To a large extent, mining and agriculture sectors form the core of the Zimbabwe economy. Following a decade of contraction from 1998 to 2008, the economy recorded real growth of more than 10% per year in 2010 to 2013, before slowing to roughly 3% in 2014 due to poor harvests, low diamond revenues and decreased investment. Infrastructure and regulatory deficiencies, a poor investment climate, a large public and external debt burden and extremely high government wage expenses impede the country’s economic performance.