Hyperinflation/Archive

Cases / The end of communism / Georgia

Georgia
1993–1994

Newly independent Georgia was fighting civil wars (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, the Gamsakhurdia loyalists) and had lost its Soviet markets and Russian energy.

211%prices in the worst monthSeptember 1994
18.6 daysfor prices to doubleat the peak (Hanke & Krus)
Sep 1993 – Sep 1994above 50% a monththe hyperinflation itself
1banknotes in the collectionKuponi

Currency reform: 1 lari = 1,000,000 kuponi · Cause: Civil war, a deficit paid with the kuponi · Resolution: IMF-backed programme, then the lari (1995)

In short

It issued a temporary "coupon" currency, the kuponi, and financed the state with it. Hyperinflation ran from September 1993 to September 1994 and peaked at the very end: 211 % in September 1994, doubling every 18.6 days (H&K). In 1995 one lari replaced a million kuponi.

The curve

Kuponi per 1 USD, logarithmic scale: each line up is many times the one below.

1 10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000 1 million 10 million 1994 1993-04: 2 1993-06: 25 1993-09: 600 1993-12: 4,500 1994-03: 85,000 1994-06: 450,000 1994-09: 1.8 million 1994-12: 2.4 million Worst month

The kuponi replaced the ruble at par on 5 April 1993. Hyperinflation from September 1993 to September 1994, peak 211% in September 1994 (Hanke & Krus). The lari replaced it on 2 October 1995 at 1,000,000 kuponi. Approximate series, kept for its shape; individual points are not sourced one by one. Source: National Bank of Georgia, IMF Working Paper - The Georgian Hyperinflation and Stabilization (1999).

What happened

The events in order, with the banknotes at the date on them.

Mar – Apr 1992
A first episode, in Russian rubles (H&K).
5 Apr 1993
The kuponi is introduced.
Sep 1993
Monthly inflation passes 50 % (H&K start).
1994
Notes reach 1,000,000 kuponi.
dated
1994
1 million kuponi (1994)
1 million kuponi (1994)
Sep 1994
Peak 211 % (H&K).
2 Oct 1995
The lari replaces the kuponi at 1 : 1,000,000.

Context: why it happened

  • Trade and energy collapsed when the Soviet supply chains broke.

How it ended

The lari was not a magic unit: it came last.

The banknotes

1 million kuponi (1994)
1 million kuponi (1994)

The data

figurevaluesource
Hyperinflation (≥ 50%/month)Sep 1993 – Sep 1994H&K
Earlier episodeMar – Apr 1992, 198 %, while the currency was still the Russian rubleH&K
Peak monthSeptember 1994H&K
Peak monthly inflation211 %H&K
Doubling time at peak18.6 daysH&K
Kuponi5 Apr 1993, replacing the ruble at par; no coinsWikipedia (Georgian kuponi)
Largest note1,000,000 kuponi (1994)Wikipedia (Georgian kuponi)
Lari2 Oct 1995, 1 lari = 1,000,000 kuponiWikipedia (Georgian kuponi)
The series, point by point
Monthper $
1993-042
1993-0625
1993-09600
1993-124,500
1994-0385,000
1994-06450,000
1994-091.8 million
1994-122.4 million
Case data (JSON)Series (CSV)Banknotes (ZIP)
Cite this case
“Georgia 1993–1994”, Hyperinflation Archive, hyperinflation.rogzy.org/georgia-1993-1994/ (2026). Figures: Hanke & Krus (2012) and the sources listed below.

Sources

  1. Hanke & Krus (2012) — both episodes, peak, doubling time.
  2. Wikipedia, "Georgian kuponi" (read 2026-10-05): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_kuponi
  3. Wang, J.-Y.

H&K = Hanke, S. H. & Krus, N. (2012), World Hyperinflations, Cato Institute Working Paper no. 8.