ZWE · snapshot 2026-08-09
Zimbabwe
Very HighOverride appliedOverall risk score
67.8
Percentile of scored universe
85th
Data coverage
97%
vs Australia (16.1)
+51.7
Rated Very High on its own indicators; a gate condition is also flagged.
The Very High rating stands on the computed score of 67.8 (Very High). The flagged condition — Targeted Australian autonomous sanctions framework (Zimbabwe) — would floor the band at High even on weaker data.
Sanctions & banking access
Where sanctions make Zimbabwe hard to operate in — under Australian law, under US/EU extraterritorial reach, and in practice at the bank. Comprehensive frameworks force Very High; severe secondary exposure or severed banking floors the band at High; the rest is disclosure.
Australian sanctions
DFAT frameworks that legally restrict Australian companies
Targeted Australian autonomous sanctions framework (Zimbabwe)
US/EU secondary sanctions
Extraterritorial programs that bind you regardless of Australian law
No framework, program, or de-risking pattern identified.
Banking access
Will correspondent banks actually move your money out
Legacy de-risking persists despite the 2024 lifting of most US country-program sanctions
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Very High6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Very High7 indicators · 100% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Very High5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
Very High3 indicators · 75% coverage
Security & Crime
High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Medium9 indicators · 100% coverage · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Zimbabwe rates Very High for market entry — an overall risk score of 67.8, riskier than 85% of rated economies and 52 points riskier than Australia.
An override floors the band at High: Targeted Australian autonomous sanctions framework (Zimbabwe).
Beyond the Australian framework, correspondent banking is constrained: Legacy de-risking persists despite the 2024 lifting of most US country-program sanctions.
The main risk drivers are elevated sovereign credit risk (OECD Category 7 / 7 — in default), no double-tax agreement with Australia, no investment-treaty protection with Australia, unstable prices (CPI 104.7%) and thin FX reserves (0.5 months of import cover).
Relative strengths: GDP growth and current account both rate Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Repatriation channel risk. Correspondent banks may refuse or delay payments even where they are legal: test the channel with pilot transfers before committing capital, maintain more than one banking relationship, consider non-USD invoicing where lawful, and build payment delays into working capital.
- Corruption and legal recourse. Run a strong anti-bribery program (Australian foreign-bribery law follows you abroad), conduct third-party due diligence, and seat dispute resolution offshore — arbitration clauses (e.g. SIAC or HKIAC) beat local courts.
- Getting money out. Confirm profit-repatriation channels before committing capital: seek central-bank pre-approvals where required, consider an export-first model over an in-country entity, and structure via clear remittance jurisdictions.
- Currency risk. Invoice in AUD or USD where the market allows, hedge unavoidable exposure, shorten receivable cycles, and build FX buffers into pricing.
- Payment security. Elevated sovereign/transfer risk: prefer confirmed letters of credit or export credit insurance over open account terms, and watch for import-payment restrictions.
- Price instability. Use indexation clauses, shorter pricing cycles, and local-cost pass-through mechanisms so inflation (or deflation) doesn't silently erode margins.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 34.8 | 83.7 | Very High | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 32.1 | 86.1 | Very High | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 36.3 | 89.0 | Very High | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 36.1 | 87.7 | Very High | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 22.5 | 89.1 | Very High | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 48.5 | 84.8 | Very High | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 5.0% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±5.7 pp | 79.6 | Very High | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 43.8 | 35.0 | Medium | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | 104.7 | 95.0 | Very High | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | 0.8% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | 0.5 months | 95.0 | Very High | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $6,470 | 78.6 | Very High | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 0.42 | 60.0 | High | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Floating — crisis volatility (>35%) | 95.0 | Very High | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 7 / 7 — in default | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | 0.10 | 51.8 | High | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 2.5 | 75.4 | Very High | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.0 | 29.7 | Medium | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 6.8 | 72.1 | High | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 5.5 | 62.0 | High | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 2 — Exercise a high degree of caution | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.511 | 76.6 | Very High | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 5.0 | 76.4 | Very High | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 5.0 | 44.4 | Medium | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 74.8 | 88.4 | Very High | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.4 | 76.9 | Very High | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 41.6 | 82.5 | Very High | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.0 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 90.0 | 78.4 | Very High | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
9.3%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
No Australian FTA in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Zimbabwe in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.