$100 in 1981 is worth $468.17 today

The Australian dollar has lost 79% its value since 1981

Updated: September 11, 2024

$100 in 1981 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $468.17 today, an increase of $368.17 over 43 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.66% per year between 1981 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 368.17%.

This means that today's prices are 4.68 times as high as average prices since 1981, according to the Bureau of Statistics consumer price index. A dollar today only buys 21.360% of what it could buy back then.

The inflation rate in 1981 was 9.47%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 1.05%. If this number holds, $100 today will be equivalent in buying power to $101.05 next year.


Inflation from 1981 to 2024
Cumulative price change368.17%
Average inflation rate3.66%
Converted amount
$100 base
$468.17
Price difference
$100 base
$368.17
CPI in 198128.900
CPI in 2024135.300
Inflation in 19819.47%
Inflation in 20241.05%
$100 in 1981$468.17 in 2024

AUD inflation since 1981
Annual Rate, the Bureau of Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of $100 in 1981

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1981 (price index tracking began in 1922).

For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $468.17 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When $100 is equivalent to $468.17 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Australian dollar decreases over time. In other words, a dollar will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a dollar over time. By calculating the value in 1981 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 43 years.

According to the Bureau of Statistics, each of these AUD amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Dollar inflation: 1981-2024
YearDollar ValueInflation Rate
1981$100.009.47%
1982$111.0711.07%
1983$122.4910.28%
1984$127.343.95%
1985$135.646.52%
1986$148.109.18%
1987$160.558.41%
1988$172.327.33%
1989$185.127.43%
1990$198.967.48%
1991$205.193.13%
1992$207.271.01%
1993$210.731.67%
1994$214.881.97%
1995$224.914.67%
1996$230.802.62%
1997$231.490.30%
1998$233.220.75%
1999$236.681.48%
2000$247.404.53%
2001$258.134.34%
2002$266.093.08%
2003$273.362.73%
2004$279.582.28%
2005$287.202.72%
2006$297.233.49%
2007$304.152.33%
2008$317.654.44%
2009$323.181.74%
2010$332.532.89%
2011$343.603.33%
2012$349.481.71%
2013$358.132.48%
2014$367.132.51%
2015$372.661.51%
2016$377.511.30%
2017$384.781.92%
2018$392.041.89%
2019$398.271.59%
2020$401.730.87%
2021$413.152.84%
2022$440.486.62%
2023$463.325.18%
2024$468.171.05%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 37 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1981 amounts in today's dollars, based on the 368.17% change in prices:

Conversion: 1981 dollars today
Initial valueEquivalent value
$1 dollar in 1981$4.68 dollars today
$5 dollars in 1981$23.41 dollars today
$10 dollars in 1981$46.82 dollars today
$50 dollars in 1981$234.08 dollars today
$100 dollars in 1981$468.17 dollars today
$500 dollars in 1981$2,340.83 dollars today
$1,000 dollars in 1981$4,681.66 dollars today
$5,000 dollars in 1981$23,408.30 dollars today
$10,000 dollars in 1981$46,816.61 dollars today
$50,000 dollars in 1981$234,083.04 dollars today
$100,000 dollars in 1981$468,166.09 dollars today
$500,000 dollars in 1981$2,340,830.45 dollars today
$1,000,000 dollars in 1981$4,681,660.90 dollars today

How to calculate inflation rate for $100 since 1981

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1981 and today:

CPI today CPI in 1981
×
1981 AUD value
=
Today's value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The Australian CPI was 28.9 in the year 1981 and 135.3 in 2024:

135.328.9
×
$100
=
$468.17

$100 in 1981 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $468.17 in 2024.

To get the total inflation rate for the 43 years between 1981 and 2024, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2024 - CPI in 1981CPI in 1981
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (43 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

135.3 - 28.928.9
×
100
=
368%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Australia's annual (CPI) as provided by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The consumer price index was established in 1922 and is tracked by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “Value of 1981 Australian dollars today | Australia Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Sep. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/australia/inflation/1981.

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 1981 to 2024
Cumulative price change368.17%
Average inflation rate3.66%
Converted amount
$100 base
$468.17
Price difference
$100 base
$368.17
CPI in 198128.900
CPI in 2024135.300
Inflation in 19819.47%
Inflation in 20241.05%
$100 in 1981$468.17 in 2024