Zimbabwe's Inflation Rate At Nearly 8,000 Per Cent

October 17, 2007 10:23 a.m. EST

Harare, Zimbabwe (AHN) - Already the highest in the world, Zimbabwe's yearly inflation rate, rose to a new peak of 7,892.1 per cent in September based on the official reports of the Central Statistics Bureau.

The bureau said the last month's inflation rate gained 1389.3 percentage points from the August rate of 6,593.8 per cent.

The new increase runs government hopes that it was beginning to tame the inflation crisis, after it had been sluggish in previous months in the middle of a price-control program.

For the past seven years, dashing inflation and basic food shortages has marked Zimbabwe's economy, with approximately 80 per cent of the population living in scarcity.

The economic catastrophe of Zimbabwe has resulted to an estimated three million citizens running off the country to move to South Africa.