Inflation rate and central bank interest rate 2024, by country

Between January 2022 and April 2024, the average annual inflation rate decreased in 10 out of the 13 observed countries. Australia and Japan were the only countries where inflation decreased in the displayed time period. In April 2024, among the surveyed countries, the interest rate was the highest in Russia, at 16 percent. The lowest interest rate was seen in Japan, at 0.1 percent

During the observed period, central banks increased their interest rates in every country considered in the graph. The central bank interest rate is one of the primary tools used to try to manage inflation: Low rates tend to lead to rising inflation, while high rates generally should lead to decreasing inflation. As the inflation increased greatly between 2022 and 2023, central banks raised interest rates to slow down the inflation.

Which country has the highest inflation rate?
An efficient central banking system is key to managing inflation. Due to the lack of such a system, less developed economies tend to have higher inflation rates. In 2022, as well as in the previous years, Venezuela went through a period of hyperinflation (an extremely high and accelerating inflation), which led to the highest inflation rate in the world.

How is inflation measured?
The most common way of measuring inflation is through the consumer price index (CPI), which is a measure of overall change in consumer prices based on a representative basket of goods and services. A more business-focused way of measuring inflation is through the producer price index (PPI), which measures the average change over time in the prices domestic producers receive for their output. Both CPI and PPI are important economic measures, but they reflect prices from different points of view. While PPI measures prices based on commercial transaction for a product or a service, CPI measures the price changes that consumers meet.