The annual inflation rate in Argentina increased to 211.4%. In December alone, prices in the South American country hit by a serious economic crisis increased by 25.5 percent, as announced yesterday in Buenos Aires by the national statistics agency INDEC.
In particular, healthcare, transport and food costs have risen sharply. This means that the year 2023 ended in Argentina with the highest inflation rate since the hyperinflation of 1990.
The inflation rate in Argentina is one of the highest in the world. South America's second largest economy suffers from a bloated state apparatus, low industrial productivity and a large parallel economy that deprives the State of much tax revenue.
The new ultra-liberal president, Javier Milei, wants to get Argentina back on track with a radical austerity program. The government has sharply devalued the local currency, the peso, and announced cuts in subsidies for gas, water, electricity and public transport, which will likely increase fuel prices.