U.K. inflation rate in 1955: 4.36%

Inflation in 1955 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1954 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.04 in 1955. The pound had an average inflation rate of 4.36% per year between 1954 and 1955, producing a cumulative price increase of 4.36%. Purchasing power decreased by 4.36% in 1955 compared to 1954. On average, you would have to spend 4.36% more money in 1955 than in 1954 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1955 are 1.04 times as high as average prices since 1954, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1954 was 1.98%. The inflation rate in 1955 was 4.36%. The 1955 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 5.19% per year between 1955 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1955 was 43.10. It was 41.30 in the previous year, 1954. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.


Inflation from 1954 to 1955
Average inflation rate4.36%
Converted amount
£1 base
£1.04
Price difference
£1 base
£0.04
CPI in 195441.300
CPI in 195543.100
Inflation in 19541.98%
Inflation in 19554.36%
£1 in 1954£1.04 in 1955

Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1954 to 1955

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1954 and 1955:

CPI in 1955 CPI in 1954
×
1954 GBP value
=
1955 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 41.3 in the year 1954 and 43.1 in 1955:

43.141.3
×
£1
=
£1.04

£1 in 1954 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.04 in 1955.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1954 and 1955, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1955 - CPI in 1954CPI in 1954
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

43.1 - 41.341.3
×
100
=
4%

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 1955 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1955.

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 1954 to 1955
Average inflation rate4.36%
Converted amount
£1 base
£1.04
Price difference
£1 base
£0.04
CPI in 195441.300
CPI in 195543.100
Inflation in 19541.98%
Inflation in 19554.36%
£1 in 1954£1.04 in 1955