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Value of 1981 South African Rand today

R100 in 1981
R2,684.89 in 2024

The inflation rate in South Africa between 1981 and today has been 2,584.89%, which translates into a total increase of R2,584.89. This means that 100 rand in 1981 are equivalent to 2,684.89 rand in 2024. In other words, the purchasing power of R100 in 1981 equals R2,684.89 today. The average annual inflation rate between these periods has been 7.95%.

Inflation timeline in South Africa (1981 - 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 1981-2023 2,508.25%
Cumulative inflation 1981-today 2,584.89%
Avg. Annual inflation 1981-2023 8.07%
CPI 1981 5.73
CPI 2023 149.54
CPI 2024-01 (latest official data) 152.85
CPI today 153.94

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 1981 and 2023, use the corresponding CPI values:

Value2023
=Value1981 ×
CPI2023/CPI1981
=R 100 ×
149.54/5.73
R2,608.25

To obtain the equivalent value today (present value), plug in the CPI for today, which is estimated as 153.94:

Valuetoday
=Value1981 ×
CPItoday/CPI1981
=R 100 ×
153.94/5.73
R2,684.89

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 42 years between 1981 and 2023 and the average inflation rate was 8.0743%. Therefore, we can resolve the formula like this:

Value2023
=PV × (1 + i)n
=R100 × (1 + 0.080743)42
R2,608.25

South Africa inflation - Conversion table

Initial Value Equivalent value
R1 rand in 1981 R26.08 rand in 2023
R5 rand in 1981 R130.41 rand in 2023
R10 rand in 1981 R260.83 rand in 2023
R50 rand in 1981 R1,304.13 rand in 2023
R100 rand in 1981 R2,608.25 rand in 2023
R500 rand in 1981 R13,041.27 rand in 2023
R1,000 rand in 1981 R26,082.54 rand in 2023
R5,000 rand in 1981 R130,412.7 rand in 2023
R10,000 rand in 1981 R260,825.41 rand in 2023
R50,000 rand in 1981 R1,304,127.04 rand in 2023
R100,000 rand in 1981 R2,608,254.08 rand in 2023
R500,000 rand in 1981 R13,041,270.41 rand in 2023
R1,000,000 rand in 1981 R26,082,540.83 rand in 2023
Cumulative inflation From 1981 2,584.89%
Avg. annual inflation From 1981 7.95%
CPI 1981 5.73
CPI today 153.94

Value of Rand over time (by year)

Period Value
1981 100
1982 114.64
1983 128.74
1984 143.58
1985 166.98
1986 198.13
1987 230.15
1988 259.56
1989 297.79
1990 340.44
1991 392.65
1992 447.13
1993 490.57
1994 534.43
1995 580.82
1996 623.53
1997 677.14
1998 723.73
1999 761.23
2000 801.87
2001 847.59
2002 928.07
2003 980.78
2004 973.99
2005 994.08
2006 1,026.33
2007 1,089.74
2008 1,199.52
2009 1,286.07
2010 1,338.67
2011 1,405.59
2012 1,486.06
2013 1,572.02
2014 1,668.38
2015 1,744.13
2016 1,858.75
2017 1,955.11
2018 2,043.43
2019 2,127.62
2020 2,195.92
2021 2,297.19
2022 2,458.9
2023 2,608.25
2024-01 2,665.95
Today 2,684.89

All available years

Today's value of south african rand by year:

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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