£1 in 1937 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.01 in 1938. The pound had an average inflation rate of 1.20% per year between 1937 and 1938, producing a cumulative price increase of 1.20%. Purchasing power decreased by 1.20% in 1938 compared to 1937. On average, you would have to spend 1.20% more money in 1938 than in 1937 for the same item.
This means that prices in 1938 are 1.01 times as high as average prices since 1937, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.
The inflation rate in 1937 was 3.75%. The inflation rate in 1938 was 1.20%. The 1938 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 5.29% per year between 1938 and 2024.
Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1938 was 16.80. It was 16.60 in the previous year, 1937. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.
Average inflation rate | 1.20% |
Converted amount £1 base | £1.01 |
Price difference £1 base | £0.01 |
CPI in 1937 | 16.600 |
CPI in 1938 | 16.800 |
Inflation in 1937 | 3.75% |
Inflation in 1938 | 1.20% |
£1 in 1937 | £1.01 in 1938 |
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1937 and 1938:
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 16.6 in the year 1937 and 16.8 in 1938:
£1 in 1937 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.01 in 1938.
To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1937 and 1938, we use the following formula:
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
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 1938 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 13 Oct. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1938.
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.
Average inflation rate | 1.20% |
Converted amount £1 base | £1.01 |
Price difference £1 base | £0.01 |
CPI in 1937 | 16.600 |
CPI in 1938 | 16.800 |
Inflation in 1937 | 3.75% |
Inflation in 1938 | 1.20% |
£1 in 1937 | £1.01 in 1938 |