Inflation Calculator — South Africa
Calculate the impact of South African inflation on purchasing power. See what an amount from the past is worth today.
Last updated: May 2026
SA CPI target range: 3–6%
Shows how inflation erodes purchasing power over time — or in reverse, what a future amount is worth in today's rands.
Key inputs explained
- Amount
- The starting or ending rand value.
- Inflation rate
- Use the current SA CPI rate (SARB target: 3–6%) or a custom rate — medical inflation (~8–10%) or education (~9%) run higher.
- Term
- Number of years to project forward (or backward).
SA CPI has averaged roughly 5–6% over the past decade. A salary that doesn't grow by at least CPI each year is a real-terms pay cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
South Africa's CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation was approximately 3.0%–3.5% in early 2026, below the SARB's 4.5% midpoint target. The SARB targets inflation in a 3%–6% band. Food, fuel, and electricity costs are the main drivers of SA inflation.
If inflation averages 5% per year, R100 today will only buy what R61 buys today in 10 years' time. Equivalently, you would need R163 in 10 years to buy what R100 buys today. This is why savings earning below the inflation rate actually lose value in real terms — known as a negative real return.
The nominal return is the stated return before adjusting for inflation. The real return is what you actually gain in purchasing power: approximately nominal return minus inflation. If your savings earn 8% nominal and inflation is 5%, your real return is roughly 3%. Tax reduces this further — a concept known as the real after-tax return.
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