According to the Office for National Statistics composite price index, today's prices in 2020 are
9,972.95% higher than
average prices since 1804.
The British pound experienced an average inflation rate of 2.16% per year during this period, meaning the real value of a pound decreased.
In other words, £100 in 1804 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £10,072.95 in 2020, a difference of £9,972.95 over 216 years.
The 1804 inflation rate was 2.73%. The current inflation rate (2019 to 2020) is now 1.50%1. If this number holds, £100 today will be equivalent in buying power to £101.50 next year.
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £100 in 1804 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £100, you would need to end with £10,072.95 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £100 is equivalent to £10,072.95 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.K. pound decreases over time. In other words, a pound will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a pound over time. By calculating the value in 1804 dollars, the chart below shows how £100 buys less over the past 216 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, each of these GBP amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
Year
Pound Value
Inflation Rate
1804
£100.00
2.73%
1805
£115.93
15.93%
1806
£111.50
-3.82%
1807
£108.85
-2.38%
1808
£113.27
4.07%
1809
£123.89
9.37%
1810
£127.43
2.86%
1811
£123.89
-2.78%
1812
£140.71
13.57%
1813
£144.25
2.52%
1814
£125.66
-12.88%
1815
£112.39
-10.56%
1816
£102.65
-8.66%
1817
£116.81
13.79%
1818
£116.81
0.00%
1819
£114.16
-2.27%
1820
£103.54
-9.30%
1821
£91.15
-11.97%
1822
£78.76
-13.59%
1823
£84.07
6.74%
1824
£91.15
8.42%
1825
£107.08
17.48%
1826
£100.88
-5.79%
1827
£94.69
-6.14%
1828
£92.04
-2.80%
1829
£91.15
-0.96%
1830
£87.61
-3.88%
1831
£96.46
10.10%
1832
£89.38
-7.34%
1833
£84.07
-5.94%
1834
£76.99
-8.42%
1835
£78.76
2.30%
1836
£87.61
11.24%
1837
£89.38
2.02%
1838
£90.27
0.99%
1839
£96.46
6.86%
1840
£98.23
1.83%
1841
£96.46
-1.80%
1842
£88.50
-8.26%
1843
£78.76
-11.00%
1844
£78.76
0.00%
1845
£82.30
4.49%
1846
£85.84
4.30%
1847
£96.46
12.37%
1848
£84.07
-12.84%
1849
£78.76
-6.32%
1850
£74.34
-5.62%
1851
£71.68
-3.57%
1852
£71.68
0.00%
1853
£78.76
9.88%
1854
£90.27
14.61%
1855
£92.92
2.94%
1856
£92.92
0.00%
1857
£88.50
-4.76%
1858
£80.53
-9.00%
1859
£79.65
-1.10%
1860
£82.30
3.33%
1861
£84.07
2.15%
1862
£82.30
-2.11%
1863
£79.65
-3.23%
1864
£78.76
-1.11%
1865
£79.65
1.12%
1866
£84.07
5.56%
1867
£89.38
6.32%
1868
£88.50
-0.99%
1869
£84.07
-5.00%
1870
£84.07
0.00%
1871
£84.96
1.05%
1872
£88.50
4.17%
1873
£92.04
4.00%
1874
£88.50
-3.85%
1875
£86.73
-2.00%
1876
£86.73
0.00%
1877
£85.84
-1.02%
1878
£84.07
-2.06%
1879
£80.53
-4.21%
1880
£83.19
3.30%
1881
£82.30
-1.06%
1882
£83.19
1.08%
1883
£82.30
-1.06%
1884
£80.53
-2.15%
1885
£77.88
-3.30%
1886
£76.99
-1.14%
1887
£76.11
-1.15%
1888
£76.99
1.16%
1889
£77.88
1.15%
1890
£77.88
0.00%
1891
£78.76
1.14%
1892
£78.76
0.00%
1893
£77.88
-1.12%
1894
£76.99
-1.14%
1895
£76.11
-1.15%
1896
£75.22
-1.16%
1897
£76.99
2.35%
1898
£76.99
0.00%
1899
£77.88
1.15%
1900
£81.42
4.55%
1901
£81.42
0.00%
1902
£81.42
0.00%
1903
£82.30
1.09%
1904
£82.30
0.00%
1905
£82.30
0.00%
1906
£82.30
0.00%
1907
£83.19
1.08%
1908
£83.19
0.00%
1909
£84.07
1.06%
1910
£84.96
1.05%
1911
£84.96
0.00%
1912
£87.61
3.13%
1913
£86.73
-1.01%
1914
£86.73
0.00%
1915
£97.35
12.24%
1916
£115.04
18.18%
1917
£144.25
25.38%
1918
£176.11
22.09%
1919
£193.81
