Inflation Rate by Country 2026

Executive summary

This index ranks 49 of the world's largest economies by inflation (CPI), using World Bank Open Data for cross-country comparability, and goes beyond a single snapshot: it shows the nominal figure, a ten-year history, a regional breakdown and the biggest movers. Argentina leads at 219.9% (2024); Thailand is lowest among those ranked at -0.1%. Sweden ranks 45th of 49 at 0.7% (2025). As reference points, the EU stands at 2.5%, the OECD at 2.8% and the world at 3.0%. Every figure carries its World Bank series and reference year, and the complete dataset is free to download as CSV and JSON under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Key findings

Overview

Inflation — the annual percentage increase in consumer prices — erodes the purchasing power of money and is the primary target of central banks, most of which aim for around 2%. This index ranks countries by their most recent annual consumer-price inflation.

The spread is enormous: a handful of crisis economies run inflation in the tens or hundreds of percent, while most advanced economies have brought inflation back down from the 2022–2023 shock toward target. The trend table below shows how far each has travelled.

What drives the ranking

Inflation is driven by the balance of demand and supply, the money supply, exchange-rate pass-through to import prices, energy costs and inflation expectations. Runaway inflation is almost always a monetary and fiscal phenomenon — governments financing deficits by printing money.

For most of the countries in this index, the recent story is disinflation: the post-pandemic surge has faded, and central banks are shifting from raising rates to holding or cutting them.

What the data reveals

The field is highly concentrated at the top: the leader, Argentina, at 219.9% is about 77.4× the median of 2.8% across the 49 economies, and 6.3× the second-placed Turkiye. In other words, inflation (CPI) is dominated by a handful of standouts.

Benchmarked against the OECD average of 2.8%, 24 of the 49 ranked economies (49%) come out higher, and 21 exceed the world figure of 3.0%. This shows how much of the distribution sits above the rich-world benchmark — a quick read on whether inflation (CPI) is broadly high or concentrated among a few.

What the data says about Sweden: at 0.7% it ranks 45th of 49 — the bottom quartile — below the median of 2.8%. That places Sweden in the lower part of the field on inflation (CPI).

The spread is wide: the upper quartile of economies clusters around 4.0% and the lower quartile around 1.9%. The quartile split is a cleaner read on typical inflation (CPI) than a simple average, which a few extreme values can distort.

Top 5 vs bottom 5

The five highest and five lowest economies on inflation (CPI) side by side — the clearest snapshot of the range across the 49 ranked economies.

Limitations & notes

This ranking uses the latest year each economy reports to the World Bank; reporting lags differ, so some countries carry data a year or two older than others (see the year column in the full table). It measures inflation (CPI) as the source defines it — not its causes, quality, or wider welfare implications, and not any single 'best' outcome. Every figure is an official World Bank series, not an Affärslivet estimate; the complete dataset with per-country years and sources is free to download and reproduce below.

How it has changed over time

The chart tracks inflation (CPI) for Argentina (the current leader) against Sweden over the past decade; the table below shows the top economies year by year.

By region

Median inflation (CPI) by world region among the ranked economies. Regional medians reveal patterns the country ranking alone can hide.

Biggest movers

The largest changes in inflation (CPI) over the available window — where the action has been.

Full ranking — 49 economies

Complete ranking by inflation (CPI), most recent World Bank data, with world region. Region aggregates (EU, OECD, World) appear in the At-a-glance box as reference points.

Scoreboard (machine-readable data)

Every headline indicator with its value, period, source and confidence. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

↓ CSV · ↓ JSON

Methodology & verification

Economies are ranked by inflation (CPI) using the World Bank Open Data API, which harmonises national statistics for cross-country comparison. Each value is the most recent year available for that economy, shown alongside the figure; the trend table uses each economy's reported history. Economies with no reported value are omitted rather than estimated. Region aggregates (EU, euro area, OECD, World) are reference points, not ranked. National consumer-price indices use different baskets and methods, so cross-country comparison is approximate; the internationally harmonised measures (e.g. HICP in the EU) can differ from the national CPI shown here. Confidence: High (official multilateral source).

Data dictionary

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Inflation (Cpi)

Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) — as reported by the World Bank. ↗

World Bank Open Data

A free, authoritative database of harmonised economic indicators for every country. ↗

Purchasing-power parity (PPP)

A conversion that equalises the price of a comparable basket of goods across countries, so output and incomes can be compared in real terms rather than at market exchange rates. ↗

Nominal (current US$)

A value converted at prevailing market exchange rates and not adjusted for differences in price levels. ↗

GNI per capita

Gross national income per person — like GDP per capita but including net income earned abroad; useful where cross-border corporate flows are large. ↗

Reference year

The year a figure applies to; it can differ across countries because national statistics are published on different schedules. ↗

Region aggregate

A World Bank grouping (e.g. European Union, OECD, World) whose value is a weighted regional total or average, shown here for reference rather than ranked. ↗

Sources

• World Bank Open Data — Inflation, consumer prices (annual %)
• World Bank Open Data (home)
• IMF World Economic Outlook (comparison)
• OECD Data
• Affärslivet — Sweden Economic Indicators

Related reports & data

• Largest Economies in the World 2026
• Richest Countries in the World 2026
• Fastest-Growing Economies 2026
• Unemployment Rate by Country 2026
• Affärslivet Business Climate Index
• Sweden Economic Indicators