US CPI (2024)
+2.9%
% annual
From +8.0% peak in 2022
Argentina (2024)
+272%
% annual
Highest in G20
Japan (2024)
+2.7%
% annual
vs. decades of deflation
China (2024)
+0.2%
% annual
Deflationary pressures

Data

YearUSUKGermanyFranceJapanChinaIndiaBrazilS. KoreaAustraliaMexicoTurkey
20242.93.32.322.70.254.42.33.24.758.5
20234.16.85.94.93.30.25.64.63.65.65.553.9
202287.96.95.22.526.79.35.16.67.972.3
20214.72.53.11.6-0.215.18.32.52.95.719.6
20201.210.10.502.46.63.20.50.83.412.3
20191.81.71.41.10.52.93.73.70.41.63.615.2
20182.42.31.71.912.13.93.71.51.94.916.3
20172.12.61.510.51.63.33.41.91.9611.1
20161.310.50.2-0.124.98.711.32.87.8
20150.10.40.500.81.44.990.71.52.77.7
20141.61.50.90.52.81.96.76.31.32.548.9
20131.52.31.50.90.32.6106.21.32.43.87.5
20122.12.62202.69.55.42.21.84.18.9
20113.23.92.12.1-0.35.68.96.643.33.46.5
20101.62.51.11.5-0.73.21252.92.94.28.6
2009-0.420.30.1-1.4-0.710.94.92.81.85.36.3
20083.83.52.62.81.45.98.35.74.74.45.110.4
20072.92.42.31.50.14.86.43.62.52.348.8
20063.22.51.61.70.21.65.84.22.23.63.69.6
20053.42.11.51.7-0.31.84.26.92.82.748.2

About this Analysis

This page tracks annual CPI inflation for 12 major economies using World Bank data (FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG), sourced from national statistics offices and standardised to a common methodology. The chart shows the unweighted average across the group. The table shows each economy separately from 2005 to 2024.

The 2021–2023 inflation surge was the defining economic event of the period: every economy in this comparison saw CPI rise sharply within 12 months of each other, then fall at different speeds depending on central bank response and energy exposure. Turkey and Argentina are structural outliers — their inflation rates often distort the group average and are best read separately from the G7 economies.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 2021–2022 global inflation surge was driven by a confluence of demand and supply factors: fiscal stimulus-fuelled demand during pandemic recovery, supply-chain disruptions caused by COVID lockdowns, the energy price shock following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and — in some economies — labour market tightness and wage acceleration. The simultaneity of inflation across virtually all economies was historically unusual.
Japan experienced two decades of near-zero or negative inflation from the late 1990s through the 2010s, a structural phenomenon rooted in demographic deflation (ageing population reducing demand), corporate risk-aversion preventing wage growth, and entrenched deflation expectations. The post-2022 shift to 2–3% CPI represents a potential structural break, with the Bank of Japan now beginning interest rate normalisation for the first time since 2007.
Emerging market economies typically have structurally higher inflation due to weaker central bank credibility, greater commodity import dependency, less developed financial markets, and currency vulnerability. Argentina, Turkey, and Pakistan have periodically exceeded 50–100% annual inflation. Advanced economies with credible inflation-targeting frameworks (US, EU, UK, Japan) tend to anchor inflation closer to the 2% target over medium-term horizons.