🇺🇸US2.4%
🇬🇧UK2.8%
🇮🇳India4.9%
🇵🇰Pakistan11.2%
🇹🇷Turkey28.6%
🇦🇷Argentina30.4%
IMF · BLS · World Bank · 2026
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2000–2026 annual CPI history
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Data: IMF · World Bank · BLS

27 years of inflation
history, visualized

From the dot-com bust to the 2008 crisis, the 2010s "lowflation" decade, and the 2022 inflation shock — explore annual CPI trends for 26 countries.

26Countries
2000–2026Date range
4Era filters
FreeAlways

Historical inflation trends 2000–2026

27 years of annual CPI — dot-com bust, 2008 crisis, COVID spike and beyond

Sources: BLS (US), World Bank WDI, IMF IFS. 2025–2026 are IMF projections.

How to use this tool

1
Select a primary country and optionally a second country to compare. The second country's line is dashed to distinguish it.
2
Use the Era filter to zoom into a specific decade — 2000s, 2010s, or the recent 2019–2026 period — for a cleaner view.
3
Hover over any point on the chart to see exact figures for that year. The note below the chart explains key events for each era.

Key inflation events 2000–2026

The 27-year span covered here includes several landmark inflation moments. The 2008 financial crisis sent US inflation briefly to just 0.1% — the lowest since the 1950s — as oil collapsed from $147 to $40/barrel and consumer demand evaporated. The 2010s were a decade of persistently below-target inflation in the West, as globalization, cheap Chinese imports, and muted wages kept prices subdued despite near-zero interest rates.

The 2022 inflation shock was the most dramatic since the 1980s. COVID stimulus flooded economies with cash, supply chains broke down, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent energy and food prices soaring. The US hit 8.0%, the UK 9.1%, Germany 8.7%. Central banks responded with the fastest rate hikes in 40 years — and by 2026, most had returned inflation toward their 2% targets.

💥
2008 — Crisis lows
US hit 0.1%, Germany 0.2%. Deflation fears gripped the West as the global financial system froze.
🔥
2022 — 40-year highs
US 8.0%, UK 9.1%, Germany 8.7%, Turkey 72.3%, Argentina 72.4%. A global inflation shock not seen since 1981.
📊
2010s — "Lowflation"
US averaged just 1.8%/yr — consistently below the Fed's 2% target. Central banks struggled to generate inflation.
✅
2026 — Normalizing
US 2.4%, Germany 2.3%, UK 2.8%. Rate hike cycles worked — most advanced economies back near 2% target.
Data sources: US 2000–2024 from BLS CPI-U. All other countries and 2025–2026 projections from IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2026) and World Bank WDI. Projections may be revised as new data becomes available.

Methodology

Each point on this chart is a country's published annual inflation rate for that year — no smoothing, interpolation, or re-adjustment is applied beyond what the original statistical agency already performed.

Annual inflation rate (same formula every year)
Inflation Rate (%) = ((CPIthis year − CPIlast year) / CPIlast year) × 100

Era filters (2000s, 2010s, recent) simply slice this same underlying series into different date ranges for easier reading — the numbers themselves never change based on which filter is active.

2025–2026 figures are IMF projections, updated as official outturns are published. Full methodology notes: Data Sources.

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Frequently asked questions

US inflation peaked at 8.0% in 2022 — a 40-year high — due to: (1) massive COVID-era fiscal stimulus (CARES Act, American Rescue Plan) while supply was constrained; (2) global supply chain bottlenecks; (3) Russia's invasion of Ukraine driving energy and food prices sharply higher; and (4) pent-up consumer demand. The Federal Reserve raised rates from near 0% to over 5%, the fastest hiking cycle in four decades.
The US annual inflation rate is estimated at 2.4% in 2026, near the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Housing (4.2%) and education (4.5%) remain the stickiest components, while energy and goods prices have moderated from their 2022 peaks. Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2026.