Value of 1978 Costa Rican Colones today

₡100 in 1978
₡21,001 in 2024

The inflation rate in Costa Rica between 1978 and today has been 20,901%, which translates into a total increase of ₡20,901. This means that 100 colones in 1978 are equivalent to 21,001 colones in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of ₡100 in 1978 equals ₡21,001 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 12.33%.

Inflation timeline in Costa Rica (1978 - 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 (CRC) 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 21,020.35%
Cumulative inflation 1978-today 20,901%
Avg. Annual inflation 1978-2023 12.63%
CPI 1978 0.56
CPI 2023 118.26
CPI 2024-09 (latest official data) 117.6
CPI today 117.6

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
=₡ 100 ×
118.26/0.56
₡21,120.35

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 117.6:

Valuetoday
=Value1978 ×
CPItoday/CPI1978
=₡ 100 ×
117.6/0.56
₡21,001

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 45 years between 1978 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 12.6315%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=₡100 × (1 + 0.126315)45
₡21,120.35

Costa Rica inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
₡1 colon in 1978 ₡211.2 colones in 2023
₡5 colones in 1978 ₡1,056.02 colones in 2023
₡10 colones in 1978 ₡2,112.03 colones in 2023
₡50 colones in 1978 ₡10,560.17 colones in 2023
₡100 colones in 1978 ₡21,120.35 colones in 2023
₡500 colones in 1978 ₡105,601.73 colones in 2023
₡1,000 colones in 1978 ₡211,203.45 colones in 2023
₡5,000 colones in 1978 ₡1,056,017.26 colones in 2023
₡10,000 colones in 1978 ₡2,112,034.53 colones in 2023
₡50,000 colones in 1978 ₡10,560,172.63 colones in 2023
₡100,000 colones in 1978 ₡21,120,345.26 colones in 2023
₡500,000 colones in 1978 ₡105,601,726.3 colones in 2023
₡1,000,000 colones in 1978 ₡211,203,452.59 colones in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1978 20,901%
Avg. annual inflation From 1978 12.33%
CPI 1978 0.56
CPI today 117.6

Value of Colon over time (by year)

Period Value
1978 100
1979 109.19
1980 128.99
1981 176.79
1982 336.11
1983 445.77
1984 499.02
1985 574.16
1986 642.12
1987 750.26
1988 906.56
1989 1,056.24
1990 1,257.34
1991 1,618.31
1992 1,970.96
1993 2,163.69
1994 2,456.54
1995 3,026.13
1996 3,556.04
1997 4,027.15
1998 4,496.69
1999 4,948.39
2000 5,490.81
2001 6,108.84
2002 6,668.87
2003 7,298.91
2004 8,197.76
2005 9,328.91
2006 10,398.99
2007 11,372.05
2008 12,898.69
2009 13,910.29
2010 14,698
2011 15,414.97
2012 16,107.94
2013 16,950.6
2014 17,716.63
2015 17,858.72
2016 17,855.6
2017 18,145.9
2018 18,548.96
2019 18,937.74
2020 19,075.02
2021 19,404.35
2022 21,010.01
2023 21,120.35
2024-09 21,002.01
Today 21,001

All available years

Today's value of costa rican colones by year:

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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