By Tichaona Katsvamutima
Zimbabwe has been removed from the World Bank Group’s classification of fragile and conflict-affected economies, shedding a long-standing international risk label as the government seeks to rebuild investor confidence and push ahead with its debt clearance programme.
The change, effective July 1, follows the World Bank’s introduction of a revised classification system for the 2027 financial year, separating countries affected by widespread political violence from those considered institutionally fragile.
Under the new framework, Zimbabwe appears on neither the Public Fragility, Conflict and Violence List nor the Institutional Fragility List.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube (pictured) welcomed the removal in a statement Friday, describing it as international recognition of progress in strengthening the economy and state institutions.
“This marks an important milestone in the country’s ongoing economic and institutional transformation,” Ncube said.
He said the development “signals international recognition of Zimbabwe’s improving institutional resilience” and gives further impetus to reforms being pursued by the government.
Treasury cited real GDP growth of 8.3 percent in 2025, annual ZiG inflation declining to 2.9 percent in August 2026, improvements in fiscal and monetary discipline and progress in public financial management among indicators of the turnaround.
The government also pointed to Zimbabwe’s score of 62 out of 100 in the 2025 Open Budget Survey, saying the country’s budget transparency score had risen by 39 points since 2017.
Ncube said the removal of the fragility classification could improve international perceptions of Zimbabwe’s institutional and investment risk and strengthen investor confidence.
Treasury also expects the change to create greater scope for commercial project financing, infrastructure partnerships and co-financing arrangements while supporting deeper trade and investment relationships.
However, the removal of the fragility tag does not by itself resolve Zimbabwe’s longstanding debt and arrears problem or automatically restore access to normal international financing.
The government acknowledged that the development must complement its ongoing arrears clearance, debt relief and restructuring process, which remains central to efforts to normalise relations with international creditors.
“Government remains committed to implementing the reforms necessary to consolidate macroeconomic stability, strengthen governance, improve the investment climate and advance the Structured Dialogue Platform on arrears clearance and debt resolution,” Ncube said.
