10 Times Inflation Destroyed Economies
10. Venezuela (present)
Venezuela has stopped publishing official data on its rate of inflation, but the experts on monetary policy estimate the current rate is 615 percent. The Venezuelan economy is in a death spiral, moving from bad situation to worse. Even the official rate of inflation last year (64%) made it the highest in the world. Starting in January of this year, the leftist government stopped publishing any monthly inflation data.
On the black market exchange rate, the national currency has been sinking like a stone. For over a year, there have been reports of shortages of basic staples in Venezuela, forcing people to line up for hours to find items like bread, milk, soap, and toilet paper. When video of the lines began to circulate, the government made it illegal to line up outside, forcing the lines out of sight.
