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Value of 1978 British Pounds today

£11 in 1978
£63.99 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1978 and today has been 481.76%, which translates into a total increase of £52.99. This means that 11 pounds in 1978 are equivalent to 63.99 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £11 in 1978 equals £63.99 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.9%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1978 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of £11 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 1978-2023 467.03%
Cumulative inflation 1978-today 481.76%
Avg. Annual inflation 1978-2023 3.93%
CPI 1978 22.68
CPI 2023 128.6
CPI 2024-03 (latest official data) 131.6
CPI today 131.94

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 1978 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1978 ×
CPI2023/CPI1978
=£ 11 ×
128.6/22.68
£62.37

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 131.94:

Valuetoday
=Value1978 ×
CPItoday/CPI1978
=£ 11 ×
131.94/22.68
£63.99

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 £11 worth today. There are 45 years between 1978 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 3.9314%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=£11 × (1 + 0.039314)45
£62.37

UK inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
£1 pound in 1978 £5.67 pounds in 2023
£5 pounds in 1978 £28.35 pounds in 2023
£10 pounds in 1978 £56.7 pounds in 2023
£50 pounds in 1978 £283.51 pounds in 2023
£100 pounds in 1978 £567.03 pounds in 2023
£500 pounds in 1978 £2,835.13 pounds in 2023
£1,000 pounds in 1978 £5,670.26 pounds in 2023
£5,000 pounds in 1978 £28,351.32 pounds in 2023
£10,000 pounds in 1978 £56,702.64 pounds in 2023
£50,000 pounds in 1978 £283,513.2 pounds in 2023
£100,000 pounds in 1978 £567,026.4 pounds in 2023
£500,000 pounds in 1978 £2,835,132 pounds in 2023
£1,000,000 pounds in 1978 £5,670,264.01 pounds in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1978 481.76%
Avg. annual inflation From 1978 3.9%
CPI 1978 22.68
CPI today 131.94

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1978 11
1979 12.48
1980 14.72
1981 16.47
1982 17.88
1983 18.71
1984 19.63
1985 20.83
1986 21.54
1987 22.43
1988 23.38
1989 24.74
1990 26.72
1991 28.71
1992 30.02
1993 30.8
1994 31.48
1995 32.3
1996 33.22
1997 33.95
1998 34.58
1999 35.21
2000 35.6
2001 36.18
2002 36.72
2003 37.2
2004 37.73
2005 38.51
2006 39.48
2007 40.4
2008 41.81
2009 42.63
2010 43.7
2011 45.4
2012 46.56
2013 47.63
2014 48.31
2015 48.5
2016 48.99
2017 50.25
2018 51.41
2019 52.28
2020 52.82
2021 54.13
2022 58.44
2023 62.37
2024-03 63.83
Today 63.99

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 |

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