German inflation calculator to factor inflation into any calculation

Let's say you got married in the year 2002 and had assets worth 10,000 euros. How much are these assets worth in 2022? This calculator allows you to figure out the real price of your assets based on the official consumer price index (CPI) in Germany.

When calculating your accrued gains ("Zugewinn"), you have to consider how inflation has affected the value of your assets. The initials assets, brought into the marriage on the wedding day, change value over time according to the inflation rate. The price increase is defined by the CPI difference between the starting and the ending date of the relevant period. The annual averages used in the calculations on the site is based on the German CPI, surveyed and published since 1948 by the German Federal Office of Statistics. In this inflation calculator, the current publication of 2022/01/19 is taken into account.

Inflation Calculator: Calculate price rice and inflation rate

The period to be considered is determined by entering the first and the last year, each related to the end of the year. The smallest period to be considered is one year. If the last year entered is later than the last published year 2021, the future consumer price index (CPI) is estimated via an interpolation of the last years. The initial amount is entered for the first year. The amount output for the last year indicates by how much this initial value has increased. You can select whether the amounts are to be input or output in euros (€) or German marks (DM).

If the entered last year is the current year 2022, the inflation rate for this year is calculated from the average of the currently published monthly data of the consumer price index (CPI). If the entered last year is later than the current year 2022, the inflation rate for coming years is estimated.

Enter current values and select [Calculate]:

Related to the value entered in the first year, the purchasing power indicates the real value at the end of the last year. The calculated price rise is defined as the percentage change in prices between the starting and ending date of the relevant period. The average inflation rate p.a. indicates the percentage by which the prices have risen on an average per year. Last year's inflation rate indicates by how many percent prices have increased from the beginning to the end of last year.

Estimation of the inflation rate for coming years

If the last year entered in the inflation calculator is later than the current year 2022, the inflation rate for the coming years is estimated. For this purpose, the historical consumer price indices (CPI) of the past years are used according to the number of future years. For this past period, the average inflation rate per year and the resulting consumer price index (CPI) for the most recent year are output. In the case of estimated data, a note is displayed in the inflation calculator with the annual figures used for the estimate.

Consumer price index (CPI) for Germany

The consumer price index (CPI) is a key indicator of price development. The percentage change in the CPI is referred to as an inflation rate or price increase rate. A time period with a rising price index is called inflation, a falling price index deflation. The CPI for Germany — long series from 1948 - is published monthly as a table by the Federal Statistical Office. This table contains various price indices for the period 1948 to 1991, and since 1991, a unified CPI and an index of retail prices. The index refers in each case as a percentage value compared to a base year. For the years 1948 to 1990 the price index for the cost of living is shown with base year 1995 (index = 100) and from 1991 the consumer price index with base year 2015 (index = 100). In this inflation calculator 2022, to calculate the consumer price index (CPI), the price index for the standard of living from 1948 to 1961 is taken from the column "4-Personenhaushalt von Arbeitern und Angestellten" and from 1962 to 1990 from the column "Alle privaten Haushalte" and from 1991 from the column "Verbraucherpreisindex" for Germany. The Federal Statistical Office publishes both annual and monthly values for the various key figures. In this inflation calculator 2022 only the current average annual values for the consumer price index (JD indices) are taken into account. The last updated annual values therefore refer to the year 2021.

Historical price development in Germany

The development of the consumer price index (CPI) in Germany begins in 1948 with a value of 21.4 in relation to the base year 2015. The course of the consumer price index is a reflection of the percentage price increase over the years.

The course of purchasing power is an illustration of the loss in value of money since 1948 with a converted base value of €100. The fluctuations in price development and purchasing power are shown in more detail by the development of the inflation rate in the following diagram.

The inflation rate reflects the annual percentage increase in prices and is calculated from the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI).

