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Which Countries Have the Lowest Inflation?
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Which Countries Have the Lowest Inflation?
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Investors are bracing for longer inflation.
The Federal Reserve indicated that more restrictive monetary policy is in the cards amid strong employment gains. In Europe, while inflation has fallen, it is still far above the 2% target. Across the Euro area inflation is estimated to have reached 8.5% in January.
At the same time, some countries have managed to tamp down inflation. Slower growth, cheaper import costs, and foreign exchange policy are some of the factors keeping inflation subdued.
As price pressures rattle global markets, the above infographic maps inflation rates globally using data from Trading Economics, focusing in on the countries with the lowest inflation levels.
World’s Lowest Inflation Rates
Many of the lowest inflation rates around the world are located in Asia, including Macau, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In this region, widespread lockdowns strained growth and consumer spending, lessening inflationary pressures. Last year, Chinese consumers saved $2.2 trillion in bank deposits during these restrictions which were lifted earlier this year.
Inflation in the region was impacted by several other factors. Earlier on in the pandemic, Asian countries including China were less impacted by rising food costs, services inflation, and supply-chain disruptions, unlike what was seen in North America and Europe.
But now as China has reopened, some signs of inflation are beginning to appear. Food prices are up 4.8% annually in December, and hotel rates are rising.
Rank | Country / Region | Inflation Rate, Year-Over-Year | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | -11.6% | Dec 2022 |
2 | ๐ฒ๐ด Macau | 0.8% | Nov 2022 |
3 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 1.8% | Dec 2022 |
4 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong SAR | 1.8% | Nov 2022 |
5 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | 2.1% | Nov 2022 |
6 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | 2.1% | Dec 2022 |
7 | ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | 2.5% | Dec 2022 |
8 | ๐ป๐บ Vanuatu | 2.7% | Mar 2022 |
9 | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | 2.7% | Dec 2022 |
10 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 2.8% | Dec 2022 |
11 | ๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein | 2.8% | Dec 2022 |
12 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | 2.8% | Dec 2022 |
13 | ๐ฒ๐ป Maldives | 2.8% | Nov 2022 |
14 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | 3.1% | Dec 2022 |
15 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | 3.1% | Nov 2022 |
16 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | 3.2% | Nov 2022 |
17 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | 3.2% | Nov 2022 |
18 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 3.3% | Dec 2022 |
19 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | 3.6% | Oct 2022 |
20 | ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | 3.6% | Dec 2022 |
21 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | 3.7% | Dec 2022 |
22 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 3.8% | Nov 2022 |
23 | ๐ฑ๐พ Libya | 3.8% | Nov 2022 |
24 | ๐ง๐ฒ Bermuda | 3.8% | Oct 2022 |
25 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | 3.9% | Nov 2022 |
26 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 4.0% | Nov 2022 |
27 | ๐ต๐ธ Palestine | 4.1% | Dec 2022 |
28 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 4.2% | Nov 2022 |
29 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | 4.4% | Dec 2022 |
30 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | 4.5% | Nov 2022 |
31 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | 4.6% | Dec 2022 |
32 | ๐ง๐น Bhutan | 4.6% | Nov 2022 |
33 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | 4.8% | Dec 2022 |
34 | ๐ณ๐จ New Caledonia | 4.9% | Dec 2022 |
35 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 5.0% | Dec 2022 |
36 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 5.3% | Dec 2022 |
37 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | 5.4% | Dec 2022 |
38 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Swaziland | 5.5% | Oct 2022 |
39 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 5.5% | Dec 2022 |
40 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | 5.7% | Oct 2022 |
41 | ๐จ๐ฎ Ivory Coast | 5.7% | Nov 2022 |
42 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | 5.7% | Dec 2022 |
43 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 5.7% | Dec 2022 |
44 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 5.8% | Dec 2022 |
45 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 5.9% | Dec 2022 |
46 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 5.9% | Dec 2022 |
47 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 5.9% | Dec 2022 |
48 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 5.9% | Dec 2022 |
49 | ๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti | 6.1% | Sep 2022 |
50 | ๐ธ๐ด Somalia | 6.1% | Dec 2022 |
51 | ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | 6.2% | Sep 2022 |
52 | ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | 6.3% | Sep 2022 |
53 | ๐ต๐ท Puerto Rico | 6.3% | Nov 2022 |
54 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 6.3% | Dec 2022 |
55 | ๐ง๐ธ Bahamas | 6.5% | Sep/22 |
56 | ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | 6.5% | Nov 2022 |
57 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 6.5% | Dec 2022 |
58 | ๐ฆ๐ผ Aruba | 6.6% | Nov 2022 |
59 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 6.7% | Nov 2022 |
