Inflation rate by year

What the rate for a year actually measures

Each figure here is the change in a country's price index from one year's average to the next. That is a different measurement from the inflation number in a news headline, which is almost always the change over the preceding twelve months, published monthly. The two track each other closely over time but can disagree by a full percentage point in a year when prices moved quickly, because an annual average smooths the whole path while a twelve-month comparison reads only the two endpoints.

The annual-average form is the right one for looking at history. It is what the statistics agencies themselves publish for long-run comparison, it is not distorted by which month you happen to pick, and it is the same basis the inflation calculator uses to convert an amount between two years.

When prices fall

Deflation shows below the zero line, and every country here has some. The episodes cluster: the collapse following the First World War, the early 1930s, and — more mildly — the year after the 2008 financial crisis. Sustained falling prices sound like good news and generally are not, because they give people a reason to postpone spending, which reduces demand and pushes prices down further. That feedback is why central banks target a small positive rate rather than zero.

The largest spikes in this data are mostly wartime rather than modern. In the US, the UK, and Canada the highest year on record is 1917, not anything in the 1970s — price controls lifting and wartime shortages produced increases the oil shocks never quite matched. Australia's peak is 1951, driven by a wool price boom during the Korean War, and New Zealand's is 1980.

Reading a long series carefully

Two things are worth holding in mind when comparing across the whole span. First, the further back a series reaches, the less like a modern price index it is: the basket of goods, the sampling method, and the geographic coverage all changed repeatedly over two centuries, and the early UK figures in particular are reconstructions from historical records rather than contemporary surveys. Second, the base year differs by country, so the index numbers in the third column are not comparable between countries — only the rates derived from them are.

To convert a specific amount rather than read the rate, use the inflation calculator, which applies the same underlying data across any two years you choose.

Common questions

What was the highest inflation year on record here?

It differs by country and by how far each series reaches. In the US the peak in this data is 1917, at 17.8% — the First World War price spike, not the 1970s, which is the period most people expect. The UK series reaches back to 1800 and so captures far older episodes, including the Napoleonic wars. Selecting a country updates the highest and lowest rows beneath the chart, which always describe that country's full published record rather than a fixed window.

Why is this rate different from the one in the news?

Almost always because of the period being measured. Headline inflation figures are usually the change over the preceding twelve months, published monthly — so "inflation is 3.2%" means prices are 3.2% higher than the same month a year earlier. The figures here compare annual averages: the mean of every period in one year against the mean of every period in the year before. The two converge over time but can differ by a full point in a year when prices moved sharply, because an annual average smooths the path while a twelve-month comparison reads only the endpoints.

What does a negative rate mean?

Deflation — prices fell over the year rather than rose. It is much rarer than inflation and clusters around a few identifiable episodes: the collapse after the First World War, the early 1930s, and briefly after the 2008 financial crisis in several countries. It sounds appealing and generally is not, because falling prices encourage people to postpone spending, which reduces demand and pushes prices down further. Every country here has at least one deflationary year in its record, and the chart marks them below the zero line.

Why does the most recent year look incomplete?

Because it is, until every period in it has been published. The annual figure is the average of twelve months for the US and Canada, four quarters for Australia, so the current year is an average of what has arrived so far and will move as the rest lands. Years in that state are marked as provisional in the table rather than presented as settled, and the Australian series in particular runs a little behind the others because its agency publishes quarterly.

Where does this data come from?

Each country's own statistics agency, fetched directly and baked into the page: United States from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics; United Kingdom from the UK Office for National Statistics; Canada from the Statistics Canada; Australia from the Australian Bureau of Statistics; New Zealand from the OECD, from Stats NZ. Nothing is estimated or interpolated — every figure is computed from the published index values, and the rate for a year is simply the change in that index from the year before.