Inflation Calculator
US CPI · UK RPI · Euro Area · Japan · Canada · Australia — 1970 to 2026
Adjusted value = Original amount × (CPItarget year / CPIstart year). $100 in 1990 = $246.29 in 2025 (US CPI annual average). Japan had the lowest inflation of the six economies here: ¥100 in 2000 is only ¥115.01 in 2025. UK RPI inflation averaged about 3.5% a year from 2000 to 2025 — the highest of the six indices here (RPI runs above CPI).
At a glance
$100 in 1990 (US)
$246.29
2025 purchasing power
$100 in 2000 (US)
$186.93
CPI urban consumers
¥100 in 2000 (Japan)
¥115.01
Lowest cumulative inflation here
UK RPI since 2000
~3.5%/yr
Runs above CPI; not HICP
How much inflation has each country had since 2000?
| Country | Index (2000) | Index (2025) | 100 → 2025 | Avg. Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 172.2 | 321.9 | $186.93 | 2.5% |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 170.3 | 402.7 | £236.47 | 3.5% |
| 🇪🇺 Euro Area | 76.05 | 128.75 | €169.30 | 2.1% |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 97.3 | 111.9 | ¥115.01 | 0.6% |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 95.4 | 164.2 | CA$172.12 | 2.2% |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 49.63 | 99.045 | A$199.57 | 2.8% |
Official annual averages: US CPI-U (1982–84=100), UK RPI (Jan 1987=100), euro-area HICP (2015=100), Japan CPI (2020=100), Canada CPI (2002=100) and Australia CPI (Sep 2025=100, mean of the four quarters). Each index has its own base year, so compare the ratios, not the raw levels. UK uses RPI (Retail Price Index), which runs higher than CPI. 2026 values in the calculator are partial-year estimates.
🇯🇵 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 about 74% of its 1980 purchasing power by 2025, the Japanese yen held on to much of its value. If you put ¥1,000,000 under the mattress in 2000, it would still buy about 87% of the same basket of goods in 2025. That's unusual by any historical standard.
How is inflation measured: CPI, RPI, and HICP?
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 about $93,467 in 2025 just to maintain the same purchasing power in the US. In the UK, a £30,000 salary in 2000 would need to be about £70,940 in 2025 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 $125,627/year in nominal dollars (60,000 × 1.03²⁵ = 125,627) 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.
Sources & Methodology
Adjusted value = original amount × (price index in target year ÷ price index in start year). Each country uses a different index with a different basket and methodology (US CPI, UK RPI/CPI, Euro area HICP), so raw index levels are not directly comparable.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- UK Office for National Statistics — Inflation and price indices
- Eurostat — Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
- Statistics Bureau of Japan — Consumer Price Index
- Statistics Canada — Consumer Price Index, annual average (18-10-0005-01)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics — Consumer Price Index, Australia
Standards and figures reviewed 2026.
Related Calculators
Cite this page APA · MLA · BibTeX
APA
WorldCalculators.org. (2026, September 25). Inflation Calculator: Value of Money Over Time by Country. https://worldcalculators.org/calculators/inflation/
MLA
“Inflation Calculator: Value of Money Over Time by Country.” WorldCalculators.org, 25 Sept. 2026, worldcalculators.org/calculators/inflation/.
BibTeX
@misc{worldcalculators2026calculatorsinflation,
title = {Inflation Calculator: Value of Money Over Time by Country},
author = {{WorldCalculators.org}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://worldcalculators.org/calculators/inflation/}}
} Figures change when tax years or guidance change. Cite the date shown and link the page so readers see the current version.