60 | ๐น๐ฑ East Timor | 6.7% | Nov 2022 |
61 | ๐ฆ๐ช UAE | 6.8% | Jun 2022 |
62 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | 6.9% | Dec 2022 |
63 | ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | 6.9% | Nov 2022 |
64 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 7.2% | Sep 2022 |
65 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 7.2% | Dec 2022 |
66 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | 7.2% | Dec 2022 |
67 | ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | 7.2% | Sep 2022 |
68 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 7.3% | Sep 2022 |
69 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | 7.3% | Dec 2022 |
70 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | 7.3% | Dec 2022 |
71 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | 7.4% | Dec 2022 |
72 | ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde | 7.6% | Dec 2022 |
73 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | 7.7% | Sep 2022 |
74 | ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | 7.7% | Nov 2022 |
75 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | 7.7% | Dec 2022 |
76 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 7.8% | Dec 2022 |
77 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | 7.8% | Dec 2022 |
78 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | 7.9% | Dec 2022 |
79 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | 7.9% | Dec 2022 |
80 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | 8.0% | Nov 2022 |
81 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | 8.1% | Nov 2022 |
82 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | 8.1% | Dec 2022 |
83 | ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | 8.1% | Dec 2022 |
84 | ๐ง๐ง Barbados | 8.2% | Oct 2022 |
85 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 8.2% | Dec 2022 |
86 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | 8.3% | Dec 2022 |
87 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | 8.3% | Nov 2022 |
88 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | 8.3% | Dec 2022 |
89 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | 8.5% | Dec 2022 |
90 | ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | 8.5% | Oct 2022 |
91 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | 8.6% | Nov 2022 |
92 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 8.6% | Dec 2022 |
93 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | 8.7% | Dec 2022 |
94 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | 8.7% | Dec 2022 |
95 | ๐ซ๐ด Faroe Islands | 8.8% | Sep 2022 |
96 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | 9.1% | Dec 2022 |
97 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | 9.1% | Dec 2022 |
98 | ๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands | 9.2% | Sep 2022 |
99 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | 9.2% | Dec 2022 |
100 | ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea Bissau | 9.4% | Nov 2022 |
*Inflation rates based on latest available data.
Globally, one outlier is South Sudan. Political instability and violence have depressed growth and inflation, which stood at -11.6% in December. As it faces a severe humanitarian crisis, the country has the lowest inflation rate worldwide.
Oil-producing nation Oman has also seen low inflation, at 2.1%. One reason for this is that the Omani rial is pegged to the U.S. dollar, keeping the currency anchored. Inflation has remained moderate over the last decade in the country.
The Country With the Lowest Inflation, by Region
In Europe, Switzerland has the lowest inflation rate, at 2.8%, or roughly one-third of the Euro area’s. It is also the lowest rate in the OECD. The countryโs strong currency has shielded it from inflationary pressures and high import prices.
Meanwhile, Swiss production prices have risen marginally above inflation, to 4.1% annually in mid-2022. Last year, the Swiss central bank raised interest rates for the first time since 2007 from -0.75% to -0.25% following 20 years of deflation.
Panama has the lowest rate in Latin America. The dollarization of the Panamanian balboa has helped quash price pressures. In July, the government regulated the price of 72 items to keep the cost of living from rising after three weeks of protests as inflation climbed as high as 5.2% during the course of 2022.
With the lowest inflation in Asia, Macau witnessed the tourism industry fall off a cliff given lockdown measures, and the economy saw both its GDP and inflation collapse in 2022. Its real GDP is projected to have fallen close to 30% for the year.
Future Gazing
The IMF estimates that 84% of countries around the world will have lower inflation than last year. By 2024, both headline and core inflation are projected to remain above pre-pandemic levels at 4.1%.
Opposing forces of China’s reopening and weaker global growth could offset inflationary pressures, yet this interplayโamong a host of other factorsโremains to be seen.
Real Estate
Mapped: The Growth in House Prices by Country
Global house prices were resilient in 2022, rising 6%. We compare nominal and real price growth by country as interest rates surged.

Mapped: The Growth in House Prices by Country
This was originally posted on Advisor Channel. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on financial markets that help advisors and their clients.
Global housing prices rose an average of 6% annually, between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022.
In real terms that take inflation into account, prices actually fell 2% for the first decline in 12 years. Despite a surge in interest rates and mortgage costs, housing markets were noticeably stable. Real prices remain 7% above pre-pandemic levels.
