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Zimbabwe Dollar
Zimbabwe uses the Zimbabwean dollar for its currency. Each dollar is divided into 100 cents. In theory the currency is issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, but you won't see any in Zimbabwe. Then there is a $1 piece coin as well. Notes are then issued as $1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 100 and 5000, but again, you probably won't see many of these.
The country has experienced rapid hyperinflation, which it sought to address in August 2008 by the introduction of a new dollar system. So it decided to withdraw the big notes which were issued in denominations of: 10000 0000 and 250000 0000 as well as 500000 0000 and instead revalue or rather devalue the currency at the rate of 10 billion old Zimbabwean dollars to one new dollar. That's a devaluation of 10 billion %. So it would be logical to think that you will actually see small notes back in circulation. However, that may well not happen.
After the devaluation (August 2008) each British pound was worth some 15 Zimbabwean dollars. By the end of August, each British pound was worth almost 51 Zimbabwean dollars and if this trend continues, the million dollar notes will be back in circulation once again.
Hyperinflation took a serious hold on Zimbabwe and basically in July 2008 the official rate of inflation stood at some 2, 200,000% but it was estimated to be nearer the 9,000,000% rate, so if inflation continues at that rate, by the end of September, it will be logical to assume that the currency will once again be worthless.
Internationally, the currency is denoted by the letters ZWD.
History of the Zimbabwean Dollar
The current Zimbabwean dollar only came into being as recently as August 2008, at which time it replaced previous dollar systems and various emergency notes that had been issued by the Reserve Bank, but the dollar itself, first became a currency in 1980.
Until this point, the Rhodesian dollar had been in use but basically, ever since the Zimbabwean dollar was introduced it has been subject to inflation, although it never quite experienced hyperinflation until the years 2004 onwards.
Getting Hold of Zimbabwean Dollars
Until the new currency was introduced advice would have been that if you needed enough cash to pay for a hotel room or for any item that was big, you would need a shed load of million dollar marks and even then you may not have enough ! Now however, it would be fair to say that today you will probably need a reasonably sized bag, tomorrow a bigger bag, the day after a hold all and after that at least suitcases. But the currency could well stabilise, it is just that based on past performance, this does not look like a reality, more of a dream that is unlikely to come true…..
ATM machines do exist, but credit card payment is on the increase, particularly in the hotels that are open for business. However, until the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe is resolved, you would only need to get hold of Zimbabwean dollars, if your journey is absolutely necessary. If you do need to travel there, then take some US dollars or British pounds to exchange and these should keep you going throughout your stay, since you can also use your credit card in the bigger hotels.
Travel to Zimbabwe is not actually recommended currently, unless your journey is absolutely necessary. In particular travellers from the UK should be aware that Mugabe, the leader of Zimbabwe is opposed to the UK and he blames the UK and British actions for the problems that Zimbabwe now faces. The rights and wrongs of this blame are complex and would run to several pages of deep historical analysis, which would not do anything to change the reality of the situation: Mugabe does not like the UK and so UK travellers in particular will be viewed with suspicion, particularly if you are suspected of being a UK journalist, they are not welcomed with open arms in Zimbabwe.
After the elections were held in June 2008, where the opposition felt that they had won the election, but Mugabe insisted that he had won. Since that time there have been various problems in terms of violent demonstrations, clashes, incidents that seem to 'happen' to opposition supporters and a general feeling that Zimbabwe is a bit like a bomb just waiting to go off.
Many people have experienced real hunger and problems due to the hyper inflation. They have not been able to eat properly or put fuel in their cars (if they are lucky enough to have one) and they are desperate for things to change and to get food in their bellies and some kind of stability in the country. Despite the fact that Mugabe runs a very tight ship, where opposition is stamped out at times, the main opposition party is increasingly gaining strength and Mugabe is apparently committed to ensuring that some kind of 'deal' is worked out with the opposition, so that they can share power.
The reality is that Mugabe has done this before but all that happened was that his opposition co-leader, became relegated to the sidelines and was unable to effect any change at all.
So within this context, there is a lot that could happen within the next few months and violence is a big risk, hence why many governments are simply advising that any travel to Zimbabwe which is not absolutely essential should be postponed, until such time as the country is stable.
