Why a pound today is worth only 74% of a pound in 2009
Updated: September 11, 2020According to the Office for National Statistics composite price index, today's prices in 2020 are 35.02% higher than average prices since 2009. This means that a pound today only buys 74.06% of what it could buy in 2009. The British pound experienced an average inflation rate of 2.77% per year during this period, causing the real value of a pound to decrease.
In other words, £100 in 2009 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £135.02 in 2020, a difference of £35.02 over 11 years.
The 2009 inflation rate was -0.53%. The current year-over-year 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.
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| Cumulative price change | 35.02% |
| Average inflation rate | 2.77% |
| Converted amount (£100 base) | £135.02 |
| Price difference (£100 base) | £35.02 |
| CPI in 2009 | 843.000 |
| CPI in 2020 | 1,138.243 |
| Inflation in 2009 | -0.53% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 1.50% |
Buying power of £100 in 2009
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £100 in 2009 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £100, you would need to end with £135.02 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £100 is equivalent to £135.02 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 2009 dollars, the chart below shows how £100 is worth less over 11 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 2009 amounts in today's pounds, based on the 35.02% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 2009 | £1.35 pounds today |
| £5 pounds in 2009 | £6.75 pounds today |
| £10 pounds in 2009 | £13.50 pounds today |
| £50 pounds in 2009 | £67.51 pounds today |
| £100 pounds in 2009 | £135.02 pounds today |
| £500 pounds in 2009 | £675.11 pounds today |
| £1,000 pounds in 2009 | £1,350.23 pounds today |
| £5,000 pounds in 2009 | £6,751.15 pounds today |
| £10,000 pounds in 2009 | £13,502.29 pounds today |
| £50,000 pounds in 2009 | £67,511.47 pounds today |
| £100,000 pounds in 2009 | £135,022.94 pounds today |
| £500,000 pounds in 2009 | £675,114.69 pounds today |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 2009 | £1,350,229.37 pounds today |
How to Calculate Inflation Rate for £100 since 2009
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 2009 and today:
CPI today
CPI in 2009
×
2009 GBP value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 843 in the year 2009 and 1138.2433607545 in 2020:
1138.2433607545843
×
£100
=
£135.02
£100 in 2009 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £135.02 in 2020.
To get the total inflation rate for the 11 years between 2009 and 2020, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2020 - CPI in 2009CPI in 2009
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (11 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1138.2433607545 - 843843
×
100
=
35%
News headlines from 2009
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
- Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
- An arrest warrant is issued for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudanese President, by International Criminal Court, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is the first time a sitting head of state was indicted.
- Chrysler, an automotive company, files for bankruptcy.
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: “Value of 2009 pounds today | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Sep. 2020, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/2009.
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 | 35.02% |
| Average inflation rate | 2.77% |
| Converted amount (£100 base) | £135.02 |
| Price difference (£100 base) | £35.02 |
| CPI in 2009 | 843.000 |
| CPI in 2020 | 1,138.243 |
| Inflation in 2009 | -0.53% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 1.50% |