In this graphic, we show the change in residential property prices with data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
The Growth in House Prices, Ranked
The following dataset from the BIS covers nominal and real house price growth across 58 countries and regions as of the fourth quarter of 2022:
Price Growth Rank | Country / Region | Nominal Year-over-Year Change (%) | Real Year-over-Year Change (%) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐น๐ท Tรผrkiye | 167.9 | 51.0 |
2 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | 23.1 | 7.0 |
3 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 23.1 | 9.7 |
4 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | 20.6 | 1.0 |
5 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | 20.3 | 9.9 |
6 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | 17.3 | 3.6 |
7 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | 16.9 | -3.0 |
8 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 16.8 | 11.0 |
9 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | 16.5 | -5.1 |
10 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | 16.0 | -5.5 |
11 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | 15.4 | 4.2 |
12 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | 13.4 | -3.2 |
13 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | 12.2 | 3.7 |
14 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | 11.3 | 1.3 |
15 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 10.0 | -0.7 |
16 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovak Republic | 9.7 | -4.8 |
17 | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | 9.6 | 2.9 |
18 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 9.3 | -6.9 |
19 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | 9.1 | -10.2 |
20 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 8.6 | 1.9 |
21 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 8.6 | -0.2 |
22 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | 8.2 | -3.0 |
23 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 7.9 | 3.9 |
24 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 7.9 | -0.1 |
25 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | 7.7 | -0.2 |
26 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 7.1 | 0.0 |
27 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia | 6.9 | -7.6 |
28 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | 6.7 | -7.5 |
29 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | 6.3 | -0.7 |
30 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | 6.3 | -2.9 |
31 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | 6.3 | -5.6 |
32 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | 5.6 | -0.5 |
33 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | 5.5 | -1.1 |
34 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 5.4 | 2.4 |
35 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | 5.4 | -5.3 |
36 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | 5.2 | -4.8 |
37 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 4.8 | -1.2 |
38 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | 4.7 | -5.7 |
39 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 4.7 | -1.1 |
40 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 3.1 | -4.0 |
41 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 2.8 | -3.1 |
42 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | 2.8 | -8.0 |
43 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 2.6 | -3.8 |
44 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 2.0 | -3.4 |
45 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | 1.5 | -6.3 |
46 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 1.2 | -2.6 |
47 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | -0.1 | -5.0 |
48 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | -0.1 | -7.7 |
49 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | -0.1 | -5.8 |
50 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | -2.3 | -10.2 |
51 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | -2.4 | -10.6 |
52 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | -3.2 | -10.2 |
53 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | -3.6 | -12.1 |
54 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | -3.7 | -13.7 |
55 | ๐จ๐ณ China | -3.7 | -5.4 |
56 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | -3.8 | -9.8 |
57 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | -10.4 | -16.5 |
58 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong SAR | -13.5 | -15.1 |
Tรผrkiyeโs property prices jumped the highest globally, at nearly 168% amid soaring inflation.
Real estate demand has increased alongside declining interest rates. The government drastically cut interest rates from 19% in late 2021 to 8.5% to support a weakening economy.
Many European countries saw some of the highest price growth in nominal terms. A strong labor market and low interest rates pushed up prices, even as mortgage rates broadly doubled across the continent. For real price growth, most countries were in negative territoryโnotably Sweden, Germany, and Denmark.
Nominal U.S. housing prices grew just over 7%, while real price growth halted to 0%. Prices have remained elevated given the stubbornly low supply of inventory. In fact, residential prices remain 45% above pre-pandemic levels.
How Do Interest Rates Impact Property Markets?
Global house prices boomed during the pandemic as central banks cut interest rates to prop up economies.
Now, rates have returned to levels last seen before the Global Financial Crisis. On average, rates have increased four percentage points in many major economies. Roughly three-quarters of the countries in the BIS dataset witnessed negative year-over-year real house price growth as of the fourth quarter of 2022.
Interest rates have a large impact on property prices. Cross-country evidence shows that for every one percentage point increase in real interest rates, the growth rate of housing prices tends to fall by about two percentage points.
When Will Housing Prices Fall?
The rise in U.S. interest rates has been counteracted by homeowners being reluctant to sell so they can keep their low mortgage rates. As a result, it is keeping inventory low and prices high. Homeowners canโt sell and keep their low mortgage rates unless they meet strict conditions on a new property.
Additionally, several other factors impact price dynamics. Construction costs, income growth, labor shortages, and population growth all play a role.
With a strong labor market continuing through 2023, stable incomes may help stave off prices from falling. On the other hand, buyers with floating-rate mortgages face steeper costs and may be unable to afford new rates. This could increase housing supply in the market, potentially leading to lower prices.
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