Zimbabwe is undergoing one of Africa’s most striking economic reversals.
The southern African nation, once a poster child of triple-digit inflation, currency collapse and chronic fiscal instability, has brought inflation down to single digits and, more recently, below three percent.
The turnaround marks a dramatic break from the country’s recent economic history. Inflation, which averaged about 736 percent in 2024, is expected to fall sharply this year as authorities maintain tighter monetary and fiscal policies, according to Citigroup.
But the bigger question is whether Africa’s largest lithium producer can turn this hard-won monetary stability into a sustainable economic recovery.
“Where perceptions and reality may now be increasingly out of kilter is the speed with which an economic turnaround has started to play out in Zimbabwe since 2025,” David Cowan, Citigroup’s chief Africa economist, wrote in a client note.
