensible broad snapshot is the annual-average rate for a common completed year rather than a patchwork of monthly prints taken from different release calendars. The IMF’s 2024 annual-average consumer-price dataset provides the latest broadly comparable basis for this comparison.
That approach captures what households actually lived through over the year. It also separates countries with mild residual inflation from countries facing currency stress, wartime disruption, broken supply chains or a deeper collapse in nominal stability.
Updated: April 12, 2026. The lower edge of the Top 100 in this snapshot sits at about 3.2%.
What stands out at the top of the ranking
The upper tail is not dominated by ordinary overheating. It is dominated by economies under much deeper strain: monetary breakdown, war, fiscal stress, exchange-rate instability, subsidy resets and disrupted trade or supply conditions. That is why the table opens with Zimbabwe, Argentina, Sudan and South Sudan rather than with the standard fast-growth emerging-market story.
The next tier is also revealing. Turkey, Palestine, Venezuela, Lebanon, Yemen and Egypt do not share the same structure, but households in all of them faced a year of very heavy price pressure. By the time the ranking approaches the lower boundary near 3.2%, the story shifts from acute crisis to persistent cost-of-living strain.
Top 10 countries by inflation rate, latest full-year comparable snapshot
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe moved to the top of the ranking in the IMF 2024 annual-average dataset. Triple-digit price growth at this level signals a severe breakdown in nominal stability rather than an ordinary inflation overshoot.
Argentina
Argentina remained deep in inflation crisis territory even after policy changes aimed at stabilisation. The annual average stayed above 200%, which means households still lived through an extreme erosion of purchasing power.
Sudan
Sudan’s position reflects war, supply disruption and macroeconomic fracture. Inflation at this scale is consistent with severe breakdowns in distribution, fiscal financing and basic market functioning.
South Sudan
South Sudan stayed in the global crisis tail. Import dependence, conflict conditions and logistics constraints all magnified domestic price pressure during the year.
Turkey
Turkey remained the highest-ranked large diversified economy in the table. Inflation slowed only partially and still stayed far above the range usually associated with macro comfort.
Palestine
The 2024 reading captures an exceptional wartime price shock. It should be read as evidence of market disruption and supply impairment, not as a normal cyclical inflation story.
Venezuela
Venezuela remained in a very high-inflation regime, but the annual average was far below earlier extremes. That is an example of disinflation without restored price stability.
Lebanon
Lebanon’s annual average fell sharply from 2023, yet it still remained among the world’s highest. The ranking shows why a steep slowdown in inflation can still leave households in a punishing cost environment.
Yemen
Yemen entered the global top 10 because price instability accelerated from a very low 2023 base. Conflict conditions and fragmentation matter as much here as standard macro variables.
Egypt
Egypt closed the top 10 with inflation above 30%. Currency adjustment and strong pass-through from import costs kept consumer prices under heavy pressure.
Table 1. Top 10 countries by annual consumer-price inflation in 2024
| Rank | Country | Inflation rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 736.1% |
| 2 | Argentina | 219.9% |
| 3 | Sudan | 185.7% |
| 4 | South Sudan | 99.8% |
| 5 | Turkey | 58.5% |
| 6 | Palestine | 53.7% |
| 7 | Venezuela | 49.0% |
| 8 | Lebanon | 45.2% |
| 9 | Yemen | 33.9% |
| 10 | Egypt | 33.3% |
Rates shown here are 2024 annual-average consumer-price inflation, not one-month headline readings.
Chart 1. Top 20 countries by inflation rate
Top 20 inflation rates in the latest full-year comparable snapshot:
- Zimbabwe: 736.1%
- Argentina: 219.9%
- Sudan: 185.7%
- South Sudan: 99.8%
- Turkey: 58.5%
- Palestine: 53.7%
- Venezuela: 49.0%
- Lebanon: 45.2%
- Yemen: 33.9%
- Egypt: 33.3%
- Iran: 32.5%
- Malawi: 32.2%
- Nigeria: 31.4%
- Sierra Leone: 28.4%
- Angola: 28.2%
- Myanmar: 26.5%
- Haiti: 25.8%
- Pakistan: 23.4%
- Laos: 23.1%
- Ghana: 22.9%
Using one completed year keeps the chart comparable across countries and avoids mixing monthly releases from different reporting calendars.
