$100 in 1978 is worth $822 today
What New Zealand dollars from 1978 are worth in 2025 money, adjusted for inflation with the official price index from the OECD, from Stats NZ.
1978 money in 2025 money
- Prices since
- +722.3%
- Per year
- +4.58% compounded
- Multiplier
- ×8.223
| In 1978 | Worth in 2025 |
|---|---|
| $1 | $8.22 |
| $5 | $41.11 |
| $10 | $82.23 |
| $20 | $164 |
| $50 | $411 |
| $100 | $822 |
| $1,000 | $8,223 |
| $10,000 | $82,227 |
OECD, from Stats NZ — Consumers Price Index, all groups, 2015 = 100. Retrieved 2026-08-06. Open in the calculator to compare any two years.
Inflation in 1978
Prices in New Zealand rose 12.0% during 1978 — a higher rate than most years in this series, 11th highest of 75. Across the 1970s, prices rose an average of 11.5% a year, peaking at 16.9% in 1976.
| Year | Rate | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +6.5% | |
| 1971 | +10.4% | |
| 1972 | +6.9% | |
| 1973 | +8.2% | |
| 1974 | +11.1% | |
| 1975 | +14.7% | |
| 1976 | +16.9% | |
| 1977 | +14.4% | |
| 1978 | +12.0% | |
| 1979 | +13.7% |
How far the New Zealand dollar has fallen since 1978
A New Zealand dollar in 2025 buys about 12.2% of what one bought in 1978, a loss of 87.8% of its buying power. Prices had doubled from their 1978 level by 1984, 6 years later. Read the other way, here is what today's money would have been in 1978:
| In 2025 | Same as, in 1978 |
|---|---|
| $10 | $1.22 |
| $20 | $2.43 |
| $50 | $6.08 |
| $100 | $12.16 |
| $1,000 | $122 |
| $10,000 | $1,216 |
What these numbers can and cannot tell you
The figures compare the price index in 1978 with 2025: the cost of the same broad basket of goods and services, averaged across each year. That is the right measure for "what would this amount be in today's money" — a wage, a price, an inheritance. It is not a measure of what any particular thing cost: housing, education, and healthcare have mostly risen faster than the average, while electronics and clothing have risen far slower or fallen. And it says nothing about exchange rates, so it cannot turn 1978 New Zealand dollars into another currency.
Common questions
How much is $100 from 1978 worth today?
$100 in 1978 is worth about $822 in 2025 money, adjusted with the official price index published by the OECD, from Stats NZ. Prices have risen 722.3% over that span, an average of 4.58% a year compounded.
What was the inflation rate in 1978?
Prices in New Zealand rose 12.0% during 1978 — a higher rate than most years in this series, 11th highest of 75. That is the change in the annual average of the index from 1977 to 1978, which is the basis statistics agencies use for long-run comparison; a news headline quoting a twelve-month change at a particular point in 1978 may differ.
How much buying power has the New Zealand dollar lost since 1978?
About 87.8%. Put the other way round, $100 in 2025 would have bought what $12.16 bought in 1978. Prices had doubled from their 1978 level by 1984, 6 years later.
1978 in other countries: United States , United Kingdom , Canada , Australia .