U.K. inflation rate in 1940: 16.76%

£

Inflation in 1940 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1939 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.17 in 1940. The pound had an average inflation rate of 16.76% per year between 1939 and 1940, producing a cumulative price increase of 16.76%. Purchasing power decreased by 16.76% in 1940 compared to 1939. On average, you would have to spend 16.76% more money in 1940 than in 1939 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1940 are 1.17 times as high as average prices since 1939, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1939 was 2.98%. The inflation rate in 1940 was 16.76%. The 1940 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 5.19% per year between 1940 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1940 was 20.20. It was 17.30 in the previous year, 1939. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1939 to 1940
Average inflation rate16.76%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.17
Price difference
£1 base		£0.17
CPI in 193917.300
CPI in 194020.200
Inflation in 19392.98%
Inflation in 194016.76%
£1 in 1939£1.17 in 1940
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1939 to 1940

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1939 and 1940:

CPI in 1940 CPI in 1939
×
1939 GBP value
=
1940 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 17.3 in the year 1939 and 20.2 in 1940:

20.217.3
×
£1
=
£1.17

£1 in 1939 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.17 in 1940.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1939 and 1940, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1940 - CPI in 1939CPI in 1939
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

20.2 - 17.317.3
×
100
=
17%

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 1940 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 8 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1940.

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 1939 to 1940
Average inflation rate16.76%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.17
Price difference
£1 base		£0.17
CPI in 193917.300
CPI in 194020.200
Inflation in 19392.98%
Inflation in 194016.76%
£1 in 1939£1.17 in 1940