The world's most — and least — miserable economies in 2025, ranked
Author: Steve H. Hanke
Outlet: Fortune
Date: April 16, 2026
Hanke presents his annual Misery Index rankings for 2025, tallying inflation, unemployment, and lending rates against GDP growth across the world's economies. Venezuela tops the list of the world's most miserable economies with a score of 556.4916, driven overwhelmingly by inflation, followed by Sudan (225.3674, also inflation-driven) and Turkey (100.9610, driven by its lending rate). At the opposite end, Switzerland ranks as the world's least miserable economy, with a score of just 7.7732 tied to its lending rate. Hanke uses the index, built on decades of consistent methodology, to argue that misery is overwhelmingly a story of runaway inflation and punishing borrowing costs in the world's most troubled economies.
Full Citation:
"The world's most — and least — miserable economies in 2025, ranked," Fortune, April 16, 2026.