Editing Economy of Zimbabwe (section)

===1980–2000===
At the time of independence, annual inflation was 5.4 percent and month-to-month inflation was 0.5 percent. Currency of Z$2, Z$5, Z$10 and Z$20 denominations were released. Roughly 95 percent of transactions used the Zimbabwean dollar.<ref name="dallasfed.org">{{cite report |url=http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/institute/annual/2011/annual11b.pdf |title=Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe |last=Koech |first=Janet |date=2011 |publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas]] |access-date=2013-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104063506/https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/institute/annual/2011/annual11b.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Following the [[Lancaster House Agreement]] in December 1979, the transition to majority rule in early 1980, and the lifting of sanctions, Zimbabwe enjoyed a brisk economic recovery. Real growth for 1980–1981 exceeded 20%. However, depressed foreign demand for the country's mineral exports and the onset of a drought cut sharply into the growth rate in 1982, 1983, and 1984. In 1985, the economy rebounded strongly due to a 30% jump in agricultural production. However, it slumped in 1986 to a zero growth rate and registered a negative of about 3% in 1987, primarily because of drought and the foreign exchange crisis faced by the country.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Munangagwa|first=Chidochashe|date=30 May 2021|title=The Economic Decline of Zimbabwe|url=https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=ger|journal=African Studies Commons, International Economics Commons, Public Economics|volume=3|pages=5|access-date=27 May 2021|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527110915/https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=ger|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}} Zimbabwe's [[GDP]] grew on average by about 4.5% between 1980 and 1990.<ref name=b>{{cite book|last=Steenkamp|first=Philip John|author2=Rodney Dobell|year=1994|title=Public Management in a Borderless Economy|page=664}}</ref>

In 1992, a World Bank study indicated that more than 500 health centres had been built since 1980. The percentage of children vaccinated increased from 25% in 1980 to 67% in 1988, and life expectancy increased from 55 to 59 years. Enrolment increased by 232 percent one year after primary education was made free, and secondary school enrolment increased by 33 percent in two years. These social policies lead to an increase in the debt ratio. Several laws were passed in the 1980s in an attempt to reduce wage gaps. However, the gaps remained considerable. In 1988, the law gave women, at least in theory, the same rights as men. Previously, they could only take a few personal initiatives without the consent of their father or husband.<ref>Zimbabwe's development experiment 1980–1989, Peter Makaye and Constantine Munhande, 2013</ref>

The government started crumbling when a bonus to independence war veterans was announced in 1997 (which was equal to 3 percent of GDP) followed by unexpected spending due to Zimbabwe's involvement in the [[Second Congo War]] in 1998. In 1999, the country also witnessed a drought which further weakened the economy, ultimately leading to the country's bankruptcy in the next decade.<ref name="dallasfed.org" />  In the same year, 1999, Zimbabwe experienced its first [[Default (finance)|defaults]] on its [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]], [[World Bank]], and [[African Development Bank]] debts in addition to debts taken out with Western lenders.<ref name="DefaultIMFwbIMF">{{cite web | url=http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/zimsit_w_govt-seeks-new-world-bank-imf-loans/ | title=Govt seeks new World Bank, IMF loans | publisher=New Zimbabwe | date=15 October 2015 | access-date=18 October 2015 | archive-date=5 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805031543/https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/zimsit_w_govt-seeks-new-world-bank-imf-loans/ | url-status=live }}</ref>