Due to recent shortages in food and fuel, the Zimbabwean economy inflated from 66,212% in December of 2007. Nowadays, the fluctuating economy has been so unstable that inflation has reached 100,000%. The Zimbabwean government claims that with all of the food and fuel shortages, no real accurate inflation value can be officially determined, only estimated. The shortages in Zimbabwe are so bad, 80% of the population live below the poverty line. To try to ease the pain generated by the food shortages, the central bank is now issuing banknotes to its citizens. This article shows how foodstuffs and fuels have a direct correlation with the economic stability of a nation.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7255588.stm
February 28, 2008 at 3:46 am |
This is very interesting, because very rarely have i heard anything about the economies of African countries and I realize now that it is a fairly important topic. These ridiculous numbers, like 100,000%, help illustrate all of the suffering and troubles in Africa. Also before reading this I thought that Zimbabwe was in good shape relative to many other African countries in its area. I realize that just because something isn’t frequently mentioned by the media doesn’t mean it’s not important.
March 5, 2008 at 11:57 am |
I agree with the comment above, African countries are so ignored by the media and by much of the world’s occupants that it is quite shameful. I, myself haven’t heard this story and I’m not surprised. And 80% live below the poverty line?! Why is America self-absorbed to the point of neglecting to make issues like these headline news? If Zimbabwe got as much coverage as the Academy Awards, we would be living in a very different world from the one we live in now.