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Value of 1981 British Pounds today

£100 in 1981
£397.35 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1981 and today has been 297.35%, which translates into a total increase of £297.35. This means that 100 pounds in 1981 are equivalent to 397.35 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £100 in 1981 equals £397.35 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.26%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1981 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of £100 due to compound inflation and CPI changes. All values are equivalent in terms of purchasing power, which means that for each year the same goods or services could be bought with the indicated amount of money.

All calculations are performed in the local currency (GBP) and using 6 decimal digits. Results show only up to 2 decimal digits to favour readability. Inflation data is provided by governments and international institutions on a monthly basis. Today's values were extrapolated from the latest 12-month rolling average official data.

The following table contains relevant indicators:

Indicator Value
Cumulative inflation 1981-2023 278.8%
Cumulative inflation 1981-today 297.35%
Avg. Annual inflation 1981-2023 3.22%
CPI 1981 33.95
CPI 2023 128.6
CPI 2024-11 (latest official data) 134.6
CPI today 134.9

How to calculate today's value of money after inflation?

There are several ways to calculate the time value of money. Depending on the data available, results can be obtained by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) formula or the compound interest formula.

Using the CPI formula

When we have both the start and end years, we can use the following formula:

Valuet =Value0 ×
CPIt/CPI0

To obtain the values equivalent in buying power between 1981 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1981 ×
CPI2023/CPI1981
=£ 100 ×
128.6/33.95
£378.8

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 134.9:

Valuetoday
=Value1981 ×
CPItoday/CPI1981
=£ 100 ×
134.9/33.95
£397.35

Alternative: Using the compound interest formula

Given that money changes with time as a result of an inflation rate that acts as compound interest, we can use the following formula: FV = PV × (1 + i)n, where:

  • FV: Future Value
  • PV: Present Value
  • i: Interest rate (inflation)
  • n: Number of times the interest is compounded (i.e. # of years)

In this case, the future value represents the final amount obtained after applying the inflation rate to our initial value. In other words, it indicates how much are £100 worth today. There are 42 years between 1981 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.2219%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=£100 × (1 + 0.032219)42
£378.8

UK inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
£1 pound in 1981 £3.79 pounds in 2023
£5 pounds in 1981 £18.94 pounds in 2023
£10 pounds in 1981 £37.88 pounds in 2023
£50 pounds in 1981 £189.4 pounds in 2023
£100 pounds in 1981 £378.8 pounds in 2023
£500 pounds in 1981 £1,894.01 pounds in 2023
£1,000 pounds in 1981 £3,788.02 pounds in 2023
£5,000 pounds in 1981 £18,940.12 pounds in 2023
£10,000 pounds in 1981 £37,880.24 pounds in 2023
£50,000 pounds in 1981 £189,401.19 pounds in 2023
£100,000 pounds in 1981 £378,802.38 pounds in 2023
£500,000 pounds in 1981 £1,894,011.92 pounds in 2023
£1,000,000 pounds in 1981 £3,788,023.84 pounds in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1981 297.35%
Avg. annual inflation From 1981 3.26%
CPI 1981 33.95
CPI today 134.9

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1981 100
1982 108.6
1983 113.6
1984 119.24
1985 126.48
1986 130.81
1987 136.24
1988 141.98
1989 150.22
1990 162.3
1991 174.38
1992 182.33
1993 187.04
1994 191.17
1995 196.18
1996 201.77
1997 206.19
1998 210.02
1999 213.85
2000 216.21
2001 219.74
2002 222.98
2003 225.93
2004 229.17
2005 233.88
2006 239.77
2007 245.37
2008 253.91
2009 258.92
2010 265.4
2011 275.71
2012 282.78
2013 289.26
2014 293.38
2015 294.56
2016 297.5
2017 305.16
2018 312.23
2019 317.53
2020 320.77
2021 328.73
2022 354.94
2023 378.8
2024-11 396.48
Today 397.35

All available years

Today's value of british pounds by year:

1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |

Other currencies: