Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Zimbabwe: the economy in numbers
Per person: $3,021, or $6,470 at purchasing power parity. Population: 17 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #96 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +5.0%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $11.5 billion in 1960, $51.2 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $3,013 per person in 1960, $3,021 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.5% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 17 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 114 times from 2009 to 2022. Highest annual inflation: 231,150,889% in 2008. Years with inflation above 100%: 12. The chart cuts the scale at 100%; “Full scale” shows everything.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2005: 76.1% of GDP in 2023. IMF forecast for 2031: 25.7%.
Stock market capitalization, % of GDP
In 1999 listed domestic companies were worth $2.46 billion, or 35.9% of GDP.
Population
1960: 3.81 million · 2025: 17 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 4.8% · 2025: 9.3%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 53.5 years · 2024: 63.1 years.
Exports of goods and services
1975: 22.8% · 2024: 18.1%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Stock market, % GDP | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 4.2%f | 6.9%f | 25.7%f | ||||||||
| 2030 | 4.2%f | 6.9%f | 26.7%f | ||||||||
| 2029 | 4.2%f | 6.9%f | 28.1%f | ||||||||
| 2028 | 5.0%f | 7.0%f | 30.2%f | ||||||||
| 2027 | 3.5%f | 5.0%f | 30.6%f | ||||||||
| 2026 | 5.0%f | 4.0%f | 33.5%f | ||||||||
| 2025 | $51.2B | $3,021 | $6,470 | 8.1% | 81.4% | 38.0% | 17M | 9.3% | |||
| 2024 | $41.5B | $2,496 | $5,933 | 1.7% | 736.1% | 70.4% | 16.6M | 9.4% | 63.1 | 18.1% | |
| 2023 | $35.9B | $2,195 | $5,796 | 5.4% | 667.4% | 76.1% | 16.3M | 9.3% | 62.8 | 17.1% | |
| 2022 | $40.8B | $2,536 | $5,395 | 6.1% | 104.7% | 66.8% | 16.1M | 10.1% | 62.4 | 18.8% | |
| 2021 | $41.3B | $2,614 | $4,827 | 8.5% | 98.5% | 39.9% | 15.8M | 9.5% | 60.1 | 15.7% | |
| 2020 | $32B | $2,060 | $4,179 | −7.8% | 557.2% | 56.8% | 15.5M | 8.6% | 61.5 | 15.0% | |
| 2019 | $33.4B | $2,185 | $4,166 | −6.3% | 255.3% | 53.9% | 15.3M | 7.4% | 61.1 | 18.0% | |
| 2018 | $34.1B | $2,271 | $3,993 | 5.0% | 10.6% | 33.0% | 15M | 6.8% | 60.9 | 26.2% | |
| 2017 | $51B | $3,445 | $10,756 | 4.7% | 0.9% | 49.0% | 14.8M | 6.3% | 60.3 | 24.7% | |
| 2016 | $20.6B | $1,408 | $4,275 | 0.8% | −1.5% | 35.1% | 14.6M | 5.9% | 59.8 | 19.9% | |
| 2015 | $20B | $1,387 | $4,046 | 1.8% | −2.4% | 34.1% | 14.4M | 5.4% | 59.0 | 19.2% | |
| 2014 | $19.5B | $1,373 | $3,903 | 2.4% | −0.2% | 29.2% | 14.2M | 4.8% | 58.1 | 20.9% | |
| 2013 | $19.1B | $1,363 | $3,784 | 2.0% | 1.6% | 26.4% | 14M | 4.9% | 56.8 | 22.0% | |
| 2012 | $17.1B | $1,239 | $3,472 | 16.7% | 3.7% | 27.2% | 13.8M | 5.1% | 55.4 | 25.2% | |
| 2011 | $14.1B | $1,038 | $3,047 | 14.2% | 3.5% | 30.0% | 13.6M | 5.4% | 53.9 | 34.8% | |
| 2010 | $12B | $902 | $2,661 | 19.7% | 3.0% | 33.2% | 13.4M | 5.5% | 51.9 | 29.6% | |
| 2009 | $9.67B | $736 | $2,233 | 13.3% | 6.2% | 39.7% | 13.1M | 5.5% | 49.8 | 19.5% | |
| 2008 | $4.42B | $341 | $1,987 | −17.7% | 231,150,889% | 41.3% | 13M | 5.4% | 48.5 | 41.5% | |
| 2007 | $5.29B | $414 | $2,396 | −3.7% | 6,724% | 30.2% | 12.8M | 5.0% | 47.6 | 37.8% | |