Methodology
The comparison uses annual average consumer-price inflation for 2024 from one primary dataset: IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2025, indicator PCPIPCH (“Inflation rate, average consumer prices”). The World Bank’s WDI metadata is used as the reference definition for the consumer-price inflation concept and for the source chain linking the indicator to IMF International Financial Statistics.
Using one source matters. It avoids a common trust problem: mixing monthly national releases, annual averages and different publication calendars inside one table. Here, the table, Top 10 section and charts all come from the same 2024 annual-average snapshot, so the ranking logic stays internally consistent.
The table is sorted by the 2024 annual-average rate. The scatter chart below compares that level with the change from 2023, measured in percentage points. A move from 20% to 12% is therefore shown as −8.0 pp rather than as a percentage change of the inflation rate itself.
Annual averages still have limits. They smooth abrupt late-year shocks and can understate how violent a price break felt inside a single quarter. Conflict conditions, exchange controls, subsidy regimes and statistical revisions can also affect how comparable country experiences really are. High values should therefore be read as strong warning signals, not as identical household experiences in every case.
Insights
The ranking divides into three broad zones. The first is the crisis tail above roughly 20%, where price instability usually reflects a wider breakdown in macro management or market functioning. The second is the high-inflation band from roughly 8% to 20%, where countries are not necessarily in collapse but still impose a very heavy cost-of-living burden on households. The third is the lower end of the Top 100, where inflation is no longer extreme yet remains high enough to be globally notable.
Region alone does not explain the pattern. Africa and the Middle East are heavily represented near the top, but the stronger common thread is structural stress: conflict, import dependence, currency weakness, food-price exposure, fiscal strain and weak nominal credibility.
Another important point is that disinflation is not the same thing as restored price stability. Venezuela, Lebanon, Suriname and Ghana all illustrate versions of that point: inflation can come down sharply from the prior year and still leave households facing a very punishing price environment.
What this means for the reader
For households, the table quickly shows where savings, wages and pensions were under the heaviest pressure. For migrants, exporters and remote workers, it helps distinguish a country with mildly elevated prices from one where inflation has become a structural planning risk. For investors and procurement teams, it is a fast screening tool for contract repricing, working-capital assumptions and currency-sensitive budgeting.
FAQ
Why use annual average inflation instead of the latest monthly CPI print?
Because the comparison is cross-country, not a collection of isolated monthly headlines. Annual averages reduce calendar noise and keep the ranking on one comparable base year.
Why is 2024 treated as the latest year here if some countries already publish 2026 monthly data?
Because a single completed year is the latest broad snapshot that can be compared across many countries without mixing release dates or different stages of the inflation cycle.
Does a very high inflation rate always mean hyperinflation?
No. Hyperinflation is a narrower and more extreme category. But annual inflation above 20%, 30% or 50% is still a major macroeconomic problem and often signals much deeper instability.
If inflation fell versus 2023, why can a country still rank near the top?
Because the level may still be exceptionally high. Falling from 200% to 45% is a huge improvement, but 45% still means a severe cost-of-living shock for households and firms.
Is low inflation always good?
Not automatically. Very low inflation can reflect weak demand or recession. The healthier outcome is stable low inflation combined with credible policy, income growth and functioning supply conditions.
Can this ranking be read together with interest rates or wage growth?
Yes, but not as if they measured the same thing. Inflation shows how prices moved. Real household pressure depends on wages, exchange rates, taxes, subsidies and the spending mix on food, energy and housing.
Top 100 countries by inflation rate, latest full-year comparable snapshot
The table below follows the same IMF 2024 annual-average dataset used throughout the article. Keeping one source and one completed year prevents the most common ranking error on inflation pages: mixing different release calendars and different measurement bases inside the same table.
