Explainer-in-brief: Where the world was the last time inflation was this high
Yesterday the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that UK inflation had hit 9 per cent, reaching the highest level since 1982. This year we have slowly emerged from the pandemic, witnessed the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and we’re facing a dire cost of living crisis. But what was going on last time that inflation was this high?
In January of that year, while snow covered 75 per cent of North America, on this side of the pond the unemployment population was rising above three million. That year was also plagued by a war: in April Argentine troops seized the Falkland Islands, starting what would become known as Ms Thatcher’s war.
There was also good news: the first successful heart transplant was performed in the US. It was the year the iconic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial movie was released, together with Michael Jackson’s album Thriller.
1982 was an eventful year; it looks like 2022 might follow suit.