£100 in 1855 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £11,243.70 in 2021, an increase of £11,143.70 over 166 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.89% per year between 1855 and 2021, producing a cumulative price increase of 11,143.70%.
This means that prices in 2021 are 112.44 times as high as average prices since 1855, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.
The inflation rate in 1855 was 2.94%. 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.
Cumulative price change | 11,143.70% |
Average inflation rate | 2.89% |
Converted amount £100 base | £11,243.70 |
Price difference £100 base | £11,143.70 |
CPI in 1855 | 10.500 |
CPI in 2021 | 1,180.589 |
Inflation in 1855 | 2.94% |
Inflation in 2021 | 2.49% |
£100 in 1855 | £11,243.70 in 2021 |
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £100 in 1855 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £100, you would need to end with £11,243.70 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £100 is equivalent to £11,243.70 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 1855 dollars, the chart below shows how £100 is worth less over 166 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:
This conversion table shows various other 1855 amounts in 2021 pounds, based on the 11,143.70% change in prices:
Initial value | Equivalent value |
---|---|
£1 pound in 1855 | £112.44 pounds in 2021 |
£5 pounds in 1855 | £562.19 pounds in 2021 |
£10 pounds in 1855 | £1,124.37 pounds in 2021 |
£50 pounds in 1855 | £5,621.85 pounds in 2021 |
£100 pounds in 1855 | £11,243.70 pounds in 2021 |
£500 pounds in 1855 | £56,218.52 pounds in 2021 |
£1,000 pounds in 1855 | £112,437.04 pounds in 2021 |
£5,000 pounds in 1855 | £562,185.20 pounds in 2021 |
£10,000 pounds in 1855 | £1,124,370.41 pounds in 2021 |
£50,000 pounds in 1855 | £5,621,852.03 pounds in 2021 |
£100,000 pounds in 1855 | £11,243,704.06 pounds in 2021 |
£500,000 pounds in 1855 | £56,218,520.30 pounds in 2021 |
£1,000,000 pounds in 1855 | £112,437,040.61 pounds in 2021 |
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1855 and 2021:
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 10.5 in the year 1855 and 1180.5889263884287 in 2021:
£100 in 1855 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £11,243.70 in 2021.
To get the total inflation rate for the 166 years between 1855 and 2021, we use the following formula:
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
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: “£100 in 1855 → 2021 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 26 Apr. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1855?amount=100&endYear=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.
Cumulative price change | 11,143.70% |
Average inflation rate | 2.89% |
Converted amount £100 base | £11,243.70 |
Price difference £100 base | £11,143.70 |
CPI in 1855 | 10.500 |
CPI in 2021 | 1,180.589 |
Inflation in 1855 | 2.94% |
Inflation in 2021 | 2.49% |
£100 in 1855 | £11,243.70 in 2021 |