$100 in 1916 is worth $1,065.84 in 1988

Value of $100 from 1916 to 1988

$100 in 1916 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,065.84 in 1988, an increase of $965.84 over 72 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.34% per year between 1916 and 1988, producing a cumulative price increase of 965.84%.

This means that prices in 1988 are 10.66 times as high as average prices since 1916, according to Statistics Canada consumer price index.

The inflation rate in 1916 was 8.97%. The inflation rate in 1988 was 4.03%. The 1988 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.25% per year between 1988 and 2024.


Inflation from 1916 to 1988
Cumulative price change965.84%
Average inflation rate3.34%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,065.84
Price difference
$100 base
$965.84
CPI in 19166.683
CPI in 198871.233
Inflation in 19168.97%
Inflation in 19884.03%
$100 in 1916$1,065.84 in 1988

CAD inflation since 1916
Annual Rate, Statistics Canada CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1916

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1916 (price index tracking began in 1914).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $1,065.84 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $1,065.84 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Canadian dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1916 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 72 years.

According to Statistics Canada, each of these CAD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1916-1988
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1916$100.008.97%
1917$117.9617.96%
1918$133.4213.11%
1919$146.139.53%
1920$169.9516.30%
1921$149.38-12.11%
1922$137.66-7.85%
1923$137.660.00%
1924$135.04-1.90%
1925$136.661.20%
1926$137.660.73%
1927$135.66-1.45%
1928$136.660.74%
1929$138.031.00%
1930$136.66-0.99%
1931$123.19-9.85%
1932$111.60-9.41%
1933$106.73-4.36%
1934$107.981.17%
1935$108.480.46%
1936$110.722.07%
1937$114.713.60%
1938$115.340.54%
1939$114.46-0.76%
1940$119.334.25%
1941$126.435.96%
1942$132.294.64%
1943$135.162.17%
1944$136.030.65%
1945$136.910.64%
1946$141.153.10%
1947$153.879.01%
1948$175.8114.26%
1949$181.923.48%
1950$186.782.67%
1951$206.4810.55%
1952$211.852.60%
1953$209.73-1.00%
1954$211.100.65%
1955$211.470.18%
1956$214.341.36%
1957$221.453.32%
1958$226.682.36%
1959$229.431.21%
1960$232.541.36%
1961$234.911.02%
1962$237.411.06%
1963$241.271.63%
1964$245.891.91%
1965$251.622.33%
1966$261.223.82%
1967$270.573.58%
1968$281.554.06%
1969$294.394.56%
1970$304.243.35%
1971$312.472.70%
1972$328.054.99%
1973$352.627.49%
1974$391.4011.00%
1975$433.1710.67%
1976$465.847.54%
1977$502.997.98%
1978$548.138.97%
1979$598.259.14%
1980$658.8510.13%
1981$741.0212.47%
1982$820.8210.77%
1983$868.955.86%
1984$906.364.30%
1985$942.273.96%
1986$981.804.19%
1987$1,024.564.36%
1988$1,065.844.03%
1989$1,118.954.98%
1990$1,172.444.78%
1991$1,238.405.63%
1992$1,256.861.49%
1993$1,280.301.87%
1994$1,282.420.17%
1995$1,309.982.15%
1996$1,330.551.57%
1997$1,352.121.62%
1998$1,365.591.00%
1999$1,389.281.73%
2000$1,427.062.72%
2001$1,463.092.53%
2002$1,496.132.26%
2003$1,537.412.76%
2004$1,565.961.86%
2005$1,600.622.21%
2006$1,632.672.00%
2007$1,667.582.14%
2008$1,707.112.37%
2009$1,712.220.30%
2010$1,742.641.78%
2011$1,793.392.91%
2012$1,820.571.52%
2013$1,837.660.94%
2014$1,872.691.91%
2015$1,893.771.13%
2016$1,920.821.43%
2017$1,951.501.60%
2018$1,995.762.27%
2019$2,034.661.95%
2020$2,049.250.72%
2021$2,118.833.40%
2022$2,262.976.80%
2023$2,349.133.81%
2024$2,376.061.15%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 66 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1916 amounts in 1988 dollars, based on the 965.84% change in prices:

Conversion: 1916 dollars in 1988
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1916$10.66 dollars in 1988
$5 dollars in 1916$53.29 dollars in 1988
$10 dollars in 1916$106.58 dollars in 1988
$50 dollars in 1916$532.92 dollars in 1988
$100 dollars in 1916$1,065.84 dollars in 1988
$500 dollars in 1916$5,329.18 dollars in 1988
$1,000 dollars in 1916$10,658.35 dollars in 1988
$5,000 dollars in 1916$53,291.77 dollars in 1988
$10,000 dollars in 1916$106,583.54 dollars in 1988
$50,000 dollars in 1916$532,917.71 dollars in 1988
$100,000 dollars in 1916$1,065,835.41 dollars in 1988
$500,000 dollars in 1916$5,329,177.06 dollars in 1988
$1,000,000 dollars in 1916$10,658,354.11 dollars in 1988

How to calculate inflation rate for $100, 1916 to 1988

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1916 and 1988:

CPI in 1988 CPI in 1916
×
1916 CAD value
=
1988 CAD value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Canadian CPI was 6.683333333 in the year 1916 and 71.23333333 in 1988:

71.233333336.683333333
×
$100
=
$1,065.84

$100 in 1916 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1,065.84 in 1988.

To get the total inflation rate for the 72 years between 1916 and 1988, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1988 - CPI in 1916CPI in 1916
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (72 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

71.23333333 - 6.6833333336.683333333
×
100
=
966%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Canada's annual Consumer Price Index (CPI), established in 1914 and computed by Statistics Canada (StatCan).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “1916 dollars in 1988 | Canada Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 29 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1916-CAD-in-1988.

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.


Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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Inflation from 1916 to 1988
Cumulative price change965.84%
Average inflation rate3.34%
Converted amount
$100 base
$1,065.84
Price difference
$100 base
$965.84
CPI in 19166.683
CPI in 198871.233
Inflation in 19168.97%
Inflation in 19884.03%
$100 in 1916$1,065.84 in 1988