Inflation in Zimbabwe rose to 10.61 percent in 2018, and is projected to jump dramatically to 577.21 percent in 2020. After that, estimates predict a slow decline for now - however, given Zimbabwe’s history of poor monetary policy, including one of the worst instances of hyperinflation, this seems unrealistic.

Inflation history

Inflation depends significantly on economic expectations of it, making it hard to reduce inflation once it has hit higher levels. This happened in Zimbabwe in the years approaching 2008, at the end of which a single U.S. dollar was worth over 2.6 trillion Zimbabwe dollars, up from 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars at the start of 2005. This all but destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy, leading to very low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and a government struggling to finance itself.

The way ahead

In 2009, the Zimbabwean dollar had twelve zeros slashed from the banknotes. This was not enough, and after three decades of rule, former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was removed from power at the end of 2017. Citizens of the country are trying to hold foreign banknotes; they prefer U.S. dollars or euros, but the South African rand is more common. However, the rand’s performance against other currencies has been lackluster in recent years. This underscores the struggle that the Zimbabwean people have to find a stable currency at the moment.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for Zimbabwe (FPCPITOTLZGZWE) from 2010 to 2022 about Zimbabwe, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, and price.

The Consumer Price Index in Zimbabwe increased 0.50 percent in February of 2025 over the previous month. This dataset provides - Zimbabwe Inflation Rate MoM- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The food inflation rate in Zimbabwe stood at almost 339.73 percent in September 2022 compared to the same month one year prior. Before the period observed, Zimbabwe was already facing hyperinflation and an economic recession. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did not make it any easier, exacerbating the problem further in 2020. However, the country implemented some reforms to the foreign exchange market along with the widening of the tax base in 2020, which helped reduce the overall inflation rate. It is worth noting that a new Zimbabwean dollar was introduced in 2019 after its older counterpart was suspended in 2009.

At the end of 2023, Zimbabwe had the highest inflation rate in the world, at 667.36 percent change compared to the previous year. Inflation in industrialized and in emerging countries Higher inflation rates are more present in less developed economies, as they often lack a sufficient central banking system, which in turn results in the manipulation of currency to achieve short term economic goals. Thus, interest rates increase while the general economic situation remains constant. In more developed economies and in the prime emerging markets, the inflation rate does not fluctuate as sporadically. Additionally, the majority of countries that maintained the lowest inflation rate compared to previous years are primarily oil producers or small island independent states. These countries experienced deflation, which occurs when the inflation rate falls below zero; this may happen for a variety of factors, such as a shift in supply or demand of goods and services, or an outflow of capital.

Cost of food in Zimbabwe increased 105.10 percent in April of 2024 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Zimbabwe Food Inflation - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for Zimbabwe (DDOE02ZWA086NWDB) from 1978 to 2017 about Zimbabwe, CPI, price index, indexes, and price.

Zimbabwe had the highest inflation in Africa as of 2023. The rate reached roughly 172 percent when compared to the previous year, according to the source's estimates. This was followed by Sudan, with a rate increase of over 71 percent. Inflationary pressures in the country have been driven by a long-running economic crisis and political instability. By the end of 2021, the already fragile Sudanese economy suffered again when military forces took control of the government. With a

Consumer Price Index CPI in Zimbabwe increased to 184.60 points in February from 183.76 points in January of 2025. This dataset provides - Zimbabwe Consumer Price Index Cpi- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Zimbabwe ZW: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data was reported at 3.798 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.310 % for 2016. Zimbabwe ZW: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data is updated yearly, averaging 1.330 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.675 % in 2009 and a record low of -27.049 % in 1998. Zimbabwe ZW: Inflation:(GDP) Gross Domestic ProductDeflator: Linked Series data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Zimbabwe – Table ZW.World Bank.WDI: Inflation. Inflation as measured by the annual growth rate of the GDP implicit deflator shows the rate of price change in the economy as a whole. This series has been linked to produce a consistent time series to counteract breaks in series over time due to changes in base years, source data and methodologies. Thus, it may not be comparable with other national accounts series in the database for historical years.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on World Bank national accounts data archives, OECD National Accounts, and the IMF WEO database.; ;

This dataset provides values for INFLATION RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Inflationsraten i Zimbabwe steg til 57,50 procent i april fra 55,30 procent i marts 2024. Aktuelle værdier, historiske data, prognoser, statistik, diagrammer og økonomisk kalender - Zimbabwe - Inflation-Rate.

The average inflation rate in Mozambique was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total two percentage points. The inflation is estimated to amount to 5.5 percent in 2029. The International Monetary Fund describes this indicator as a measure of inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more key insights for the average inflation rate in countries like Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Burundi.

