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Value of 1981 British Pounds today

£15 in 1981
£57.96 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1981 and today has been 286.41%, which translates into a total increase of £42.96. This means that 15 pounds in 1981 are equivalent to 57.96 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £15 in 1981 equals £57.96 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 3.19%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1981 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of £15 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 286.41%
Avg. Annual inflation 1981-2023 3.22%
CPI 1981 33.95
CPI 2023 128.6
CPI 2024-02 (latest official data) 130.8
CPI today 131.18

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
=£ 15 ×
128.6/33.95
£56.82

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 131.18:

Valuetoday
=Value1981 ×
CPItoday/CPI1981
=£ 15 ×
131.18/33.95
£57.96

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 £15 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
=£15 × (1 + 0.032219)42
£56.82

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 286.41%
Avg. annual inflation From 1981 3.19%
CPI 1981 33.95
CPI today 131.18

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1981 15
1982 16.29
1983 17.04
1984 17.89
1985 18.97
1986 19.62
1987 20.44
1988 21.3
1989 22.53
1990 24.35
1991 26.16
1992 27.35
1993 28.06
1994 28.68
1995 29.43
1996 30.27
1997 30.93
1998 31.5
1999 32.08
2000 32.43
2001 32.96
2002 33.45
2003 33.89
2004 34.37
2005 35.08
2006 35.97
2007 36.81
2008 38.09
2009 38.84
2010 39.81
2011 41.36
2012 42.42
2013 43.39
2014 44.01
2015 44.18
2016 44.63
2017 45.77
2018 46.83
2019 47.63
2020 48.12
2021 49.31
2022 53.24
2023 56.82
2024-02 57.79
Today 57.96

All available years

Today's value of british pounds by year:

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: