And that will be $220,000,000,000
So, as of 16th May, the Zimbabwe annual inflation rate hit 355,000%.
Stop printing money. Seriously. There’s way too much of it in the market. Again, stop printing money. Seriously. There’s way too much of it in the market.
A close second is Burma at 39.5%. No more zeros. Just 39.5%.
The inflation rate was 165000% in February, and it rose to this whopping figure now. To give you an idea as to what this number means – 355,000% annual rate means prices are doubling every week. Something, let’s say – toothpaste – that costs $10 today is going to cost $20 next week, and $160 by the end of the month. And $4500 billion next year.
Ouch.
Even if my math is wrong, $4500 billion for toothpaste is slightly over the edge, by most standards.
But then, as you might think, nothing costs ZW$10 in Zimbabwe. The country needs major rebooting with a current unemployment fraction of 85%. Understandably, a HUGE section lies below the poverty line.
A brief history: A few disastrous decisions were made in the past few years. Currently, Zimbabwean people have $100 million, $250 million and $500 million currency notes. By May 20th, the $5 billion, $25 billion and $50 billion notes are hitting the market.
When it started in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar was valued at USD 1.00 = ZWD 0.68. As of
May 2008, USD 1.00 is valued at ZWD 315,000,000.
Huh.
Going to Zimbabwe? Carry lots of money. Like $50.
