Which currency experienced the world’s fastest recorded hyperinflation in Hungary in 1946?

The Hungarian pengő experienced the world’s fastest recorded hyperinflation in Hungary in 1946.

After World War II, Hungary faced enormous war-reparation obligations, severe production damage, and a collapse in tax revenue. The government financed much of its spending by issuing money, causing prices to accelerate dramatically. The pengő was replaced by the forint on 1 August 1946.

The peak monthly inflation rate reached about 41.9 quadrillion percent, meaning prices roughly doubled every 15.3 hours. A special currency, the adópengő, was introduced for accounting and tax purposes, but it did not stabilize everyday prices.

This episode is sometimes confused with Germany’s 1923 hyperinflation or Zimbabwe’s later crisis. Hungary’s 1946 episode holds the commonly cited record for the highest monthly inflation rate ever documented, while the German case remains especially famous because of its political and social consequences.