Numbers

How to say this number, 668 819 039 718.91? It’s 668 billion right? (Is it?)

Recently I received a forwarded email about Zimbabwe hyperinflation. Really, it is really bad. I can’t imagine the life when three eggs cost them 100 billion!

Taken from the email (with some alteration) :

What the real crisis is like!

If you think that the current economic crisis is something that has never happened in history before, you may be wrong!  After the collapse of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe in 2000, the inflation in that country skyrocketed to 231 million percent a year! Just think about it - 231 000 000%! Unemployment went up to 80% and a third of country's population left it.

Let`s now have a look at the photos that you may not be able to see anywhere else in the world.

Here is a boy getting change in 200 000 dollar notes!

One 200 000 dollar note equals less than $0.10 cents.

December 22nd, a new note of 500 000 dollars introduced to the market!

Next – 750 000 dolar

January – new note of 10 million dollar. Pakcik kayo! Wow he is millionaire!

This US $10 dollar note is 10 times worth more than the 10 million dollars Zimbabwe note.

I think this boy is going to buy himself a burger. What a pile of money.

A case worth 65 billion Zimbabwe dollars which equals to $2000 US dollars.

This guy is going to a supermarket. The exchange rate is 25 million Zimbabwe dollars for 1 US dollar.

But the inflation is still increasing in logarithmic scale. 50 Million note is then introduced!

Next is 250 million dollars.

 

Oh the t-shirt is so cheap. It’s only 3 billion dollars!

 

 

May - a note of 500 million dollars is introduced!

 

June - note worth 25 and 50 billion are printed. Maybe the only country that has billions note printed.

And finally - 100 billion dollars note! Yes.. you can only buy 3 eggs from your 100 billion dollar, sir!

Wonder how people bring money to the restaurants? And that’s the bill.

In August, the government devalued Zimbabwe dollar by removing 10 zeros from notes.

However, inflation kept going up and in September for this amount of cash you could only buy 4 tomatoes.

And for this - some bread.

And then it started again: 20 000 dollars note in September.

50 000 a couple of weeks ago!

 

At first, it seems unbelievable to have this situation. But when I googled it, yes it really happening. This is the summary of the figures of Zimbabwean Dollars. I took it from the Wikipedia.

 

I hope our government (whoever it is) will try to keep the inflation low. Please, let us (especially the leaders) focus to settle the economic problem rather than arguing to each other and name people this and that. I don’t want to buy nasi lemak that will cost me 1 billion ringgit!