£

Value of 1986 British Pounds today

£100 in 1986
£297.1 in 2024

The inflation rate in the United Kingdom between 1986 and today has been 197.1%, which translates into a total increase of £197.1. This means that 100 pounds in 1986 are equivalent to 297.1 pounds in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of £100 in 1986 equals £297.1 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 2.91%.

Inflation timeline in the United Kingdom (1986 - 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 1986-2023 189.57%
Cumulative inflation 1986-today 197.1%
Avg. Annual inflation 1986-2023 2.92%
CPI 1986 44.41
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 1986 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1986 ×
CPI2023/CPI1986
=£ 100 ×
128.6/44.41
£289.57

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

Valuetoday
=Value1986 ×
CPItoday/CPI1986
=£ 100 ×
131.94/44.41
£297.1

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 37 years between 1986 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 2.9153%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=£100 × (1 + 0.029153)37
£289.57

UK inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
£1 pound in 1986 £2.9 pounds in 2023
£5 pounds in 1986 £14.48 pounds in 2023
£10 pounds in 1986 £28.96 pounds in 2023
£50 pounds in 1986 £144.79 pounds in 2023
£100 pounds in 1986 £289.57 pounds in 2023
£500 pounds in 1986 £1,447.86 pounds in 2023
£1,000 pounds in 1986 £2,895.71 pounds in 2023
£5,000 pounds in 1986 £14,478.57 pounds in 2023
£10,000 pounds in 1986 £28,957.14 pounds in 2023
£50,000 pounds in 1986 £144,785.68 pounds in 2023
£100,000 pounds in 1986 £289,571.36 pounds in 2023
£500,000 pounds in 1986 £1,447,856.78 pounds in 2023
£1,000,000 pounds in 1986 £2,895,713.56 pounds in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1986 197.1%
Avg. annual inflation From 1986 2.91%
CPI 1986 44.41
CPI today 131.94

Value of Pound over time (by year)

Period Value
1986 100
1987 104.15
1988 108.53
1989 114.84
1990 124.07
1991 133.3
1992 139.38
1993 142.98
1994 146.14
1995 149.96
1996 154.24
1997 157.62
1998 160.55
1999 163.47
2000 165.28
2001 167.98
2002 170.46
2003 172.71
2004 175.18
2005 178.79
2006 183.29
2007 187.57
2008 194.1
2009 197.93
2010 202.88
2011 210.76
2012 216.17
2013 221.12
2014 224.27
2015 225.17
2016 227.42
2017 233.28
2018 238.68
2019 242.74
2020 245.21
2021 251.29
2022 271.33
2023 289.57
2024-03 296.33
Today 297.1

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: