{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"gb-inflation-cpi","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/gb-inflation-cpi","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/gb-inflation-cpi/","title":"United Kingdom Inflation Rate (CPI, Annual %) (2024)","description":"United Kingdom's Inflation Rate (CPI, Annual %): 3.3 % annual change in 2024, -3.5pp YoY. World Bank (FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG), 1990–2024.","domain":"macro","category":"Economy & Macro","keywords":["Economy & Macro","World Bank","United Kingdom","2024"],"publisher":"World Bank","frequency":"Annual","geography":"United Kingdom","temporal_coverage":"1990/2024","unit":"% annual change","last_updated":"2026-04-26","last_updated_text":"26 April 2026","data_as_of":"2024","variable_measured":"United Kingdom Inflation Rate (CPI, Annual %)","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"World Bank","url":"https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG?locations=GB"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"1990–2024"},{"label":"Observations","value":"35"},{"label":"Geography","value":"United Kingdom"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"26 April 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"United Kingdom (2024)","value":"3.3","unit":"% annual change","trend":{"direction":"down","value":"-3.5pp YoY"}},{"label":"YoY Change","value":"-3.5pp","unit":"percentage points"},{"label":"Trend","value":"down","unit":""},{"label":"Series length","value":"35","unit":"years of data"}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"United Kingdom Inflation Rate (CPI, Annual %)"}],"observation_count":35,"observations":[{"period":"1990","value":8.06346090938833},{"period":"1991","value":7.46178295746934},{"period":"1992","value":4.59154929577461},{"period":"1993","value":2.55857796929705},{"period":"1994","value":2.21901260504205},{"period":"1995","value":2.69749518304432},{"period":"1996","value":2.85178236397749},{"period":"1997","value":2.20114313510882},{"period":"1998","value":1.82056163731557},{"period":"1999","value":1.7529508005142},{"period":"2000","value":1.18295624210408},{"period":"2001","value":1.53234960272418},{"period":"2002","value":1.52040245947455},{"period":"2003","value":1.37650038542013},{"period":"2004","value":1.39039756680422},{"period":"2005","value":2.0891364902507},{"period":"2006","value":2.4556616643929},{"period":"2007","value":2.38656150773327},{"period":"2008","value":3.52140856342539},{"period":"2009","value":1.96173173560109},{"period":"2010","value":2.49265472467065},{"period":"2011","value":3.8561124468282},{"period":"2012","value":2.5732347965453},{"period":"2013","value":2.29166666666659},{"period":"2014","value":1.45112016293279},{"period":"2015","value":0.36804684232536},{"period":"2016","value":1.0084173681141},{"period":"2017","value":2.55775577557747},{"period":"2018","value":2.29283990345938},{"period":"2019","value":1.73810460086513},{"period":"2020","value":0.989486703772491},{"period":"2021","value":2.51837109614213},{"period":"2022","value":7.92204883147902},{"period":"2023","value":6.79396706793963},{"period":"2024","value":3.2715729463592}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"year","label":"Year"},{"key":"value","label":"% annual change"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"YoY Change"}],"rows":[{"year":"2024","value":"3.3","yoyChange":"-3.5pp"},{"year":"2023","value":"6.8","yoyChange":"-1.1pp"},{"year":"2022","value":"7.9","yoyChange":"+5.4pp"},{"year":"2021","value":"2.5","yoyChange":"+1.5pp"},{"year":"2020","value":"1.0","yoyChange":"-0.7pp"},{"year":"2019","value":"1.7","yoyChange":"-0.6pp"},{"year":"2018","value":"2.3","yoyChange":"-0.3pp"},{"year":"2017","value":"2.6","yoyChange":"+1.6pp"},{"year":"2016","value":"1.0","yoyChange":"+0.6pp"},{"year":"2015","value":"0.4","yoyChange":"-1.1pp"},{"year":"2014","value":"1.5","yoyChange":"-0.8pp"},{"year":"2013","value":"2.3","yoyChange":"-0.3pp"},{"year":"2012","value":"2.6","yoyChange":"-1.3pp"},{"year":"2011","value":"3.9","yoyChange":"+1.4pp"},{"year":"2010","value":"2.5","yoyChange":"+0.5pp"},{"year":"2009","value":"2.0","yoyChange":"-1.5pp"},{"year":"2008","value":"3.5","yoyChange":"+1.1pp"},{"year":"2007","value":"2.4","yoyChange":"-0.1pp"},{"year":"2006","value":"2.5","yoyChange":"+0.4pp"},{"year":"2005","value":"2.1","yoyChange":"+0.7pp"}]},"qa":[{"question":"What