The British pound has lost 99% its value since 1939
Updated: October 10, 2024£100 in 1939 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £8,191.54 today, an increase of £8,091.54 over 85 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 5.32% per year between 1939 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 8,091.54%.
This means that today's prices are 81.92 times as high as average prices since 1939, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index. A pound today only buys 1.221% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 1939 was 2.98%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 3.90%. If this number holds, £100 today will be equivalent in buying power to £103.90 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 8,091.54% |
| Average inflation rate | 5.32% |
| Converted amount £100 base | £8,191.54 |
| Price difference £100 base | £8,091.54 |
| CPI in 1939 | 17.300 |
| CPI in 2024 | 1,417.136 |
| Inflation in 1939 | 2.98% |
| Inflation in 2024 | 3.90% |
| £100 in 1939 | £8,191.54 in 2024 |
Buying power of £100 in 1939
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £100 in 1939 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £100, you would need to end with £8,191.54 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £100 is equivalent to £8,191.54 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.K. pound decreases over time. In other words, a pound will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a pound over time. By calculating the value in 1939 dollars, the chart below shows how £100 is worth less over 85 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, each of these GBP amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1939 amounts in today's pounds, based on the 8,091.54% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 1939 | £81.92 pounds today |
| £5 pounds in 1939 | £409.58 pounds today |
| £10 pounds in 1939 | £819.15 pounds today |
| £50 pounds in 1939 | £4,095.77 pounds today |
| £100 pounds in 1939 | £8,191.54 pounds today |
| £500 pounds in 1939 | £40,957.70 pounds today |
| £1,000 pounds in 1939 | £81,915.39 pounds today |
| £5,000 pounds in 1939 | £409,576.96 pounds today |
| £10,000 pounds in 1939 | £819,153.91 pounds today |
| £50,000 pounds in 1939 | £4,095,769.57 pounds today |
| £100,000 pounds in 1939 | £8,191,539.14 pounds today |
| £500,000 pounds in 1939 | £40,957,695.70 pounds today |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 1939 | £81,915,391.40 pounds today |
How to calculate inflation rate for £100 since 1939
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1939 and today:
CPI today CPI in 1939
×
1939 GBP value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 17.3 in the year 1939 and 1417.136271298791 in 2024:
1417.13627129879117.3
×
£100
=
£8,191.54
£100 in 1939 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £8,191.54 in 2024.
To get the total inflation rate for the 85 years between 1939 and 2024, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2024 - CPI in 1939CPI in 1939
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (85 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1417.136271298791 - 17.317.3
×
100
=
8,092%
Data source & citation
Raw data for these calculations comes from the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). A composite index is created by combining price data from several different published sources, both official and unofficial. The Consumer Price Index, normally used to compute inflation, has only been tracked since 1988. All inflation calculations after 1988 use the Office for National Statistics' Consumer Price Index, except for the current year, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “Value of 1939 British pounds today | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Oct. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1939.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.
| Cumulative price change | 8,091.54% |
| Average inflation rate | 5.32% |
| Converted amount £100 base | £8,191.54 |
| Price difference £100 base | £8,091.54 |
| CPI in 1939 | 17.300 |
| CPI in 2024 | 1,417.136 |
| Inflation in 1939 | 2.98% |
| Inflation in 2024 | 3.90% |
| £100 in 1939 | £8,191.54 in 2024 |