Why a bolivar today is worth much less than a bolivar in 2016
Updated: September 11, 2025$100 in 2016 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $249,602,367.01 today, an increase of $249,602,267.01 over 5 years. The bolivar had an average inflation rate of 1,803.05% per year between 2016 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 249,602,267.01%.
This means that today's prices are 2,496,023.67 times as high as average prices since 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund consumer price index. A bolivar today only buys 0.000% of what it could buy back then.
The inflation rate in 2016 was 254.40%. The current inflation rate compared to the end of last year is now 2,700.00%. If this number holds, $100 today will be equivalent in buying power to $2,800.00 next year.
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| Cumulative price change | 249,602,267.01% |
| Average inflation rate | 1,803.05% |
| Converted amount $100 base | $249,602,367.01 |
| Price difference $100 base | $249,602,267.01 |
| CPI in 2016 | 6,816,108.541 |
| CPI in 2021 | 17,013,168,256,313.000 |
| Inflation in 2016 | 254.40% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2,700.00% |
| $100 in 2016 | $249,602,367.01 in 2021 |
Buying power of $100 in 2016
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 2016 (price index tracking began in 1979).
For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $249,602,367.01 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When $100 is equivalent to $249,602,367.01 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 2016 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 5 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 2016 amounts in today's bolivars, based on the 249,602,267.01% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| $1 bolivar in 2016 | $2,496,023.67 bolivars today |
| $5 bolivars in 2016 | $12,480,118.35 bolivars today |
| $10 bolivars in 2016 | $24,960,236.70 bolivars today |
| $50 bolivars in 2016 | $124,801,183.51 bolivars today |
| $100 bolivars in 2016 | $249,602,367.01 bolivars today |
| $500 bolivars in 2016 | $1,248,011,835.05 bolivars today |
| $1,000 bolivars in 2016 | $2,496,023,670.10 bolivars today |
| $5,000 bolivars in 2016 | $12,480,118,350.50 bolivars today |
| $10,000 bolivars in 2016 | $24,960,236,701.01 bolivars today |
| $50,000 bolivars in 2016 | $124,801,183,505.05 bolivars today |
| $100,000 bolivars in 2016 | $249,602,367,010.09 bolivars today |
| $500,000 bolivars in 2016 | $1,248,011,835,050.46 bolivars today |
| $1,000,000 bolivars in 2016 | $2,496,023,670,100.91 bolivars today |
How to calculate inflation rate for $100 since 2016
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 2016 and today:
CPI today CPI in 2016
×
2016 VEF value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The Venezuelan CPI was 6816108.541 in the year 2016 and 17013168256313 in 2021:
170131682563136816108.541
×
$100
=
$249,602,367.01
$100 in 2016 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $249,602,367.01 in 2021.
To get the total inflation rate for the 5 years between 2016 and 2021, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2021 - CPI in 2016CPI in 2016
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (5 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
17013168256313 - 6816108.5416816108.541
×
100
=
249,602,267%
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 2016 Venezuelan Bolivars today | Venezuela Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 19 Dec. 2025, https://www.officialdata.org/venezuela/inflation/2016.
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 | 249,602,267.01% |
| Average inflation rate | 1,803.05% |
| Converted amount $100 base | $249,602,367.01 |
| Price difference $100 base | $249,602,267.01 |
| CPI in 2016 | 6,816,108.541 |
| CPI in 2021 | 17,013,168,256,313.000 |
| Inflation in 2016 | 254.40% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2,700.00% |
| $100 in 2016 | $249,602,367.01 in 2021 |