Zimbabwe economic crisis – Photos show how bad it really is
New Hyperinflation Index (HHIZ) Puts Zimbabwe Inflation at 89.7 Sextillion Percent. Zimbabwe is the first country in the 21st century to hyperinflate. In February 2007, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate topped 50% per month, the minimum rate required to qualify as a hyperinflation (50% per month is equal to a 12,875% per year)
This followed Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s decision to introduce a tax increase on money transfers last week to try and stabilise the government’s finances.
The announcement triggered a rise in basic-commodity prices, stoking fears of an inflationary spiral and leading to long queues forming at petrol stations.
Zimbabwe Inflation Rate 2009-2018
The inflation rate in Zimbabwe rose to 4.83 percent year-on-year in August 2018 from 4.29 percent in the prior month. It was the highest inflation rate since December 2011, mainly as prices advanced faster for food & non-alcoholic beverages (7.5 percent vs 6.3 percent in July). On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.40 percent, following a 0.98 percent increase in the previous month. Inflation Rate in Zimbabwe averaged 1.08 percent from 2009 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 5.30 percent in May of 2010 and a record low of -7.50 percent in December of 2009.
Zimbabwe Inflation Rate
Many shops, under pressure from the government, are restricting customers’ purchases to prevent hoarding.
Others have gone further: Yum! Brands Inc. temporarily shut some of its KFC outlets this week, saying it couldn’t find enough dollars to pay suppliers.
On Thursday, police arrested and beat two leaders of the country’s main trade union at protests over the increasing cost of living, the labor group said in a statement.
The country’s quasi-currency, known as bond notes (introduced two years ago and were meant to represent the value of one dollar), have plunged in value.
It now takes 4.3 of them to buy one U.S. dollar – the weakest exchange rate on record, according to the Zim Dollar Index. In early September, the rate was 1.75.
Some businesses have now stopped accepting bonds notes or electronic payments – which are even less valuable than the notes – altogether, and will only take hard cash.
Zimbabwe, having scrapped its own worthless Zimbabwe dollar to end 500 billion-percent inflation in 2009, accepts them and the US dollar, Euro and rand, among others, as legal tender.
Photos tell the story
Many Zimbabweans have posted photos to social media to show how bad the situation has become in the country.