Harare/Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's central bank says it will soon introduce a 100-trillion-dollar banknote as the country battles to keep pace with hyperinflation that has left the once-vibrant economy in tatters.

A statement dated Thursday from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said the new notes - in denominations of 100 trillion, 50 trillion, 20 trillion and 10 trillion dollars - would be released for the "convenience of the public."

The first 10-trillion-dollar notes were expected to appear on Friday. On Thursday, a loaf of bread cost 300 billion Zimbabwe dollars.

When the new 100-trillion-Zimbabwe-dollar note appears, it will be worth about about 300 US dollars.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate, officially at 231 million per cent as of July 2008.

The dumping of the worthless local currency has forced most workers to demand their salaries and traders to ask for payment in foreign currency.

Zimbabwe's doctors and nurses have been on an indefinite strike since September demanding their salaries in US dollars.

The strike has coincided with a cholera epidemic that has claimed more than 2,000 lives since its outbreak in August.

Last week, the state media reported that most teachers had left their jobs, and end-of-year examinations taken in November are yet to be graded after markers demanded their wages in foreign currency. Schools are yet to re-open this year awaiting the examination results. (dpa)