| 2006 | $5.45B | $431 | $2,454 | −3.5% | 1,017% | 26.7% | 12.6M | 4.8% | 47.1 | 36.0% | |
| 2005 | $5.76B | $461 | $2,496 | −5.7% | 237.8% | 22.4% | 12.5M | 4.6% | 46.6 | 33.5% | |
| 2004 | $5.81B | $470 | $2,591 | −5.8% | 350.0% | 12.4M | 4.4% | 46.0 | 34.5% | ||
| 2003 | $5.73B | $468 | $2,708 | −17.0% | 365.0% | 12.2M | 4.7% | 45.4 | 32.4% | ||
| 2002 | $6.35B | $525 | $3,238 | −8.9% | 133.2% | 12.1M | 5.0% | 45.9 | 31.8% | ||
| 2001 | $6.78B | $566 | $3,533 | 1.4% | 71.9% | 12M | 5.3% | 44.5 | 35.0% | ||
| 2000 | $6.69B | $563 | $3,429 | −3.1% | 55.8% | 11.9M | 5.7% | 46.0 | 38.2% | ||
| 1999 | $6.86B | $582 | $3,491 | −0.8% | 58.5% | 11.8M | 6.0% | 35.9% | 46.4 | 37.4% | |
| 1998 | $6.41B | $552 | $3,527 | 2.9% | 31.7% | 11.6M | 6.4% | 14.9% | 47.6 | 43.4% | |
| 1997 | $8.53B | $751 | $3,457 | 2.7% | 18.8% | 11.4M | 6.9% | 22.6% | 48.5 | 37.6% | |
| 1996 | $8.56B | $767 | $3,372 | 10.4% | 21.4% | 11.2M | 6.2% | 42.5% | 49.0 | 36.1% | |
| 1995 | $7.12B | $648 | $3,051 | 0.2% | 22.6% | 11M | 5.6% | 29.9% | 51.1 | 38.2% | |
| 1994 | $6.89B | $634 | $3,012 | 9.2% | 22.3% | 10.9M | 5.0% | 24.4% | 52.5 | 34.6% | |
| 1993 | $6.57B | $605 | $2,703 | 1.1% | 27.6% | 10.9M | 5.0% | 21.9% | 54.0 | 30.7% | |
| 1992 | $6.75B | $631 | $2,651 | −9.0% | 42.1% | 10.7M | 4.9% | 55.6 | 27.2% | ||
| 1991 | $8.65B | $831 | $2,930 | 5.5% | 23.3% | 10.4M | 4.8% | 57.0 | 23.9% | ||
| 1990 | $8.79B | $867 | $2,757 | 7.0% | 10.1M | 58.3 | 22.9% | ||||
| 1989 | $8.29B | $840 | 5.2% | 9.86M | 59.4 | 23.3% | |||||
| 1988 | $7.82B | $816 | 7.6% | 9.58M | 60.2 | 23.7% | |||||
| 1987 | $6.74B | $726 | 1.2% | 9.28M | 60.7 | 24.0% | |||||
| 1986 | $6.22B | $693 | 2.1% | 8.98M | 61.0 | 24.0% | |||||
| 1985 | $5.64B | $649 | 6.9% | 8.69M | 60.9 | 22.2% | |||||
| 1984 | $6.36B | $757 | −1.9% | 8.39M | 60.6 | 20.6% | |||||
| 1983 | $7.77B | $959 | 1.6% | 8.1M | 60.0 | 16.4% | |||||
| 1982 | $8.54B | $1,096 | 2.6% | 7.8M | 59.9 | 16.9% | |||||
| 1981 | $8.02B | $1,069 | 12.5% | 7.5M | 59.4 | 19.4% | |||||
| 1980 | $6.68B | $949 | 14.4% | 7.04M | 59.1 | 23.4% | |||||
| 1979 | $5.18B | $779 | 3.3% | 6.65M | 54.9 | 21.8% | |||||
| 1978 | $4.35B | $665 | −2.7% | 6.54M | 54.7 | 22.0% | |||||
| 1977 | $4.37B | $677 | −6.9% | 6.45M | 57.0 | 21.4% | |||||
| 1976 | $4.32B | $687 | 0.5% | 6.29M | 57.6 | 22.0% | |||||
| 1975 | $4.37B | $717 | −1.9% | 6.1M | 58.2 | 22.8% | |||||
| 1974 | $3.98B | $674 | 6.6% | 5.91M | 58.2 | ||||||
| 1973 | $3.31B | $579 | 2.6% | 5.72M | 58.1 | ||||||
| 1972 | $2.68B | $483 | 8.3% | 5.54M | 58.2 | ||||||
| 1971 | $2.18B | $406 | 8.9% | 5.37M | 58.0 | ||||||
| 1970 | $1.89B | $361 | 22.6% | 5.22M | 57.8 | ||||||
| 1969 | $1.75B | $346 | 12.4% | 5.06M | 57.5 | ||||||
| 1968 | $1.48B | $302 | 2.0% | 4.9M | 57.1 | ||||||
| 1967 | $1.4B | $294 | 8.4% | 4.75M | 56.8 | ||||||
| 1966 | $1.28B | $279 | 1.5% | 4.6M | 56.4 | ||||||
| 1965 | $1.31B | $294 | 4.9% | 4.46M | 55.9 | ||||||
| 1964 | $1.22B | $282 | −1.1% | 4.32M | 55.4 | ||||||
| 1963 | $1.16B | $277 | 6.2% | 4.19M | 54.9 | ||||||
| 1962 | $1.12B | $276 | 1.4% | 4.06M | 54.5 | ||||||
| 1961 | $1.1B | $279 | 6.3% | 3.93M | 54.0 | ||||||
| 1960 | $1.05B | $277 | 3.81M | 53.5 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1991–2009, 2023–2025, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)