Table 2. Top 100 countries by annual consumer-price inflation
| Rank | Country | Inflation rate | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 736.1% | Africa |
| 2 | Argentina | 219.9% | Americas |
| 3 | Sudan | 185.7% | Africa |
| 4 | South Sudan | 99.8% | Africa |
| 5 | Turkey | 58.5% | MENA |
| 6 | Palestine | 53.7% | MENA |
| 7 | Venezuela | 49.0% | Americas |
| 8 | Lebanon | 45.2% | MENA |
| 9 | Yemen | 33.9% | MENA |
| 10 | Egypt | 33.3% | MENA |
| 11 | Iran | 32.5% | MENA |
| 12 | Malawi | 32.2% | Africa |
| 13 | Nigeria | 31.4% | Africa |
| 14 | Sierra Leone | 28.4% | Africa |
| 15 | Angola | 28.2% | Africa |
| 16 | Myanmar | 26.5% | Asia-Pacific |
| 17 | Haiti | 25.8% | Americas |
| 18 | Pakistan | 23.4% | Asia-Pacific |
| 19 | Laos | 23.1% | Asia-Pacific |
| 20 | Ghana | 22.9% | Africa |
| 21 | Ethiopia | 21.0% | Africa |
| 22 | Burundi | 20.2% | Africa |
| 23 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 17.7% | Africa |
| 24 | Suriname | 16.2% | Americas |
| 25 | Zambia | 15.0% | Africa |
| 26 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 14.4% | Africa |
| 27 | The Gambia | 11.6% | Africa |
| 28 | Bangladesh | 9.7% | Asia-Pacific |
| 29 | Uzbekistan | 9.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 30 | Nauru | 9.3% | Asia-Pacific |
| 31 | Niger | 9.3% | Africa |
| 32 | Kazakhstan | 8.7% | Asia-Pacific |
| 33 | Russia | 8.6% | Europe |
| 34 | Liberia | 8.3% | Africa |
| 35 | Tonga | 8.0% | Asia-Pacific |
| 36 | Madagascar | 7.7% | Africa |
| 37 | Tunisia | 6.9% | MENA |
| 38 | Colombia | 6.6% | Americas |
| 39 | Ukraine | 6.5% | Europe |
| 40 | Antigua and Barbuda | 6.2% | Americas |
| 41 | Mongolia | 6.2% | Asia-Pacific |
| 42 | Iceland | 5.9% | Europe |
| 43 | Belarus | 5.7% | Europe |
| 44 | Romania | 5.7% | Europe |
| 45 | Jamaica | 5.5% | Americas |
| 46 | Somalia | 5.4% | Africa |
| 47 | Micronesia | 5.4% | Asia-Pacific |
| 48 | Nepal | 5.4% | Asia-Pacific |
| 49 | Lesotho | 5.3% | Africa |
| 50 | Marshall Islands | 5.2% | Asia-Pacific |
| 51 | Bolivia | 5.1% | Americas |
| 52 | Chad | 5.1% | Africa |
| 53 | Comoros | 5.0% | Africa |
| 54 | Kyrgyzstan | 5.0% | Asia-Pacific |
| 55 | Rwanda | 5.0% | Africa |
| 56 | Uruguay | 4.9% | Americas |
| 57 | Guinea | 4.8% | Africa |
| 58 | Mexico | 4.7% | Americas |
| 59 | Moldova | 4.7% | Europe |
| 60 | Serbia | 4.7% | Europe |
| 61 | Honduras | 4.6% | Americas |
| 62 | India | 4.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 63 | Nicaragua | 4.6% | Americas |
| 64 | Turkmenistan | 4.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 65 | Cameroon | 4.5% | Africa |
| 66 | Fiji | 4.5% | Asia-Pacific |
| 67 | Kenya | 4.4% | Africa |
| 68 | Brazil | 4.4% | Americas |
| 69 | South Africa | 4.4% | Africa |
| 70 | Belgium | 4.3% | Europe |
| 71 | Bhutan | 4.3% | Asia-Pacific |
| 72 | Burkina Faso | 4.3% | Africa |
| 73 | Namibia | 4.3% | Africa |
| 74 | Solomon Islands | 4.2% | Asia-Pacific |
| 75 | Algeria | 4.0% | Africa |
| 76 | Croatia | 4.0% | Europe |
| 77 | Eswatini | 4.0% | Africa |
| 78 | Chile | 3.9% | Americas |
| 79 | Paraguay | 3.8% | Americas |
| 80 | Estonia | 3.8% | Europe |
| 81 | Guinea-Bissau | 3.8% | Africa |
| 82 | Hungary | 3.7% | Europe |
| 83 | Poland | 3.7% | Europe |
| 84 | Mauritius | 3.7% | Africa |
| 85 | Palau | 3.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 86 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 3.6% | Americas |
| 87 | Samoa | 3.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 88 | Vietnam | 3.6% | Asia-Pacific |
| 89 | North Macedonia | 3.5% | Europe |
| 90 | Tajikistan | 3.4% | Asia-Pacific |
| 91 | Cote d'Ivoire | 3.4% | Africa |
| 92 | Equatorial Guinea | 3.4% | Africa |
| 93 | Belize | 3.3% | Americas |
| 94 | Dominican Republic | 3.3% | Americas |
| 95 | Montenegro | 3.3% | Europe |
| 96 | Uganda | 3.3% | Africa |
| 97 | Australia | 3.2% | Asia-Pacific |
| 98 | Mali | 3.2% | Africa |
| 99 | Mozambique | 3.2% | Africa |
| 100 | Netherlands | 3.2% | Europe |
Updated on April 12, 2026. Ranking base: IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2025, 2024 annual-average consumer-price inflation.
