Inflation Calculator
US CPI · UK RPI · Euro Area · Japan · Canada · Australia — 1970 to 2024
Adjusted value = Original amount × (CPItarget year / CPIstart year). $100 in 1990 = $239 in 2024 (US CPI). Japan had the world's lowest inflation among G7 nations: $100 in 2000 is only $112 today. UK inflation (RPI) is consistently the highest in the G7 at ~3.8% annually since 2000.
Cumulative Inflation by Country (2000 → 2024)
| Country | Index (2000) | Index (2024) | $100 → Today | Avg. Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 172.2 | 314.0 | $182.35 | 2.6% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 170.3 | 411.0 | $241.34 | 3.8% |
| 🇪🇺 Euro Area | 87.9 | 156.0 | $177.47 | 2.4% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 109.7 | 123.0 | $112.12 | 0.5% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 113.5 | 198.0 | $174.45 | 2.4% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 100.0 | 199.0 | $199.00 | 2.8% |
Approximate figures using CPI/RPI/HICP data. UK uses RPI (Retail Price Index), which runs higher than CPI.
🇯🇵 Japan's inflation story is unlike anywhere else
Japan spent nearly two decades fighting deflation — falling prices — from the late 1990s through the 2010s. While the US dollar lost 82% of its 1980 purchasing power by 2024, the Japanese yen held on to most of its value. If you put ¥1,000,000 under the mattress in 2000, it still buys roughly the same basket of goods today. That's unusual by any historical standard.
How Inflation Is Measured: CPI, RPI, and HICP Explained
Inflation is measured by tracking the price of a representative "basket" of goods and services over time. The composition of that basket — and the methodology used — differs by country, which is why you cannot directly compare raw index numbers across nations. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks prices for urban consumers across about 80,000 goods and services monthly. The UK publishes both CPI (used for the Bank of England's 2% target) and RPI (Retail Price Index), which includes mortgage interest payments. Because RPI includes housing costs, it typically runs 0.5–1% higher than CPI, which is why UK inflation in this calculator looks higher than European peers. The European Union uses HICP (Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices), designed to be comparable across member states.
The Real Cost of Inflation Over Time
Small annual inflation rates compound dramatically over decades. At 3% inflation, prices double every 24 years (using the Rule of 72). A $50,000 salary in 2000 would need to be $90,000 in 2024 just to maintain the same purchasing power in the US. In the UK, the equivalent would require a salary of over £100,000 (compared to £30,000 in 2000) due to higher cumulative RPI inflation. This is why wage growth must outpace inflation to represent a real increase in living standards — a distinction often lost in news reports that focus on nominal pay rises.
How to Use the Inflation Calculator for Financial Planning
The inflation calculator is particularly useful for retirement planning. If you need $60,000/year to live on today and plan to retire in 25 years, you need to account for inflation in your target: at 3% inflation, you will need approximately $125,000/year in nominal dollars (60,000 × 1.03²⁵ = 125,534) to maintain the same lifestyle. This is why retirement calculators use "real" vs "nominal" returns — a 7% nominal investment return minus 3% inflation is only a 4% real return. Always model your retirement target in today's dollars, then convert to future nominal dollars when estimating your needed nest egg.