FACTBOX: Zimbabwe's meltdown in figures

(Reuters) - Zimbabwe's economy lies in ruins with the world's highest inflation, chronic food shortages and long queues for bread.

Below are some figures showing how the economy has declined and the difficulties suffered by ordinary Zimbabweans.

INFLATION:

-- In 1987 inflation averaged 11.9 percent. It surged to an official record of 164,900 percent in February 2008, but economists say the actual rate is at least 2 million percent.

LIFE EXPECTANCY:

-- Average life expectancy dropped from 63 years in 1990 to 40.9 years in 2005, according to U.N. figures.

HIV/AIDS:

-- In 2007, Zimbabwe had an HIV prevalence of 15.6 percent among adults aged 15-49 years -- the fourth-highest rate in the world. The United Nations Development Program says the epidemic causes the death of around 3,200 people per week. The population is 13.3 million.

CHILD MORTALITY RATE:

-- Zimbabwe's mortality rate for children under five was 76 deaths out of every 1,000 in 1990. This increased to 105 in 2006.

POPULATION:

-- Four of every five Zimbabweans are unemployed and many are battling to stave off malnutrition amid chronic shortages of meat, bread and other necessities. Millions have fled, mostly to South Africa, in search of work and food.

GDP:

-- Zimbabwe's gross domestic product has contracted each year since 2000, the biggest decline in 2003 when it fell 10.4 percent. The IMF estimates GDP will fall by 4.5 percent this year.

IMF ARREARS:

-- Zimbabwe first fell into arrears with the International Monetary Fund in August 2001. As of February 2008, it owed $88 million, of which $79.64 million has been in arrears for three years or more.