Why a bolivar today is worth much less than a bolivar in 1979
Updated: September 11, 2026Bs. 100 in 1979 is equivalent in purchasing power to about Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 today, an increase of Bs. 17,013,168,256,213.00 over 42 years. Cumulative inflation since 1979 is 17,013,168,256,213.00%: the bolivar had an average inflation rate of 85.10% per year between 1979 and today.
This means that today's prices are 170,131,682,563.13 times as high as average prices in 1979, according to the International Monetary Fund consumer price index. A bolivar today only buys NaN% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 1979 was NaN%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 2,700.00%. If this number holds, Bs. 100 today will be equivalent in buying power to Bs. 2,800.00 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 17,013,168,256,213.00% |
| Average inflation rate | 85.10% |
|
Converted amount
Bs. 100 base | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 |
|
Price difference
Bs. 100 base | Bs. 17,013,168,256,213.00 |
| CPI in 1979 | 100.000 |
| CPI in 2021 | 17,013,168,256,313.000 |
| Inflation in 1979 | 0.00% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2,700.00% |
| Bs. 100 in 1979 | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 in 2021 |
Buying power of Bs. 100 in 1979
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for Bs. 100 in 1979 (price index tracking began in 1979).
For example, if you started with Bs. 100, you would need to end with Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When Bs. 100 is equivalent to Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single Venezuelan bolivar decreases over time. In other words, a bolivar will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a bolivar over time. By calculating the value in 1979 dollars, the chart below shows how Bs. 100 is worth less over 42 years.
According to the International Monetary Fund, each of these VEF amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1979 amounts in today's bolivars, based on the 17,013,168,256,213.00% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| Bs. 1 bolivar in 1979 | Bs. 170,131,682,563.13 bolivars today |
| Bs. 5 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 850,658,412,815.65 bolivars today |
| Bs. 10 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 1,701,316,825,631.30 bolivars today |
| Bs. 50 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 8,506,584,128,156.50 bolivars today |
| Bs. 100 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 500 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 85,065,841,281,565.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 1,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 170,131,682,563,130.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 5,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 850,658,412,815,649.88 bolivars today |
| Bs. 10,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 1,701,316,825,631,299.75 bolivars today |
| Bs. 50,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 8,506,584,128,156,500.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 100,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313,000.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 500,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 85,065,841,281,565,008.00 bolivars today |
| Bs. 1,000,000 bolivars in 1979 | Bs. 170,131,682,563,130,016.00 bolivars today |
How to calculate inflation rate for Bs. 100 since 1979
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1979 and today:
CPI todayCPI in 1979
×
1979 VEF value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The Venezuelan CPI was 100 in the year 1979 and 17013168256313 in 2021:
17013168256313100
×
Bs. 100
=
Bs. 17,013,168,256,313
Bs. 100 in 1979 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 in 2021.
To get the total inflation rate for the 42 years between 1979 and 2021, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2021 - CPI in 1979CPI in 1979
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (42 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
17013168256313 - 100100
×
100
=
17,013,168,256,213%
Data source & citation
Raw data for these calculations comes from the government of Venezuela's annual (CPI) as provided by the International Monetary Fund.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “Value of 1979 Venezuelan Bolivars today | Venezuela Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 9 Oct. 2026, https://www.officialdata.org/venezuela/inflation/1979.
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 | 17,013,168,256,213.00% |
| Average inflation rate | 85.10% |
|
Converted amount
Bs. 100 base | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 |
|
Price difference
Bs. 100 base | Bs. 17,013,168,256,213.00 |
| CPI in 1979 | 100.000 |
| CPI in 2021 | 17,013,168,256,313.000 |
| Inflation in 1979 | 0.00% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2,700.00% |
| Bs. 100 in 1979 | Bs. 17,013,168,256,313 in 2021 |