In 2006, Zimbabwe experienced one of the most severe cases of hyperinflation in recorded history. The economy was unstable, with many of the country’s citizens unable to provide for their families. “[There] is barely enough to feed yourself, let alone your family. It’s like we are living hand-to-mouth,” a taxi driver told the BBC at the height of Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.

However, Zimbabwe’s financial woes aren’t unique to modern times. Periods of hyperinflation pepper the history of countries all over the world due to government overspending, wars, corruption, and the excessive printing of money until the paper itself is worth more than currency. This kind of economic devastation can lead to food shortages and rioting as hyperinflation can completely destabilize a nation. 

For context, hyperinflation is typically considered to be a rate of 50% or more each month, which was established by Phillip Cagan, an economist for America’s National Bureau of Economic Research, in 1956.

Using information from news articles as well as scientific and academic reports, Stacker pulled together 10 international instances in which countries experienced severe cases of hyperinflation that, at times, lasted for several years. Some of these countries are still feeling the impact of that economic devastation despite years, even decades, having passed. 

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Armenia was one of several countries whose economy fell on hard times after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991. Unfortunately, this is not where Armenia’s troubles ended. In 1988, a devastating 6.8 earthquake killed 60,000 Armenians and left thousands of people homeless, according to the BBC.

After the earthquake, government leaders decided to shut down the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, also known as the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, which led to severe energy and supply shortages in the early to mid-1990s. These factors eventually led to a monthly inflation rate of 438% in November 1993, according to the CATO Institute, with prices doubling nearly every 13 days.

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