How much money a family in Zimbabwe needs

Zimbabwe has suffered hyper inflation for some time now. It got so bad that Zimbabwe had to dump it's own currency, and now conducts commerce with the South African or American dollars.

The government recently conducted a survey that shows how much a family now needs for basic goods such as food, housing and transportation. The Zimbabwe Herald tells us how much a family needs for basics.

A FAMILY in Zimbabwe required as much as US$552 for basics in January according to latest official poverty assessment report.

The Central Statistical Office, a national statistics agency which also calculates inflation said on Tuesday of the US$552, US$177 was needed for food.

This average family will need to spend US$375 on basics such as accommodation, transport to get to and from work, school fees and clothes, among other basics.

There is no provision for luxuries.

According to CSO, PDL represents the cost of a given standard of living that must be attained if a person should not be considered as poor.

Going by the CSO definition of PDL, the majority of workers in Zimbabwe will be found in the poor category. Government is paying civil servants US$100 per month.