Zimbabwe as a country
Zimbabwe is a beautiful country which has suffered enormously in terms of what has been going on with the economy. This means that many of the things that we would take as basic commodities are in very short supply in Zimbabwe. In particular most of the supermarkets tend to have very little stock and there are often queues for some items such as bread or meat.
Medicines are in short supply and you may find that if you need medicines that you cannot get them even with a prescription, because the pharmacy or doctors simply has not had the money to buy them, so any medical needs may go unmet.
One of the main reasons why people come to Zimbabwe, apart from the wildlife (or currently apart from writing about how dire the situation is and how bleak life is in Zimbabwe) is to see the most spectacular Victoria Falls. Even if you don't stay in Zimbabwe, you can come through to Zimbabwe from Zambia and then get a day pass, just so that you can see the falls from the Zimbabwean side. This is usually quite safe, but if you are planning to do this, then make sure that you check out whether or not it is safe, before you attempt to get in from Zambia.
The falls are not the tallest in the world, but they are awesome and extremely beautiful. Even a few years ago you would have seen a lot of people at Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwean side, but now most people are just too scared to make the crossing, even though it is relatively safe. But on the other hand, this means that it is not as busy as it once was, so you get to see the falls without hoards of people milling around, even though there will still be some there.
One other fantastic sight, particularly for lovers of history is the sights at
Great Zimbabwe, which are the ruins of a city built from stone in the 13th – 14th Century and it is incredibly beautiful to see almost 2000 acres covered in stone dwellings and buildings. Many of them are in ruins, but you still get a sense of just how wonderful the city must have looked in its day. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and deservedly so.
Many people also came to Zimbabwe for the wildlife, particularly around the area of Kariba, which is on the northern side of Zimbabwe. Like its neighbour, Zambia, Zimbabwe offers a real opportunity to see the most amazing wildlife, in their natural habitats and watching them becomes almost addictive after a while and no matter how long you do watch them, you won't want to leave them, since you will just be amazed by how agile, graceful, fast and cunning they are.
Overview
However, as of 2008, the sights and attractions of Zimbabwe are only for dreaming about. Even if you took the risk and went to the country, you will not find much of an infrastructure in place to be able to offer you any kind of holiday where you would actually see the country. Many things have been forced to close as they became victims of inflation and for many people life became such a struggle that they had to focus on just getting enough money to live for that day.
In addition, the lack of tourists during the hyper-inflation period, means that there are very few museums, restaurants or hotels able to offer much apart from a few who do the best they can in very difficult situations.
People in Zimbabwe are also very tired. They have been through a lot and as if all the political unrest, hyperinflation and the basic collapse of the economy were not enough, HIV and AIDS are a huge issue in Zimbabwe and yet the government seem hell bent on ignoring the problem and also ignoring the fact that people have been denied medicines which could have given them not just a better quality of life, but which could have increased their life expectancy.
These problems go to the very heart of life in Zimbabwe, so even if the inflation problem were cured by the introduction of the 'new' dollar, it is unlikely that the whole country will be able to offer travellers a comfortable and safe journey for some time, there will still be some infrastructure problems for some time!
Comment
I wonder why so many countries have some form of dollar as their currency? Obviously we’ve got the big ones like the US dollar and the Hong Kong dollar, but it’s quite surprising how many smaller ones there are too.
I’d heard of the Zimbabwe dollar before, but there are loads of others in this section of your site that are completely new to me! Who chose which country got the dollar, I wonder? If we ever have one world currency I bet it would be some kind of new dollar as well – it’s the strongest currency around!
— JamieK · Jun 26, 12:01 AM · #
Hyperinflation is a hugely scary thing isn’t it? I’ve read about the situation in Zimbabwe online, and to have inflation of something like nine million per cent is really frightening.
The sad thing is that the sights mentioned in the article really aren’t safe to be seen by anyone. I don’t think I would risk getting into the country to see those Victoria Falls, even if it did seem safe doing it the way it has been suggested. I would rather stay safe and see them online, or on television perhaps. Hopefully things will improve in the future, although we may still have a long wait for that to happen.
— Kate · Sep 16, 02:53 PM · #
I have some Zimbabwean dollars that I want to convert into UK pounds. How can I do this?
— Andrew Stevens · Feb 12, 03:05 PM · #