does the UK CPI measure and how does it differ from the Eurostat HICP?","answer":"The World Bank's UK CPI series measures the annual percentage change in consumer prices as compiled by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) and standardised for cross-country comparison. The UK's national CPI and Eurostat's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) use the same basket methodology and both exclude owner-occupier housing costs from the headline index. The ONS separately publishes CPIH, which adds owner-occupier housing costs (imputed rental approach) and typically reads 0.3–0.5pp higher than CPI. For BoE monetary policy purposes, the statutory 2% inflation target is set against CPI (not CPIH), so this series is the directly policy-relevant measure."},{"question":"What drove UK inflation to 7.9% in 2022 and why has the descent been slower than in Germany or France?","answer":"UK inflation peaked at 7.9% in 2022 — slightly below Germany's 8.7% but the most prolonged episode of above-target inflation in the G7. The 2022 surge was driven by the same global energy shock that affected all European economies, amplified in the UK by a weaker sterling (which raises import costs relative to euro-area peers), high gas dependency in UK home heating, and Ofgem's energy price cap mechanism — which deferred rather than prevented the pass-through of wholesale price increases to households. The descent has been slower than Germany's or France's because UK services inflation has remained stickier: post-Brexit labour shortages in hospitality, healthcare, and transport have kept wage growth elevated, and wage growth in the UK service sector feeds directly into service price inflation with relatively short lags. At 3.3% in 2024, UK CPI remains 1.3pp above target despite the most aggressive BoE tightening cycle since the early 1990s."},{"question":"How has the Bank of England responded and what does 3.3% CPI mean for gilt investors?","answer":"The BoE raised Bank Rate from 0.1% (December 2021) to 5.25% (August 2023) — a 515bp hiking cycle — before beginning an easing cycle that brought rates to approximately 4.5% by early 2025. At 3.3% CPI in 2024, the BoE faces a genuine dilemma: inflation is above target and services inflation remains well above 4%, yet growth is weak and the labour market is loosening. The BoE's easing pace is likely slower than the ECB's — the rate differential with the eurozone supports sterling carry but limits duration upside in gilts. Index-linked gilts (linkers) priced against RPI (not CPI, historically) carry additional basis risk; however, new linker issuance has shifted toward CPIH linkage. Watch the ONS services CPI sub-index monthly — the BoE has explicitly conditioned future cuts on demonstrable services disinflation."},{"question":"How does UK inflation at 3.3% compare with its historical range and EU peers?","answer":"The 35-year World Bank series (1990–2024) shows UK CPI peaking at 8.1% in 1990 (the tail of a credit-boom inflation episode) and reaching a modern trough of 0.4% in 2015. The 3.3% 2024 reading sits in the upper portion of the post-2000 range but is substantially below the 2022–2023 energy-crisis spike. Against EU peers: France ran approximately 0.9% in 2025, Germany approximately 2.2%, and Spain approximately 2.7%, all measured on the Eurostat HICP. The UK's stickier inflation relative to France and Germany primarily reflects the post-Brexit structural shift in labour supply — reduced EU immigration has tightened supply in labour-intensive service sectors — rather than demand-side excess. This structural component is likely to keep UK inflation 0.3–0.5pp above euro-area rates through 2026–2027 unless EU migration policy changes substantially."}]}