UK annual inflation rate since 1661
UK annual inflation rate since 1661 stood at 3.37% in 2025, according to Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is one of the indicators in the Long-run prices and central bank table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1662 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Long-run prices and central bank table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer prices since 1661 | |||||||||||
| Inflation rate | 3.37 | 2.54 | 7.3 | 9.05 | 2.58 | 0.88 | 1.78 | 2.48 | 2.69 | 0.64 | |
| Consumer price index (2010 = 100) | 154.71 | 149.67 | 145.97 | 136.03 | 124.74 | 121.6 | 120.54 | 118.43 | 115.57 | 112.54 |
Understanding UK annual inflation rate since 1661
Proportional shifts in consumer prices across the United Kingdom are quantified here on a yearly basis, calculating the annual percentage acceleration or deceleration of the overall price level. While cumulative indices display total purchasing power erosion over centuries, this sibling series isolates each twelve-month interval to reveal volatility, inflationary shocks, and deflationary episodes without the compounding effect of base years. The calculation derives from the difference between consecutive annual price levels, incorporating everything from historical agricultural commodity swings to modern retail goods and services. Indirect taxes, imported energy costs, and administered prices are fully embedded within the underlying components.
When evaluating these annual figures, analysts must distinguish between acute, temporary supply shocks caused by harvests or conflicts and persistent, broad-based monetary inflation. Early centuries feature frequent negative annual rates driven by volatile food harvests, whereas modern readings reflect managed monetary frameworks and service sector dynamics. Comparing distant eras demands awareness that the underlying consumption basket has transformed entirely, meaning a single year of high inflation in the seventeenth century carried very different household welfare implications than a matching percentage shift in the modern era. Revisions to early source materials occasionally alter historical inflation prints retroactively.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does this series show deflation in some historical periods?
- Early centuries experienced frequent harvest-driven supply gluts and commodity price collapses that pulled the general price level downward year on year.
- Is this series adjusted for seasonal volatility?
- The data relies on annual observations, smoothing out intra-year seasonal fluctuations such as winter fuel spikes or summer agricultural cycles.
- How does this differ from the consumer price index series?
- The index tracks the cumulative price level from a baseline year, whereas this series calculates the exact percentage change from one year to the next.