U.K. inflation rate in 1799: 12.50%

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Inflation in 1799 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1798 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.13 in 1799. The pound had an average inflation rate of 12.50% per year between 1798 and 1799, producing a cumulative price increase of 12.50%. Purchasing power decreased by 12.50% in 1799 compared to 1798. On average, you would have to spend 12.50% more money in 1799 than in 1798 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1799 are 1.13 times as high as average prices since 1798, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1798 was -2.22%. The inflation rate in 1799 was 12.50%. The 1799 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 2.23% per year between 1799 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1799 was 9.90. It was 8.80 in the previous year, 1798. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1798 to 1799
Average inflation rate12.50%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.13
Price difference
£1 base		£0.13
CPI in 17988.800
CPI in 17999.900
Inflation in 1798-2.22%
Inflation in 179912.50%
£1 in 1798£1.13 in 1799
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
Download

How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1798 to 1799

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1798 and 1799:

CPI in 1799 CPI in 1798
×
1798 GBP value
=
1799 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 8.8 in the year 1798 and 9.9 in 1799:

9.98.8
×
£1
=
£1.13

£1 in 1798 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.13 in 1799.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1798 and 1799, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1799 - CPI in 1798CPI in 1798
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

9.9 - 8.88.8
×
100
=
13%

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: “Inflation Rate in 1799 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 15 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1799.

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 1798 to 1799
Average inflation rate12.50%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.13
Price difference
£1 base		£0.13
CPI in 17988.800
CPI in 17999.900
Inflation in 1798-2.22%
Inflation in 179912.50%
£1 in 1798£1.13 in 1799