Zimbawe Introduces $100 Billion Dollar Notes After 2.2 Million Percent Inflation

If you think an inflation rate of 7.5% in Singapore is bad enough, then I cannot imagine what's life like having an inflation rate of 2,200,000 (2.2 million) percent. This is exactly what is happening to Zimbawe at the moment.

The Zimbawe central bank has just introduced $100 billion banknotes in a desperate bid to ease the recurrent cash shortages. A $100 billion banknote which is equivalent to 1 USD is now only enough to buy four oranges. With such hyperinflation happening, the number of people living in poverty must have increased at an alarming rate. Someone who is relatively rich can end up in poverty the next day. This reminds me of those days in Germany after WWI in 1923 whereby banknotes were so worthless that it was cheaper to burn them than buying firewood. That time, they also had banknotes that hit 100 billion mark.

Zimbabwe introduces $100 billion banknotes
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/19/zimbabwe.banknotes/

German Hyperinflation Banknotes
http://www.tomchao.com/hb12.html