U.K. inflation rate in 1920: 15.53%

£

Inflation in 1920 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1919 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.16 in 1920. The pound had an average inflation rate of 15.53% per year between 1919 and 1920, producing a cumulative price increase of 15.53%. Purchasing power decreased by 15.53% in 1920 compared to 1919. On average, you would have to spend 15.53% more money in 1920 than in 1919 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1920 are 1.16 times as high as average prices since 1919, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1919 was 10.05%. The inflation rate in 1920 was 15.53%. The 1920 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.95% per year between 1920 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1920 was 25.30. It was 21.90 in the previous year, 1919. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1919 to 1920
Average inflation rate15.53%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.16
Price difference
£1 base		£0.16
CPI in 191921.900
CPI in 192025.300
Inflation in 191910.05%
Inflation in 192015.53%
£1 in 1919£1.16 in 1920
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1919 to 1920

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1919 and 1920:

CPI in 1920 CPI in 1919
×
1919 GBP value
=
1920 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 21.9 in the year 1919 and 25.3 in 1920:

25.321.9
×
£1
=
£1.16

£1 in 1919 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.16 in 1920.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1919 and 1920, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1920 - CPI in 1919CPI in 1919
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

25.3 - 21.921.9
×
100
=
16%

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 1920 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 13 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1920.

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 1919 to 1920
Average inflation rate15.53%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.16
Price difference
£1 base		£0.16
CPI in 191921.900
CPI in 192025.300
Inflation in 191910.05%
Inflation in 192015.53%
£1 in 1919£1.16 in 1920