R

Value of 1971 South African Rand today

R100 in 1971
R8,264.52 in 2024

The inflation rate in South Africa between 1971 and today has been 8,164.52%, which translates into a total increase of R8,164.52. This means that 100 rand in 1971 are equivalent to 8,264.52 rand in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of R100 in 1971 equals R8,264.52 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 8.69%.

Inflation timeline in South Africa (1971 - 2024)

The following chart depicts the equivalence of R100 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 (ZAR) 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 1971-2023 7,735.24%
Cumulative inflation 1971-today 8,164.52%
Avg. Annual inflation 1971-2023 8.75%
CPI 1971 1.91
CPI 2023 149.54
CPI 2024-09 (latest official data) 157.17
CPI today 157.74

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 1971 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1971 ×
CPI2023/CPI1971
=R 100 ×
149.54/1.91
R7,835.24

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 157.74:

Valuetoday
=Value1971 ×
CPItoday/CPI1971
=R 100 ×
157.74/1.91
R8,264.52

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 R100 worth today. There are 52 years between 1971 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 8.7487%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=R100 × (1 + 0.087487)52
R7,835.24

South Africa inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
R1 rand in 1971 R78.35 rand in 2023
R5 rand in 1971 R391.76 rand in 2023
R10 rand in 1971 R783.52 rand in 2023
R50 rand in 1971 R3,917.62 rand in 2023
R100 rand in 1971 R7,835.24 rand in 2023
R500 rand in 1971 R39,176.19 rand in 2023
R1,000 rand in 1971 R78,352.38 rand in 2023
R5,000 rand in 1971 R391,761.92 rand in 2023
R10,000 rand in 1971 R783,523.84 rand in 2023
R50,000 rand in 1971 R3,917,619.19 rand in 2023
R100,000 rand in 1971 R7,835,238.38 rand in 2023
R500,000 rand in 1971 R39,176,191.91 rand in 2023
R1,000,000 rand in 1971 R78,352,383.83 rand in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1971 8,164.52%
Avg. annual inflation From 1971 8.69%
CPI 1971 1.91
CPI today 157.74

Value of Rand over time (by year)

Period Value
1971 100
1972 106.43
1973 116.47
1974 130.12
1975 147.59
1976 163.86
1977 182.13
1978 202.41
1979 229.32
1980 260.64
1981 300.4
1982 344.38
1983 386.75
1984 431.33
1985 501.61
1986 595.18
1987 691.37
1988 779.72
1989 894.58
1990 1,022.69
1991 1,179.52
1992 1,343.17
1993 1,473.7
1994 1,605.42
1995 1,744.78
1996 1,873.09
1997 2,034.14
1998 2,174.1
1999 2,286.75
2000 2,408.84
2001 2,546.18
2002 2,787.94
2003 2,946.28
2004 2,925.89
2005 2,986.24
2006 3,083.12
2007 3,273.58
2008 3,603.38
2009 3,863.38
2010 4,021.38
2011 4,222.42
2012 4,464.14
2013 4,722.37
2014 5,011.84
2015 5,239.41
2016 5,583.71
2017 5,873.18
2018 6,138.49
2019 6,391.41
2020 6,596.57
2021 6,900.78
2022 7,386.58
2023 7,835.24
2024-09 8,234.96
Today 8,264.52

All available years

Today's value of south african rand by year:

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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