Lifestyle

Here’s what R100 could buy you in 1996 vs today

Malcolm Libera

 ·24 Nov 2025

Inflation has increased by almost 371% since 1996, but with the recent surge in food prices, R100 tends to buy you less than it should in 2025 compared to 29 years ago.

Inflation in South Africa is influenced by a combination of global and local factors. In recent years, two major international events have exacerbated inflationary pressures.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains worldwide, leading to shortages and surging prices for goods and services.

Subsequently, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sent global food and fuel prices skyrocketing.

These crises had a cascading effect, pushing up costs in essential sectors and increasing financial strain on South African consumers.

However, South Africa’s consumer food price inflation slowed for the third consecutive month, easing at 3.9% in October 2025, from 4.4% in the previous months.

The primary drivers of the deceleration were mainly fruit and nuts, vegetables, meat, sugar, confectionery and desserts. The ample supplies, combined with the base effects, are what contribute to the easing of price inflation in these products.

Moreover, while modestly up from the previous reading, the cereal products inflation also remains relatively low on the back of the ample grain harvest in the country.

The challenge of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa is not over and continues to put pressure on farmers, even as vaccination is still underway.

What R100 is worth

Statistics South Africa has recorded consumer price inflation over a long period of years.

CPI headline indexes can be used to calculate the equivalent buying power of R100 between 1996 and 2025.

Stats SA said the consumer price index (CPI) is a metric that reflects changes in the rate of inflation and measures changes in price for a range of consumer products.

To calculate today’s value of R100 after inflation, one must multiply R100 by the CPI of 2025 divided by the CPI of 1996. 

This calculation shows that R100 in 1995 would be roughly equivalent to R470.45 in 2025.

This represents an inflation figure of 370.5% over the past 29 years or 5.48% annually.

Unfortunately, many things, including staples like food, have exceeded this growth, making R100 today much less powerful in terms of purchasing power.

Prices of goods 1995 vs 2025

Concerningly, food inflation has beaten inflation in some way. For example, eggs have seen a 952% price increase since 1996, far exceeding the inflation rate.

Similarly, staples like white bread and milk have risen by 787% and 624%, respectively, underscoring the disproportionate burden on South African households.

Food prices are rising faster than overall inflation due to several reasons.

Global events like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have disrupted agricultural supply chains, making it more expensive to produce and transport food.

The costs of farming essentials like fertiliser, fuel, and electricity have also gone up, which adds to the prices consumers pay.

A weaker rand has also made imported farming materials more expensive. Finally, climate change, with unpredictable weather and droughts, has reduced crop production, limited supply, and driven prices higher.

The table below shows how the price of certain goods in 1996, as provided by StatsSA, compares to the same or similar products today.

For comparison purposes, prices from four of the country’s major retailers (Woolworths, Checkers, Pick n Pay and Spar) were considered to reach an average cost figure.

What’s notable about the items below is that if it were treated as a basket, the total in 1996 (R101.91) could almost all be purchased for R100.

In 2025, the total (R775.88) is much higher than the R100 equivalent (R470.45), showing the crumbling of purchasing power over the decades.