U.K. inflation rate in 2021: 2.49%

£

Inflation in 2021 and its effect on pound value

£1 in 2020 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1.02 in 2021. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.49% per year between 2020 and 2021, producing a cumulative price increase of 2.49%. Purchasing power decreased by 2.49% in 2021 compared to 2020. On average, you would have to spend 2.49% more money in 2021 than in 2020 for the same item.

This means that prices in 2021 are 1.02 times as high as average prices since 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 2020 was 1.80%. The inflation rate in 2021 was 2.49%. The 2021 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 6.28% per year between 2021 and 2024.

Inflation rate is calculated by change in the composite price index (CPI). The CPI in 2021 was 1,180.59. It was 1,151.89 in the previous year, 2020. The difference in CPI between the years is used by the Office for National Statistics to officially determine inflation.

⌃
Inflation from 2020 to 2021
Average inflation rate2.49%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.02
Price difference
£1 base		£0.02
CPI in 20201,151.888
CPI in 20211,180.589
Inflation in 20201.80%
Inflation in 20212.49%
£1 in 2020£1.02 in 2021
Recent GBP inflation
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
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How to calculate inflation rate for £1, 2020 to 2021

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 2020 and 2021:

CPI in 2021 CPI in 2020
×
2020 GBP value
=
2021 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 1151.88772393 in the year 2020 and 1180.5889263884287 in 2021:

1180.58892638842871151.88772393
×
£1
=
£1.02

£1 in 2020 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1.02 in 2021.

To get the total inflation rate for the 1 years between 2020 and 2021, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2021 - CPI in 2020CPI in 2020
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (1 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

1180.5889263884287 - 1151.887723931151.88772393
×
100
=
2%

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 2021 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 11 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/UK-inflation-rate-in-2021.

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 2020 to 2021
Average inflation rate2.49%
Converted amount
£1 base		£1.02
Price difference
£1 base		£0.02
CPI in 20201,151.888
CPI in 20211,180.589
Inflation in 20201.80%
Inflation in 20212.49%
£1 in 2020£1.02 in 2021