👉 You may be interested in £1,000 in 1990 → 2024
Value of £1,000 from 1990 to 2021
£1,000 in 1990 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £2,373.04 in 2021, an increase of £1,373.04 over 31 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.83% per year between 1990 and 2021, producing a cumulative price increase of 137.30%.
This means that prices in 2021 are 2.37 times as high as average prices since 1990, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.
The inflation rate in 1990 was 9.46%. The inflation rate in 2021 was 2.49%. The 2021 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 6.28% per year between 2021 and 2024.
⌃
| Cumulative price change | 137.30% |
| Average inflation rate | 2.83% |
| Converted amount £1,000 base | £2,373.04 |
| Price difference £1,000 base | £1,373.04 |
| CPI in 1990 | 497.500 |
| CPI in 2021 | 1,180.589 |
| Inflation in 1990 | 9.46% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2.49% |
| £1,000 in 1990 | £2,373.04 in 2021 |
Buying power of £1,000 in 1990
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £1,000 in 1990 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £1,000, you would need to end with £2,373.04 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £1,000 is equivalent to £2,373.04 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 1990 dollars, the chart below shows how £1,000 is worth less over 31 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 1990 amounts in 2021 pounds, based on the 137.30% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 1990 | £2.37 pounds in 2021 |
| £5 pounds in 1990 | £11.87 pounds in 2021 |
| £10 pounds in 1990 | £23.73 pounds in 2021 |
| £50 pounds in 1990 | £118.65 pounds in 2021 |
| £100 pounds in 1990 | £237.30 pounds in 2021 |
| £500 pounds in 1990 | £1,186.52 pounds in 2021 |
| £1,000 pounds in 1990 | £2,373.04 pounds in 2021 |
| £5,000 pounds in 1990 | £11,865.22 pounds in 2021 |
| £10,000 pounds in 1990 | £23,730.43 pounds in 2021 |
| £50,000 pounds in 1990 | £118,652.15 pounds in 2021 |
| £100,000 pounds in 1990 | £237,304.31 pounds in 2021 |
| £500,000 pounds in 1990 | £1,186,521.53 pounds in 2021 |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 1990 | £2,373,043.07 pounds in 2021 |
How to calculate inflation rate for £1,000, 1990 to 2021
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1990 and 2021:
CPI in 2021 CPI in 1990
×
1990 GBP value
=
2021 GBP value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 497.5 in the year 1990 and 1180.5889263884287 in 2021:
1180.5889263884287497.5
×
£1,000
=
£2,373.04
£1,000 in 1990 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £2,373.04 in 2021.
To get the total inflation rate for the 31 years between 1990 and 2021, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2021 - CPI in 1990CPI in 1990
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (31 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1180.5889263884287 - 497.5497.5
×
100
=
137%
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: “£1,000 in 1990 → 2021 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 1 Nov. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/1990?amount=1000&endYear=2021.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
| Cumulative price change | 137.30% |
| Average inflation rate | 2.83% |
| Converted amount £1,000 base | £2,373.04 |
| Price difference £1,000 base | £1,373.04 |
| CPI in 1990 | 497.500 |
| CPI in 2021 | 1,180.589 |
| Inflation in 1990 | 9.46% |
| Inflation in 2021 | 2.49% |
| £1,000 in 1990 | £2,373.04 in 2021 |