Unit 3: Zimbabwe inflation hits 2,200,000% and the central bank issues a Z$100billion note

If you thought the UK inflation rate may be worrying at 3.8%, just think what trying to operate in the Zimbabwe economy must be like

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7509715.stm

This article from the Guardian explains how ordinary Zimbabwe citizens are dealing with the economic meltdown

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/18/zimbabwe

And as a response to the falling purchasing power of the Z$, the govt issues a new note with a face value of......Z$100billion! What will it buy? According to this BBC article, a loaf of bread

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7515823.stm

This small section of a Guardian article shows what hyperinflation does to the purchasing power of money:

The demand for new higher denomination notes, as the value of existing ones plummeted, was reflected in the rapid increase in the numbers of noughts on money printed over the past two years.
In August 2006, the central bank issued a $5 note. A $500,000 note followed a year later. On 2 May 2008, a $500m banknote hit the streets but was swiftly near worthless, and $5bn, $25bn and $50bn notes followed just a fortnight later.