Is the Zimbabwe dollar the weakest currency in the world?

I am not an economist but simple logic begs me to ask whether United States economist Steve Hanke is correct to say that the Zimbabwe dollar is the weakest currency in the world.

If the Zambian kwacha is rated at 26 to the United States dollar, or the Kenyan shilling is at 160 to the US dollar and the Nigerian Naira is at 1 263 to the greenback then they are all stronger than the Zimbabwe dollar which according to Hanke is rated at 12 500 to the US dollar.

But how can the Zimbabwe dollar be weaker than the Syrian pound which is rated at 14 600 to the US dollar, or the lebanese pound at 89 700 or the Iranian rial at 518 500.

The Zimbabwe dollar may indeed have had the biggest fall in 2023 of 92%, higher than any other currency, but does this make it the weakest currency in the world?

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.