Inflation: Countries where it has turned deadly

Source: https://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/financial03/i/inflation.html

Read about the effect of Inflation upon the working of a country and how it can wreck chaos if not managed and/or combated properly.

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in prices of goods and services over a period of time. It is an economic phenomenon that occurs in every nation and affects economies in all parts of the globe. While there is nothing wrong with learning to live with inflation irrespective of the level, it is hyperinflation itself that is bound to destroy every nation.

In some instances, inflation has become violent, enhancing deprivation, hunger, rebellion and even wars claiming lives. Nations which suffer because of hyperinflation report all of these effects which have their own reasons.

Inflation has an adverse effect on the lives of the public with many of them losing access to the most basic of amenities. Food, medicine, and even water became unaffordable as hyperinflation hit. This, in turn, leads to a spike in the malnutrition rates of the country. The healthcare system suffers as well, and its collapse paves the way for the emergence of disease like malaria and measles.
Many people start migrating outside but the sheer amount of people doing so often leads to social unrest and chaos. This is met by violent repression and protests all across the country. Still, it happens and one of the largest cases of migration was observed when over 3 million Venezuelans had migrated to some other country.

Sudan

Sudan has been saddled with several years of political turmoil and economic deterioration because of which the inflation rate has always been in triple digits. The country remains hindered by poverty, wars, and poor governance as well as foreign sanctions. The rise in the exchange rate of Sudan pounds has been a threat to the South Sudanese economy and the people.

Up to 40 percent of the GDP was contracted in the country because of the ongoing war, with a specific mention about the war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SaF) as one of the main reasons. The agricultural sector is also amongst one of the worst hit sectors which is suffering because of the “loss of financing and production inputs.”

Lebanon

Sudan has been saddled with several years of political turmoil and economic deterioration where inflation rate has always been in triple digits. The country remains hindered by poverty, wars, and poor governance as well as foreign sanctions. The rise in the exchange rate of Sudan pounds has been a threat to the South Sudanese economy and the people.

With an inflation rate just as bad as Zimbabwe and Venezuela, Lebanon is known to have an annual rate which has surpassed that of any other country in the Middle East. Politicians there did little to combat this issue which spiraled the situation further out of control. The currency lost approximately 90 percent of its original value and residents using this became easy victims of poverty.

Venezuela

Venezuela is a typical example of how inflation could have disastrous consequences in the worst form. In poor Venezuela, the public has witnessed the unfolding of one of the worst historical hyperinflation episodes since the past decades. In the case of Venezuela, hyper inflations soared to extremely high percentages in the year 2019. There are multiple reasons as to why that has happened, the most significant being political in nature, poor management and sanctions to the economy, among others.

The government has been headed by Nicholas Maduro since 2013 who had to declare a state of emergency in 2016- inflation had hit an 800 percent rate. Since then, the situation only worsened with the rate going to 80,000 percent in 2018. It hasn’t toned down at all ever since and continues to put the livelihoods of many people in jeopardy.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is yet again another case of hyperinflation which put the lives of their public in jeopardy. In 2008, at the peak of the crisis, inflation reached an incredible 79.6 billion percent a month. The Zimbabwean currency was totally devalued and you had to use a wheelbarrow of cash to purchase everyday commodities if there were any to be bought at all.

Zimbabwe is the country with the second highest inflation rate in the world after Venezuela. The condition hasn’t improved ever since the country’s economy hit rock bottom in the late 2000s and now coping has “become creative.”

Resources

Sudan