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Value of 1988 British Pounds today

£100 in 1988
£279.87 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1988 and today has been 179.87%, which translates into a total increase of £179.87. This means that 100 pounds in 1988 are equivalent to 279.87 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £100 in 1988 equals £279.87 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 2.9%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1988 - 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 1988-2023 166.8%
Cumulative inflation 1988-today 179.87%
Avg. Annual inflation 1988-2023 2.84%
CPI 1988 48.2
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 1988 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1988 ×
CPI2023/CPI1988
=£ 100 ×
128.6/48.2
£266.8

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

Valuetoday
=Value1988 ×
CPItoday/CPI1988
=£ 100 ×
134.9/48.2
£279.87

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 35 years between 1988 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 2.8435%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=£100 × (1 + 0.028435)35
£266.8

UK inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
£1 pound in 1988 £2.67 pounds in 2023
£5 pounds in 1988 £13.34 pounds in 2023
£10 pounds in 1988 £26.68 pounds in 2023
£50 pounds in 1988 £133.4 pounds in 2023
£100 pounds in 1988 £266.8 pounds in 2023
£500 pounds in 1988 £1,334.02 pounds in 2023
£1,000 pounds in 1988 £2,668.05 pounds in 2023
£5,000 pounds in 1988 £13,340.25 pounds in 2023
£10,000 pounds in 1988 £26,680.5 pounds in 2023
£50,000 pounds in 1988 £133,402.49 pounds in 2023
£100,000 pounds in 1988 £266,804.98 pounds in 2023
£500,000 pounds in 1988 £1,334,024.9 pounds in 2023
£1,000,000 pounds in 1988 £2,668,049.79 pounds in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1988 179.87%
Avg. annual inflation From 1988 2.9%
CPI 1988 48.2
CPI today 134.9

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1988 100
1989 105.81
1990 114.32
1991 122.82
1992 128.42
1993 131.74
1994 134.65
1995 138.17
1996 142.12
1997 145.23
1998 147.93
1999 150.62
2000 152.28
2001 154.77
2002 157.05
2003 159.13
2004 161.41
2005 164.73
2006 168.88
2007 172.82
2008 178.84
2009 182.37
2010 186.93
2011 194.19
2012 199.17
2013 203.73
2014 206.64
2015 207.47
2016 209.54
2017 214.94
2018 219.92
2019 223.65
2020 225.93
2021 231.54
2022 250
2023 266.8
2024-11 279.25
Today 279.87

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: