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Value of 1985 British Pounds today

£100 in 1985
£314.16 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1985 and today has been 214.16%, which translates into a total increase of £214.16. This means that 100 pounds in 1985 are equivalent to 314.16 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £100 in 1985 equals £314.16 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 2.98%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1985 - 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 1985-2023 199.5%
Cumulative inflation 1985-today 214.16%
Avg. Annual inflation 1985-2023 2.93%
CPI 1985 42.94
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 1985 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1985 ×
CPI2023/CPI1985
=£ 100 ×
128.6/42.94
£299.5

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

Valuetoday
=Value1985 ×
CPItoday/CPI1985
=£ 100 ×
134.9/42.94
£314.16

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 38 years between 1985 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 2.9287%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=£100 × (1 + 0.029287)38
£299.5

UK inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
£1 pound in 1985 £2.99 pounds in 2023
£5 pounds in 1985 £14.97 pounds in 2023
£10 pounds in 1985 £29.95 pounds in 2023
£50 pounds in 1985 £149.75 pounds in 2023
£100 pounds in 1985 £299.5 pounds in 2023
£500 pounds in 1985 £1,497.48 pounds in 2023
£1,000 pounds in 1985 £2,994.97 pounds in 2023
£5,000 pounds in 1985 £14,974.84 pounds in 2023
£10,000 pounds in 1985 £29,949.67 pounds in 2023
£50,000 pounds in 1985 £149,748.36 pounds in 2023
£100,000 pounds in 1985 £299,496.72 pounds in 2023
£500,000 pounds in 1985 £1,497,483.62 pounds in 2023
£1,000,000 pounds in 1985 £2,994,967.24 pounds in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1985 214.16%
Avg. annual inflation From 1985 2.98%
CPI 1985 42.94
CPI today 134.9

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1985 100
1986 103.43
1987 107.72
1988 112.25
1989 118.77
1990 128.32
1991 137.87
1992 144.16
1993 147.89
1994 151.15
1995 155.1
1996 159.53
1997 163.02
1998 166.05
1999 169.08
2000 170.94
2001 173.74
2002 176.3
2003 178.63
2004 181.19
2005 184.91
2006 189.57
2007 194
2008 200.75
2009 204.71
2010 209.83
2011 217.99
2012 223.57
2013 228.7
2014 231.96
2015 232.89
2016 235.22
2017 241.27
2018 246.86
2019 251.06
2020 253.62
2021 259.91
2022 280.63
2023 299.5
2024-11 313.47
Today 314.16

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: