Economy

Charted: Four Decades of U.S. Inflation

Published

2 years ago

July 4, 2022

Pablo Alvarez

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Carmen Ang

Four Decades of U.S. Inflation

Charted: Four Decades of U.S. Inflation

In May 2022, the annual rate of U.S. inflation grew to 8.6%—the highest it’s been in four decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s driving this surge, and what products are seeing the most significant price jumps?

This visualization by Pablo Alvarez shows U.S. inflation levels since 1982 and highlights a few product categories that have seen the biggest year-over-year increases.

The Category Breakdown

Perhaps unsurprisingly, energy sources have seen the biggest year-over-year climb. Gasoline has seen one of the biggest spikes, up 48.7% since May 2021.

Item	% yearly change (May 2022)
Gasoline (all types)	48.7%
Energy	34.6%
Natural Gas	30.2%
Electricity	12.0%
Food	10.1%
All items	8.6%
Apparel	5.0%

Across the U.S., the average price of gas sat at $4.807 per gallon as of July 4, and experts predict this figure could grow to $6 per gallon by the end of the summer.

While fuel prices were on the upswing prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, due to loosening COVID-19 restrictions and increased demand for travel, the conflict sent oil prices skyrocketing. This is because many countries placed sanctions on Russian oil, which put a squeeze on global supply.

Food has also seen a massive cost spike, up 10.1% since May 2021. This is largely due to supply-chain issues, increased transportation costs, and fertilizer shortages.

The Spending Spree Continues

Despite rising prices, many consumers have been continuing to spend. In May 2022, personal consumption expenditures (which account for inflation) were up 0.5% compared to the month prior, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Rather than adjust their spending habits, Americans have been relying on their savings to cope with price hikes. A recent survey of over 2,000 Americans showed that 67% of respondents have used some of their savings to deal with price increases, and 23% have made a substantial dent in their nest eggs.

To help combat inflation, central banks have been raising interest rates to encourage savings and ultimately slow down spending. But this is a delicate dance—if rates are raised too fast and spending screeches to a halt, this could lead to a recession.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

Click for Comments

Economy

Economic Growth Forecasts for G7 and BRICS Countries in 2024

The IMF has released its economic growth forecasts for 2024. How do the G7 and BRICS countries compare?

Published

9 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Niccolo Conte

Faded horizontal bar chart visualization of G7 and BRICS countries' real GDP growth forecasts for 2024.

G7 & BRICS Real GDP Growth Forecasts for 2024

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) has released its real gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2024, and while global growth is projected to stay steady at 3.2%, various major nations are seeing declining forecasts.

This chart visualizes the 2024 real GDP growth forecasts using data from the IMF’s 2024 World Economic Outlook for G7 and BRICS member nations along with Saudi Arabia, which is still considering an invitation to join the bloc.

Get the Key Insights of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook

Want a visual breakdown of the insights from the IMF’s 2024 World Economic Outlook report?

This visual is part of a special dispatch of the key takeaways exclusively for VC+ members.

Get the full dispatch of charts by signing up to VC+.

Mixed Economic Growth Prospects for Major Nations in 2024

Economic growth projections by the IMF for major nations are mixed, with the majority of G7 and BRICS countries forecasted to have slower growth in 2024 compared to 2023.

Only three BRICS-invited or member countries, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and South Africa, have higher projected real GDP growth rates in 2024 than last year.

Group	Country	Real GDP Growth (2023)	Real GDP Growth (2024P)
G7	🇺🇸 U.S.	2.5%	2.7%
G7	🇨🇦 Canada	1.1%	1.2%
G7	🇯🇵 Japan	1.9%	0.9%
G7	🇫🇷 France	0.9%	0.7%
G7	🇮🇹 Italy	0.9%	0.7%
G7	🇬🇧 UK	0.1%	0.5%
G7	🇩🇪 Germany	-0.3%	0.2%
BRICS	🇮🇳 India	7.8%	6.8%
BRICS	🇨🇳 China	5.2%	4.6%
BRICS	🇦🇪 UAE	3.4%	3.5%
BRICS	🇮🇷 Iran	4.7%	3.3%
BRICS	🇷🇺 Russia	3.6%	3.2%
BRICS	🇪🇬 Egypt	3.8%	3.0%
BRICS-invited	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	-0.8%	2.6%
BRICS	🇧🇷 Brazil	2.9%	2.2%
BRICS	🇿🇦 South Africa	0.6%	0.9%
BRICS	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	7.2%	6.2%
	🌍 World	3.2%	3.2%

China and India are forecasted to maintain relatively high growth rates in 2024 at 4.6% and 6.8% respectively, but compared to the previous year, China is growing 0.6 percentage points slower while India is an entire percentage point slower.

On the other hand, four G7 nations are set to grow faster than last year, which includes Germany making its comeback from its negative real GDP growth of -0.3% in 2023.

Faster Growth for BRICS than G7 Nations

Despite mostly lower growth forecasts in 2024 compared to 2023, BRICS nations still have a significantly higher average growth forecast at 3.6% compared to the G7 average of 1%.

While the G7 countries’ combined GDP is around $15 trillion greater than the BRICS nations, with continued higher growth rates and the potential to add more members, BRICS looks likely to overtake the G7 in economic size within two decades.

BRICS Expansion Stutters Before October 2024 Summit

BRICS’ recent expansion has stuttered slightly, as Argentina’s newly-elected president Javier Milei declined its invitation and Saudi Arabia clarified that the country is still considering its invitation and has not joined BRICS yet.

Even with these initial growing pains, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told reporters in February that 34 different countries have submitted applications to join the growing BRICS bloc.

Any changes to the group are likely to be announced leading up to or at the 2024 BRICS summit which takes place October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia.