The Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table, first published in 2012 in the Routledge Handbook of Major Events in Economic History, is the definitive academic record of hyperinflationary episodes. Professor Hanke and Nicholas Krus documented 56 cases (now 62). No episode is included unless it meets the strict Cagan definition: at least 50% inflation per month.
The Cagan Definition
π Cagan (1956) Standard β An episode qualifies as hyperinflation only when inflation reaches 50% or more per month for at least 30 consecutive days. Named after economist Phillip Cagan, whose 1956 study The Monetary Dynamics of Hyperinflation established this threshold.
Methodology
Professor Hanke employs Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using black-market exchange rates to calculate daily inflation when official statistics are unavailable or deliberately suppressed. This approach allows measurement even when governments refuse to publish honest data.
- Official statistics are often falsified or withheld during hyperinflations
- Black-market exchange rates reflect the true purchasing power of a currency
- PPP methodology converts exchange rate data into implied inflation rates
- Daily data allows measurement of peak rates with precision unavailable from monthly CPI series
The Most Notable Hyperinflations in History
# | Country | Start Date | End Date | Peak Month | Peak Monthly Rate | Daily Rate | Time to Double Prices |
1 | ππΊ Hungary | Aug 1945 | Jul 1946 | Jul 1946 | 4.19 Γ 10^16% | 207% per day | 15.0 hours |
2 | πΏπΌ Zimbabwe | Mar 2007 | Mid-Nov 2008 | Mid-Nov 2008 | 7.96 Γ 10^10% | 98.0% per day | 24.7 hours |
3 | π·πΈ Yugoslavia | Apr 1992 | Jan 1994 | Jan 1994 | 313,000,000% | 64.6% per day | 1.41 days |
4 | Republika Srpska | Apr 1992 | Jan 1994 | Jan 1994 | 297,000,000% | 64.3% per day | 1.41 days |
5 | π©πͺ Germany | Aug 1922 | Dec 1923 | Oct 1923 | 29,500% | 20.9% per day | 3.70 days |
6 | π¬π· Greece | May 1941 | Dec 1945 | Oct 1944 | 13,800% | 17.9% per day | 4.27 days |
7 | π¨π³ China | Oct 1947 | May 1949 | May 1949 | 2,178% | 11.0% per day | 6.70 days |
8 | Free City of Danzig | Aug 1922 | Oct 1923 | Sep 1923 | 2,440% | 11.4% per day | 6.52 days |
9 | π»πͺ Venezuela | Nov 2016 | Ongoing | 2018 peak | ~65,000% per year at peak | β | β |
10 | π±π§ Lebanon | Jul 2020 | Ongoing | 2021 | Record levels | β | β |
Key Statistics
π 62 Total Episodes documented as of 2024 β the most comprehensive record in existence
π Since 1795 β the earliest documented hyperinflation in the Table dates to France in the 1790s
π¬ PPP Methodology β enables measurement even when governments suppress official statistics
Notable Discoveries by Professor Hanke
Several episodes in the Hanke-Krus Table were previously undocumented or ignored by the mainstream economics literature:
- Free City of Danzig (1923) β Confirmed as a distinct episode from Germany's 1923 hyperinflation
- North Korea (2011) β Identified and measured using PPP/black-market rate methodology
- Iran (2012) β Documented during international sanctions, when official statistics were unavailable
- Venezuela (2016) β First quantified by Hanke when the Venezuelan government ceased publishing inflation data
- Zimbabwe (2017) β Second episode, separate from the 2008 episode
Record Callouts
ππΊ Hungary 1946: The Worst Hyperinflation in Recorded History β Hungary's 1946 hyperinflation remains the most extreme monetary event in recorded history. Prices were doubling every 15 hours at the peak. The monthly inflation rate of 4.19 Γ 10^16% means prices increased by a factor of 41.9 quadrillion in a single month. The pre-war pengΕ was replaced by the forint at a rate of 400,000 quadrillion pengΕs to 1 forint β the most zeros ever in a redenomination.
πΏπΌ Zimbabwe 2008: Second Worst in History β Hanke and Alex Kwok's 2008 estimate of Zimbabwe's peak monthly inflation β 7.96 Γ 10^10% β required forensic reconstruction of prices using the black-market exchange rate, since Zimbabwe's government had stopped publishing statistics. At peak, prices doubled every 24.7 hours. The money was worth less than the paper it was printed on.
π·πΈ Yugoslavia 1994: Third Worst in History β January 1994 saw Yugoslavia's monthly inflation reach 313 million percent β the third worst in history. Economist Dragoslav AvramoviΔ ended it by implementing what was, in effect, an orthodox currency board for the Yugoslav dinar, establishing a fixed exchange rate to the Deutsche Mark.
Troubled Currencies Project
Building on the Hanke-Krus Table, Professor Hanke founded the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute in 2013 to provide real-time monitoring of currencies under stress worldwide.
π Troubled Currencies Project β Cato Institute
Recent Publications (2025β2026)
- LΓ³dz Ghetto Hyperinflation β Journal Article, World Economics
- Hyperinflation: Zambia, CAF Zone & Belarus β Journal Article, World Economics
Academic Citation
π Citation: Hanke, Steve H. and Krus, Nicholas (2013). "World Hyperinflations." In Whaples, R. and Parker, R.E. (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Major Events in Economic History. Routledge: London.
Also referenced as: Hanke, S.H. and Kwok, A.K.F. (2009). "On the Measurement of Zimbabwe's Hyperinflation." Cato Journal, 29(2): 353β364.