U.K. inflation rate in 1939: 2.98%

£

Inflation in 1939 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1938 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.03 in 1939. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.98% per year between 1938 and 1939, producing a cumulative price increase of 2.98%. Purchasing power decreased by 2.98% in 1939 compared to 1938. On average, you would have to spend 2.98% more money in 1939 than in 1938 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1939 are 1.03 times as high as average prices since 1938, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1938 was 1.20%. The inflation rate in 1939 was 2.98%. The 1939 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 5.32% per year between 1939 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1939 was 17.30. It was 16.80 in the previous year, 1938. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1938 to 1939
Average inflation rate2.98%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.03
Price difference
£1 base		£0.03
CPI in 193816.800
CPI in 193917.300
Inflation in 19381.20%
Inflation in 19392.98%
£1 in 1938£1.03 in 1939
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1938 to 1939

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1938 and 1939:

CPI in 1939 CPI in 1938
×
1938 GBP value
=
1939 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 16.8 in the year 1938 and 17.3 in 1939:

17.316.8
×
£1
=
£1.03

£1 in 1938 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.03 in 1939.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1938 and 1939, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1939 - CPI in 1938CPI in 1938
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

17.3 - 16.816.8
×
100
=
3%

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 1939 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 11 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1939.

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 1938 to 1939
Average inflation rate2.98%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.03
Price difference
£1 base		£0.03
CPI in 193816.800
CPI in 193917.300
Inflation in 19381.20%
Inflation in 19392.98%
£1 in 1938£1.03 in 1939