Zimbabwe Begins Withdrawing National Currency for US Dollar

The southern African country of Zimbabwe is officially decommissioning the national currency from circulation, exchanging a startling 35 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars for $1 starting on Monday, a South African newspaper said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Last week, the Zimbabwean central bank announced that it would retire the national currency to comply with a multiple currency system expanded in early 2014 which includes nine currencies circulating in the country.

The country has been using the US dollar and the South African rand as primary currencies for transactions since 2009, when the use of the Zimbabwean dollar was effectively abandoned.

Zimbabwe's economy was hit by spiraling hyperinflation in 2000, when the government introduced a program forcibly redistributing farmlands owned by white Zimbabweans.