Why a bolivar today is worth much less than a bolivar in 1980
Updated: November 10, 2021$100 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $12,515,733,113,673,804 today, an increase of $12,515,733,113,673,704.00 over 40 years. The bolivar had an average inflation rate of 125.13% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 12,515,733,113,673,704.00%.
This means that today's prices are 125,157,331,136,738.05 times higher than average prices since 1980, according to the International Monetary Fund consumer price index. A bolivar today only buys NaN% of what it could buy back then.
The 1980 inflation rate was 21.40%. The current year-over-year inflation rate (2019 to 2020) is now 0.00%1. If this number holds, the rate of inflation is so negligible that $100 today will roughly maintain its value.
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| Cumulative price change | 12,515,733,113,673,704.00% |
| Average inflation rate | 125.13% |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $12,515,733,113,673,804 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $12,515,733,113,673,704.00 |
| CPI in 1980 | 121.400 |
| CPI in 2020 | 15,194,100,000,000,000.000 |
| Inflation in 1980 | 21.40% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 0.00% |
| $100 in 1980 | $12,515,733,113,673,804 in 2020 |
Buying power of $100 in 1980
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $100 in 1980 (price index tracking began in 1979).
For example, if you started with $100, you would need to end with $12,515,733,113,673,804 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When $100 is equivalent to $12,515,733,113,673,804 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 1980 dollars, the chart below shows how $100 is worth less over 40 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 1980 amounts in today's bolivars, based on the 12,515,733,113,673,704.00% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| $1 bolivar in 1980 | $125,157,331,136,738.05 bolivars today |
| $5 bolivars in 1980 | $625,786,655,683,690.25 bolivars today |
| $10 bolivars in 1980 | $1,251,573,311,367,380.50 bolivars today |
| $50 bolivars in 1980 | $6,257,866,556,836,902.00 bolivars today |
| $100 bolivars in 1980 | $12,515,733,113,673,804.00 bolivars today |
| $500 bolivars in 1980 | $62,578,665,568,369,016.00 bolivars today |
| $1,000 bolivars in 1980 | $125,157,331,136,738,064.00 bolivars today |
| $5,000 bolivars in 1980 | $625,786,655,683,690,112.00 bolivars today |
| $10,000 bolivars in 1980 | $1,251,573,311,367,380,480.00 bolivars today |
| $50,000 bolivars in 1980 | $6,257,866,556,836,901,888.00 bolivars today |
| $100,000 bolivars in 1980 | $12,515,733,113,673,803,776.00 bolivars today |
| $500,000 bolivars in 1980 | $62,578,665,568,369,016,832.00 bolivars today |
| $1,000,000 bolivars in 1980 | $125,157,331,136,738,033,664.00 bolivars today |
How to Calculate Inflation Rate for $100 since 1980
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1980 and today:
CPI today
CPI in 1980
×
1980 VEF value
=
Today's value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The Venezuelan CPI was 121.4 in the year 1980 and 15194100000000000 in 2020:
15194100000000000121.4
×
$100
=
$12,515,733,113,673,804
$100 in 1980 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $12,515,733,113,673,804 in 2020.
To get the total inflation rate for the 40 years between 1980 and 2020, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2020 - CPI in 1980CPI in 1980
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (40 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
15194100000000000 - 121.4121.4
×
100
=
12,515,733,113,673,704%
News headlines from 1980
Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:
- Princess Victoria is crowned Princess of Sweden.
- Iranian protesters storm the Russian embassy in Iran.
- Abdou Diouf is elected president of Senegal after being Prime Minister for ten years.
- Cable News Network (CNN) is transmitted for the first time.
- Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, declares a holy war on Iran.
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: “Venezuela Inflation Calculator: VEF from 1980 to 2020.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 22 Nov. 2021, https://www.officialdata.org/Venezuela-inflation.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
| Cumulative price change | 12,515,733,113,673,704.00% |
| Average inflation rate | 125.13% |
| Converted amount ($100 base) | $12,515,733,113,673,804 |
| Price difference ($100 base) | $12,515,733,113,673,704.00 |
| CPI in 1980 | 121.400 |
| CPI in 2020 | 15,194,100,000,000,000.000 |
| Inflation in 1980 | 21.40% |
| Inflation in 2020 | 0.00% |
| $100 in 1980 | $12,515,733,113,673,804 in 2020 |