Consumer price index of Zimbabwe shot up by 104.71% from 5,411.0 index in 2021 to 11,076.6 index in 2022. Since the 1.54% decline in 2016, consumer price index soared by 10,492.16% in 2022. Consumer price index reflects changes in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

In December 2024, the inflation rate for food in the European Union (EU) reached 2.4 percent compared to the same month the year prior. Starting in the beginning of 2022, food prices started to rise rapidly. In March 2023, the food inflation rate in the EU reached its peak at 19.19 percent. Since April 2023, the rate started to decrease. Food inflation in Europe One of the main drivers of the increase in consumer prices was the rapid rise in energy prices. In the energy sector, the harmonized index of consumer prices inflation of the EU, a concept to measure and compare inflation internationally, was at 41.1 percent in June 2022, whereas the other categories were all below 10 percent. In Germany, the year-on-year consumer price index development for food and beverages was at 12.33 percent in the year 2023, just a slight dip from the all-time high of 12.51 percent in 2022. By 2024, this had dropped to 1.92 percent. There are a number of ways in which European consumers are trying to save on food costs due to rising prices. The most popular way to deal with the rising food prices is to reduce at-home food waste. An average of about half of consumers in selected European countries stated that this is how they responded to the price increases. Other popular ways were to buy only the essentials or to purchase mostly store brands. Food inflation worldwide In 2022, Europe and Central Asia were the regions with the highest food inflation rates worldwide. The rate of food inflation in those regions was about 18 percent in 2022, which is more than twice as high as it was in the previous year. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the food inflation rate rose from 5.4 to 11.9 percent during the same period. When categorized by income classification, low-income countries have significantly higher food price inflation, as compared to lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income countries. On average, low-income countries had a food price inflation rate of about 30 percent in 2023. The world average rate was at 6.5 percent. Zimbabwe was the country with the highest level of real food inflation worldwide. The southern African country experienced a food inflation of approximately 46 percent in 2024. This was more than two times as high as in any other country in the world.

Between December 2023 and April 2024, Zimbabwe was the country with the highest level of real food inflation worldwide. Compared to the previous year, food prices had increased by 46 percent in Zimbabwe. Argentina ranked in second place with 20 percent.

Datasets analysed to measure the pass-through effect of global food price volatility and South Africa’s CPI on the headline inflation of Zimbabwe.

According to latest figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the average annual inflation rate in China ranged at around 0.2 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year. This was lower than formerly expected by the IMF. For 2025, projections by the IMF published in October 2024 expected the inflation rate to reach around 1.7 percent. The monthly inflation rate in China dropped to negative values in the second half of 2023 and remained comparatively low in 2024. Calculation of inflation The inflation rate is calculated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for China. The CPI is computed using a product basket that contains a predefined range of products and services on which the average consumer spends money throughout the year. Included are expenses for groceries, clothes, rent, power, telecommunications, recreational activities, and raw materials (e.g. gas, oil), as well as federal fees and taxes. The product basked is adjusted every five years to reflect changes in consumer preference and has been updated in 2020 for the last time. The inflation rate is then calculated using changes in the CPI. As the inflation of a country is seen as a key economic indicator, it is frequently used for international comparison. China's inflation in comparison Among the main industrialized and emerging economies worldwide, China displayed comparatively low inflation in 2023 and 2024. In previous years, China's inflation ranged marginally above the inflation rates of established industrialized powerhouses such as the United States or the European Union. However, this changed in 2021, as inflation rates in developed countries rose quickly, while prices in China only increased moderately. According to IMF estimates for 2024, Zimbabwe was expected to be the country with the highest inflation rate, with a consumer price increase of about 561 percent compared to 2023. In 2023, Turkmenistan had the lowest price increase worldwide with prices actually decreasing by about 1.7 percent.

The average inflation rate in Uganda was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1.5 percentage points. The inflation is estimated to amount to five percent in 2029. Following the definitions provided by the International Monetary Fund, this indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. Depicted here is the year-on-year change in said index measure, expressed in percent.Find more key insights for the average inflation rate in countries like Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.

The average inflation rate in South Sudan was forecast to decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 112.7 percentage points. This overall decrease does not happen continuously, notably not in 2028 and 2029. The inflation is estimated to amount to eight percent in 2029. This indicator measures inflation based upon the year on year change in the average consumer price index. The latter expresses a country's average level of prices based on a typical basket of consumer goods and services. The values shown here refer to the year-on-year change in this index measure, expressed in percent.Find more key insights for the average inflation rate in countries like Somalia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.