Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region in history to experience hyperinflation.
by Kevin Helms
The Foundation for Economic Education
Lebanon has become the first country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in history to experience hyperinflation, explained Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, and a hyperinflation expert.
Hanke and his colleague Nicholas Krus have traced 61 other instances of hyperinflation in world history, including Hungary in 1945 and Yugoslavia between 1992 and 1994 when hyperinflation peaked at 313 million percent per month. Hyperinflation occurs when a country’s inflation rate exceeds 50 percent per month for 30 consecutive days.
On July 22, Lebanon entered the record books with the world’s 62nd episode of hyperinflation, Hanke confirmed. He described in National Review: