£100 in 1988 is worth £147.33 in 1997

Value of £100 from 1988 to 1997

£100 in 1988 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £147.33 in 1997, an increase of £47.33 over 9 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 4.40% per year between 1988 and 1997, producing a cumulative price increase of 47.33%.

This means that prices in 1997 are 1.47 times as high as average prices since 1988, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1988 was 4.90%. The inflation rate in 1997 was 3.14%. The 1997 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 3.10% per year between 1997 and 2024.


Inflation from 1988 to 1997
Cumulative price change47.33%
Average inflation rate4.40%
Converted amount
£100 base
£147.33
Price difference
£100 base
£47.33
CPI in 1988421.700
CPI in 1997621.300
Inflation in 19884.90%
Inflation in 19973.14%
£100 in 1988£147.33 in 1997

GBP inflation since 1988
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of £100 in 1988

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £100 in 1988 (price index tracking began in 1750).

For example, if you started with £100, you would need to end with £147.33 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When £100 is equivalent to £147.33 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 1988 dollars, the chart below shows how £100 is worth less over 9 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:

Pound inflation: 1988-1997
YearPound ValueInflation Rate
1988£100.004.90%
1989£107.787.78%
1990£117.979.46%
1991£124.905.87%
1992£129.573.74%
1993£131.631.59%
1994£134.812.41%
1995£139.483.47%
1996£142.852.41%
1997£147.333.14%
1998£152.383.43%
1999£154.731.54%
2000£159.312.96%
2001£162.131.77%
2002£164.831.67%
2003£169.602.89%
2004£174.652.98%
2005£179.582.82%
2006£185.323.20%
2007£193.274.29%
2008£200.973.99%
2009£199.91-0.53%
2010£209.134.61%
2011£220.015.20%
2012£227.083.21%
2013£233.983.04%
2014£239.512.36%
2015£241.880.99%
2016£246.081.74%
2017£254.903.58%
2018£261.782.70%
2019£268.322.50%
2020£273.151.80%
2021£279.962.49%
2022£302.087.90%
2023£323.447.07%
2024£336.053.90%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
Click to show 3 more rows

This conversion table shows various other 1988 amounts in 1997 pounds, based on the 47.33% change in prices:

Conversion: 1988 pounds in 1997
Initial valueEquivalent value
£1 pound in 1988£1.47 pounds in 1997
£5 pounds in 1988£7.37 pounds in 1997
£10 pounds in 1988£14.73 pounds in 1997
£50 pounds in 1988£73.67 pounds in 1997
£100 pounds in 1988£147.33 pounds in 1997
£500 pounds in 1988£736.66 pounds in 1997
£1,000 pounds in 1988£1,473.32 pounds in 1997
£5,000 pounds in 1988£7,366.61 pounds in 1997
£10,000 pounds in 1988£14,733.22 pounds in 1997
£50,000 pounds in 1988£73,666.11 pounds in 1997
£100,000 pounds in 1988£147,332.23 pounds in 1997
£500,000 pounds in 1988£736,661.13 pounds in 1997
£1,000,000 pounds in 1988£1,473,322.27 pounds in 1997

How to calculate inflation rate for £100, 1988 to 1997

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1988 and 1997:

CPI in 1997 CPI in 1988
×
1988 GBP value
=
1997 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 421.7 in the year 1988 and 621.3 in 1997:

621.3421.7
×
£100
=
£147.33

£100 in 1988 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £147.33 in 1997.

To get the total inflation rate for the 9 years between 1988 and 1997, we use the following formula:

CPI in 1997 - CPI in 1988CPI in 1988
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (9 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

621.3 - 421.7421.7
×
100
=
47%

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 the current year, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “1988 pounds in 1997 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 3 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1988-GBP-in-1997.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.


Ian Webster

About the author

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.

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Inflation from 1988 to 1997
Cumulative price change47.33%
Average inflation rate4.40%
Converted amount
£100 base
£147.33
Price difference
£100 base
£47.33
CPI in 1988421.700
CPI in 1997621.300
Inflation in 19884.90%
Inflation in 19973.14%
£100 in 1988£147.33 in 1997