Zimbabwe has the largest informal economy – calculated as a percentage of its total economy – in Africa, and the second largest in the world, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a working paper titled, ‘Shadow Economies Around the World: What Did We Learn Over the Last 20 Years?’, where the economies of 158 countries were evaluated, Zimbabwe’s score of 60.6% came second to Bolivia which topped at 62.3%
Switzerland and Austria were among the lowest in the world. The IMF admitted that shadow economies were difficult to measure.
"The shadow economy includes all economic activities which are hidden from official authorities for monetary, regulatory and institutional reasons," the IMF said. Activities of shadow economies are hidden from authorities for various reasons which include regulatory, monetary and institutional.
