U.K. inflation rate in 1980: 17.99%

£

Inflation in 1980 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 1979 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.18 in 1980. The pound had an average inflation rate of 17.99% per year between 1979 and 1980, producing a cumulative price increase of 17.99%. Purchasing power decreased by 17.99% in 1980 compared to 1979. On average, you would have to spend 17.99% more money in 1980 than in 1979 for the same item.

This means that prices in 1980 are 1.18 times as high as average prices since 1979, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1979 was 13.39%. The inflation rate in 1980 was 17.99%. The 1980 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.90% per year between 1980 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 1980 was 263.70. It was 223.50 in the previous year, 1979. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 1979 to 1980
Average inflation rate17.99%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.18
Price difference
£1 base		£0.18
CPI in 1979223.500
CPI in 1980263.700
Inflation in 197913.39%
Inflation in 198017.99%
£1 in 1979£1.18 in 1980
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 1979 to 1980

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1979 and 1980:

CPI in 1980 CPI in 1979
×
1979 GBP value
=
1980 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 223.5 in the year 1979 and 263.7 in 1980:

263.7223.5
×
£1
=
£1.18

£1 in 1979 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.18 in 1980.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 1979 and 1980, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1980 - CPI in 1979CPI in 1979
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

263.7 - 223.5223.5
×
100
=
18%

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 1980 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 15 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-1980.

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 1979 to 1980
Average inflation rate17.99%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.18
Price difference
£1 base		£0.18
CPI in 1979223.500
CPI in 1980263.700
Inflation in 197913.39%
Inflation in 198017.99%
£1 in 1979£1.18 in 1980