Hyperinflation/Archive

Cases / The end of communism / Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia
1992–1994

The breakup of Yugoslavia, war, and UN sanctions (from May 1992) left the rump federation of Serbia and Montenegro with a collapsing tax base and a state that paid with the press.

313 million %prices in the worst monthJanuary 1994
1.41 daysfor prices to doubleat the peak (Hanke & Krus)
Apr 1992 – Jan 1994above 50% a monththe hyperinflation itself
2banknotes in the collectionDinar

Currency reform: 1 novi dinar = 1 Deutsche Mark · Cause: War, sanctions, a deficit paid by the central bank · Resolution: Novi dinar pegged to the Deutsche Mark (24 Jan 1994)

In short

Prices peaked in January 1994, rising 313 million % in one month and doubling every 1.41 days (H&K) — the second-worst month on record after Hungary 1946. It ended on 24 January 1994 with the "super dinar", pegged one-to-one to the Deutsche Mark.

The curve

Dinars per 1 USD (approximate), logarithmic scale: each line up is many times the one below.

100 100,000 100 million 100 billion 100 trillion 10¹⁷ 1993 1994 1992-03: 100 1992-06: 900 1992-09: 5,000 1992-12: 15,000 1993-01: 35,000 1993-03: 150,000 1993-06: 1.2 million 1993-09: 30 million 1993-10: 500 million 1993-11: 35 billion 1993-12: 1.78 trillion 1994-01: 1.3×10¹⁶ Worst month

Peak 313 million percent in January 1994, prices doubling every 1.41 days (Hanke & Krus). Redenominations of 10:1 (Jul 1992), 1,000,000:1 (Oct 1993) and 1,000,000,000:1 (Jan 1994); the novi dinar was pegged to the Deutsche Mark on 24 January 1994. Approximate series, kept for its shape; individual points are not sourced one by one. Source: National Bank of Yugoslavia, Lyon, J. (1996) Yugoslavia's Hyperinflation 1993-1994: A Social History.

What happened

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

May 1992
UN sanctions.
1 Jul 1992
Redenomination, 10 : 1.
1993
24 new banknotes in a year, up to 500 billion dinara; the 500 bn note is worthless two weeks after printing (Wikipedia, dinar).
dated
1993
50 billion dinars (1993)
50 billion dinars (1993)
dated
1993
5 billion dinars (1993)
5 billion dinars (1993)
1 Oct 1993
Redenomination, 1,000,000 : 1.
Jan 1994
Peak: 313 million % in the month, 62% a day (H&K · Wikipedia).
1 Jan 1994
Redenomination, 1,000,000,000 : 1.
24 Jan 1994
The novi dinar ("super dinar"), 1 : 1 with the Deutsche Mark; the programme of Dragoslav Avramović, governor of the National Bank.

Context: why it happened

  • War and breakup. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia left in 1991–92; the federation lost most of its economy and fought (and funded) wars in Croatia and Bosnia.
  • Sanctions. UN sanctions from May 1992 cut trade and foreign currency.
  • Monetised deficits. The monetisation of budget deficits was the main cause (Wikipedia): the National Bank financed the state, state firms and pensions.

How it ended

The "Program of Monetary Reconstruction and Economic Recovery" led by Dragoslav Avramović (Wikipedia): a new dinar pegged at par to the Deutsche Mark, convertible, with a tight limit on issue and on lending to the state. Inflation fell almost to zero within weeks.

Consequences & lessons

  • Even under sanctions and war, a hard peg and a stop to deficit financing ended it at once.
  • The anchor buys time; it holds only as long as the deficit financing stays stopped.

The banknotes

50 billion dinars (1993)
50 billion dinars (1993)
5 billion dinars (1993)
5 billion dinars (1993)

The data

figurevaluesource
Hyperinflation (≥ 50%/month)Apr 1992 – Jan 1994 (H&K) · Mar 1992 – Jan 1994, 22 months (Wikipedia)H&K · Wikipedia
Peak monthJanuary 1994H&K
Peak monthly inflation313,000,000 % (3.13 × 10⁸ %)H&K
Doubling time at peak1.41 daysH&K
Daily inflation at peak62% a day (≈ 2% an hour)Wikipedia (Serbia & Montenegro)
Banknotes issued during the episode33, of which 24 in 1993Wikipedia (Serbia & Montenegro)
Largest note500 billion (5 × 10¹¹) dinara, 1993Wikipedia (dinar)
Redenomination 1 Jul 199210 : 1Wikipedia (dinar)
Redenomination 1 Oct 19931,000,000 : 1Wikipedia (dinar)
Redenomination 1 Jan 19941,000,000,000 : 1Wikipedia (dinar)
Novi dinar, 24 Jan 19941 novi dinar = 1 DM ≈ 13 million (Jan 1994) dinaraWikipedia (dinar)
The series, point by point
Monthper $
1992-03100
1992-06900
1992-095,000
1992-1215,000
1993-0135,000
1993-03150,000
1993-061.2 million
1993-0930 million
1993-10500 million
1993-1135 billion
1993-121.78 trillion
1994-011.3×10¹⁶
Case data (JSON)Series (CSV)Banknotes (ZIP)
Cite this case
“Yugoslavia 1992–1994”, Hyperinflation Archive, hyperinflation.rogzy.org/yugoslavia-1992-1994/ (2026). Figures: Hanke & Krus (2012) and the sources listed below.

Sources

  1. Hanke & Krus (2012), World Hyperinflations, Cato WP no. 8 — dates, peak, doubling time.
  2. Wikipedia, "Hyperinflation in Serbia and Montenegro" (read 2026-10-05): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_Serbia_and_Montenegro
  3. Wikipedia, "Yugoslav dinar" — redenominations, 500 bn note, novi dinar (read 2026-10-05): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_dinar
  4. Petrović, P., Bogetić, Ž. & Vujošević, Z.

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