- Certain figures in this article use scientific notation for readability.
In economics,
hyperinflation occurs when a country experiences very high and usually accelerating rates of
inflation, rapidly eroding the
real value of the local
currency, and causing the population to minimize their holdings of the local money. The population normally switches to holding relatively stable foreign currencies. Under such conditions, the general
price level within an economy increases rapidly as the official currency quickly loses real value. The value of economic items remains relatively more stable in terms of foreign currencies.