The lowest inflation rate (price increase) per year over the entire period consideration started with 1948 was in the year 1950, with a negative price increase of -6.4 % relative to the previous year. This means that Germany experienced a deflation, which had already begun in 1949 (-1.1 %) and ended in 1950. The maximum inflation rate was in the following year 1951 with a price increase of 7.6 %. Germany had other years with deflation relative to the previous year in 1953 (-1.7%) and 1986 (-0.1%). High inflation rates of more than 6 % relative to the previous year occurred in Germany in 1973 (7.1 %), 1974 (6.9 %), 1981 (6.3 %) and 2022 (7,9 %).

Calculation of the price rise from the consumer price index (CPI)

Inflation causes prices to rise. This means that the same goods and services get a higher monetary value. The amount A₂ related to the end of the last year is calculated from the product of the amount A₁ at the end of the first year and the ratio of the consumer price index CPI₂ at the end of the last year to the consumer price index CPI₁ at the end of the first year:

A₂ = A₁ * CPI₂ / CPI₁.

For example, an amount of € 1,000 in 2017 would have a value in 2020 of:

A₂ = 1,000 * 105.8 / 102.0 = € 1,037.25.

For goods and services worth € 1000 in 2017, € 1037.25 is payable for the same goods and services in 2020. The percentage price increase P is calculated from the consumer price index CPI₂ of the last year and the consumer price index CPI₁ of the first year as follows:

P = (CPI₂ / CPI₁ - 1) * 100.

For example, a CPI of 102.0 in 2017 and a CPI of 105.8 in 2020 results in a percentage price increase P of:

P = (105.8 / 102.0 - 1) * 100 = 3.725 %.

Calculation of purchasing power from the consumer price index (CPI)

Inflation reduces the value of money, which means that money has less purchasing power. Purchasing power and price increase are reciprocal to each other. The purchasing power P related to the end of the last year is calculated from the product of the amount A at the end of the first year and the ratio of the consumer price index CPI₁ of the first year to the consumer price index CPI₂ of the last year:

P = A * CPI₁ / CPI₂.

For example, a value of € 1000 at the end of 2017 would have a purchasing power P at the end of 2020 of:

P = 1000 * 102.0 / 105.8 = € 964.08.

For € 1,000, only goods and services can be bought in 2020 that had a value of € 964.08 in 2017.

How to calculate average inflation per year

The average inflation rate spent per year applied to the amount in the first year and in each case to the resulting price increases of all subsequent years results in the amount spent in the last year. The average inflation rate per year I is calculated from the geometric mean of all consumer price indices (CPI) in the period under consideration over n years with i = 1 ... n:

x_i = CPI_i+1 / CPI_i
I = ((x₁ * x₂ * ... * x_n) ^1/n) - 1) * 100.

For the years 2017 to 2020, for example, n = 3 results in an average inflation rate I of:

x₁ = CPI₂₀₁₈ / CPI₂₀₁₇ = 103.8 / 102.0 = 1.0176
x₂ = CPI₂₀₁₉ / CPI₂₀₁₈ = 105.8 / 103.8 = 1.0145
x₃ = CPI₂₀₂₀ / CPI₂₀₁₉ = 105.8 / 105.3 = 1.0047
m = x₁ * x₂ * x₃ = 1.0372
I = (m^1/n - 1) * 100 = 1.23 %

The average inflation rate of 1.23% applied to the value of € 1,000 in the first year and to each of the following 2 years results in a price increase of € 1,037.35 in the last year:

2018: 1.23 % von € 1,000.00 = € 12.30
2019: 1.23 % von € 1,012.30 = € 12.45
2020: 1.23 % von € 1,024.75 = € 12.60

This results in a price increase of € 1,037.35. Due to rounding errors, a small deviation occurs compared to the result from the calculation of the price rise from the consumer price index (CPI).

Conversion of the consumer price index (CPI) to the base year 2015

In the published table of the Federal Statistical Office, the index for the years 1948 to 1990 is related to the base year 1995 (index = 100). In this inflation calculator 2022 all indices from this period are normalised to the currently valid reference year 2015 and displayed as the CPI:

CPI = Index₁₉₉₅ * Index_year / 100.

For the year 1948, for example, the normalized consumer price index (CPI), rounded to one decimal place, is calculated as follows:

CPI = 75.1 * 28.5 / 100 = 21.4.