U.K. inflation rate in 1889: 1.15%

£

Inflation in 1889 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1888 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.01 in 1889. The pound had an average inflation rate of 1.15% per year between 1888 and 1889, producing a cumulative price increase of 1.15%. Purchasing power decreased by 1.15% in 1889 compared to 1888. On average, you would have to spend 1.15% more money in 1889 than in 1888 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1889 are 1.01 times as high as average prices since 1888, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1888 was 1.16%. The inflation rate in 1889 was 1.15%. The 1889 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.84% per year between 1889 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1889 was 8.80. It was 8.70 in the previous year, 1888. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1888 to 1889
Average inflation rate1.15%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.01
Price difference
£1 base		£0.01
CPI in 18888.700
CPI in 18898.800
Inflation in 18881.16%
Inflation in 18891.15%
£1 in 1888£1.01 in 1889
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
Download

How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1888 to 1889

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1888 and 1889:

CPI in 1889 CPI in 1888
×
1888 GBP value
=
1889 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 8.7 in the year 1888 and 8.8 in 1889:

8.88.7
×
£1
=
£1.01

£1 in 1888 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.01 in 1889.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1888 and 1889, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1889 - CPI in 1888CPI in 1888
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

8.8 - 8.78.7
×
100
=
1%

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 1889 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 15 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1889.

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 1888 to 1889
Average inflation rate1.15%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.01
Price difference
£1 base		£0.01
CPI in 18888.700
CPI in 18898.800
Inflation in 18881.16%
Inflation in 18891.15%
£1 in 1888£1.01 in 1889