Figure 2. Inflation level vs. change from the prior year, selected countries
The scatter below helps separate economies that remained highly inflationary from economies where inflation stayed painful but slowed markedly versus 2023. Upward movement means inflation accelerated. Downward movement means the rate eased, even if the level remained very high.
- Zimbabwe: 736.1% inflation, +68.7 pp versus 2023
- Argentina: 219.9%, +86.4 pp
- Sudan: 185.7%, +108.5 pp
- South Sudan: 99.8%, +60.1 pp
- Turkey: 58.5%, +4.6 pp
- Palestine: 53.7%, +47.8 pp
- Venezuela: 49.0%, −288.5 pp
- Lebanon: 45.2%, −176.1 pp
- Egypt: 33.3%, +8.9 pp
- Nigeria: 31.4%, +6.7 pp
The horizontal axis shows the 2024 inflation level. The vertical axis shows the change from 2023 in percentage points.
How to read this inflation ranking without flattening very different country stories
The table works best as a map of macro stress. At the top, the issue is not simply strong demand. It is a much deeper loss of price stability caused by war, currency breakdown, fiscal pressure, subsidy resets or severe disruption to normal market functioning.
The middle of the Top 100 tells a different story. Countries in the roughly 5% to 15% range are usually not in a full inflation crisis, but they are still far from comfortable price stability. In that zone, inflation keeps distorting wage bargaining, business planning, savings behaviour and household budgeting even when the headline is below the crisis tail.
The lower edge of the ranking matters too. A country near the bottom of this Top 100 may look relatively calm beside Zimbabwe or Argentina, yet a rate around 3% to 4% can still feel uncomfortable where food, housing and imported essentials take a large share of household spending.
The key reading rule is simple: disinflation is progress, but disinflation is not the same thing as restored price stability. Venezuela and Lebanon are clear examples of that distinction in this dataset.
Policy takeaways
- For crisis cases, inflation control rarely comes from interest-rate policy alone. Fiscal financing, exchange-rate credibility and basic supply conditions usually have to stabilise first.
- For high-inflation emerging markets, the real test is whether lower inflation becomes durable enough to re-anchor contracts, wages and expectations.
- For countries in the middle of the ranking, inflation can be politically difficult precisely because it is no longer shocking but still persistent enough to keep households under pressure.
- For readers comparing countries, the table is most informative when read together with wage growth, exchange rates and poverty or spending data. Inflation shows how prices moved, not who absorbed the hit most heavily.
- For investors and operators, the distribution works as a practical stress screen for budgeting, repricing, inventory policy and currency-sensitive forecasting.
That is why the phrase “inflation is falling” often tells only half the story. If the level remains high, the planning environment for households and firms is still damaged even after the peak has passed.
Official sources
The figures and commentary below rely on official international statistical sources. The list below shows the indicator definition, the ranking base and the main CPI data gateways used for cross-checking and context.
The core source for the table and chart. It provides the annual-average inflation values used for the 2024 cross-country table and the scatter chart.
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEOThe official CPI database for readers who want the underlying index perspective rather than only annual-average inflation rates.
https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:CPIThe reference definition for the indicator concept and the source chain connecting the World Bank series to IMF International Financial Statistics.
https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/world-development-indicators/series/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZGA direct World Development Indicators access point for country inflation series by year, useful for checking longer country trends and metadata context.
https://databank.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG/1ff4a498/Popular-IndicatorsUpdated: April 12, 2026. Latest comparable ranking snapshot: 2024 annual-average consumer-price inflation.