10.05%
1920
£223.89
15.53%
1921
£204.42
-8.70%
1922
£176.11
-13.85%
1923
£165.49
-6.03%
1924
£164.60
-0.53%
1925
£164.60
0.00%
1926
£163.72
-0.54%
1927
£159.29
-2.70%
1928
£159.29
0.00%
1929
£157.52
-1.11%
1930
£153.10
-2.81%
1931
£146.90
-4.05%
1932
£143.36
-2.41%
1933
£139.82
-2.47%
1934
£139.82
0.00%
1935
£140.71
0.63%
1936
£141.59
0.63%
1937
£146.90
3.75%
1938
£148.67
1.20%
1939
£153.10
2.98%
1940
£178.76
16.76%
1941
£198.23
10.89%
1942
£212.39
7.14%
1943
£219.47
3.33%
1944
£225.66
2.82%
1945
£231.86
2.75%
1946
£238.94
3.05%
1947
£255.75
7.04%
1948
£275.22
7.61%
1949
£283.19
2.89%
1950
£292.04
3.13%
1951
£318.58
9.09%
1952
£347.79
9.17%
1953
£358.41
3.05%
1954
£365.49
1.98%
1955
£381.42
4.36%
1956
£400.88
5.10%
1957
£415.04
3.53%
1958
£428.32
3.20%
1959
£430.09
0.41%
1960
£434.51
1.03%
1961
£449.56
3.46%
1962
£469.03
4.33%
1963
£477.88
1.89%
1964
£493.81
3.33%
1965
£516.81
4.66%
1966
£537.17
3.94%
1967
£551.33
2.64%
1968
£576.99
4.65%
1969
£607.96
5.37%
1970
£646.90
6.40%
1971
£707.96
9.44%
1972
£758.41
7.13%
1973
£827.43
9.10%
1974
£960.18
16.04%
1975
£1,192.92
24.24%
1976
£1,390.27
16.54%
1977
£1,610.62
15.85%
1978
£1,744.25
8.30%
1979
£1,977.88
13.39%
1980
£2,333.63
17.99%
1981
£2,610.62
11.87%
1982
£2,835.40
8.61%
1983
£2,965.49
4.59%
1984
£3,113.27
4.98%
1985
£3,302.65
6.08%
1986
£3,415.04
3.40%
1987
£3,557.52
4.17%
1988
£3,731.86
4.90%
1989
£4,022.12
7.78%
1990
£4,402.65
9.46%
1991
£4,661.06
5.87%
1992
£4,835.40
3.74%
1993
£4,912.39
1.59%
1994
£5,030.97
2.41%
1995
£5,205.31
3.47%
1996
£5,330.97
2.41%
1997
£5,498.23
3.14%
1998
£5,686.73
3.43%
1999
£5,774.34
1.54%
2000
£5,945.13
2.96%
2001
£6,050.44
1.77%
2002
£6,151.33
1.67%
2003
£6,329.20
2.89%
2004
£6,517.70
2.98%
2005
£6,701.77
2.82%
2006
£6,915.93
3.20%
2007
£7,212.39
4.29%
2008
£7,500.00
3.99%
2009
£7,460.18
-0.53%
2010
£7,804.42
4.61%
2011
£8,210.62
5.20%
2012
£8,474.34
3.21%
2013
£8,731.86
3.04%
2014
£8,938.05
2.36%
2015
£9,026.55
0.99%
2016
£9,183.19
1.74%
2017
£9,512.39
3.58%
2018
£9,748.61
2.48%
2019
£9,924.09
1.80%
2020
£10,072.95
1.50%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 210 more rows
How to Calculate Inflation Rate for £100 since 1804
This inflation calculator uses the following inflation rate formula:
CPI in 2020CPI in 1804
×
1804 GBP value
=
2020 GBP value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 11.3 in the year 1804 and 1138.2433607545 in 2020:
1138.243360754511.3
×
£100
=
£10,072.95
£100 in 1804 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £10,072.95 in 2020.
To get the total inflation rate for the 216 years between 1804 and 2020, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2020 - CPI in 1804CPI in 1804
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (216 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1138.2433607545 - 11.311.3
×
100
=
9,973%
News headlines from 1804
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
France adopts Napoleon’s Civil Code.
The French Senate proclaims Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of France
Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France
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 2017, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page:
“1804 pounds in 2020 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 21 Jan. 2020, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1804.
Special thanks to QuickChart for providing downloadable chart images.
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.
