The Pure Pundit

Is it real?

Apparently it’s all too real in Zimbabwe where $10 Million Zimbabwe dollars = $1 U.S. dollar.

After the collapse of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe in 2000, the inflation in that country skyrocketed to 231 million percent a year! Just think about it – 231 000 000%! Unemployment went up to 80% and a third of country’s population left it.

According to the Telegraph (U.K.) hyperinflation in Zimbabwe is having a devastating effect even on health care.

The hospital told him that he had to make a Z$20 million down payment before they started treatment (the equivalent at black market rates of around £7.20) – but the banks have a withdrawal limit of just Z$50,000 per day. Then he was told to buy drugs from private pharmacies to save her at the cost of Z$30 million. By the time he got special clearance from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, hyperinflation had forced up the cost of the drugs to Z$50 million.