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Growth, inflation and the productivity problem underneath both.
UK Facts · Economy
Inflation fell. Prices did not.
A falling inflation rate means prices are rising more slowly. It does not mean anything got cheaper — and this is the single most misread number in British politics.
- 9.1%inflation at its 2022 peakPrices rose 9.1% in a single year — the fastest in four decades
- 2.9%inflation nowThe RATE came down sharply, to 2.9% (July 2026). Prices did not
- Every yearprices still rising, from a higher baseInflation has been positive every year since 2015. The price level has not returned to where it was
CPI inflation, 2010 to 2025. Note this is the rate of change — the line falling does not mean prices falling.
Prices would only fall if this line went below zero
Deflation — a negative inflation rate — has happened once in this series, in 2015, and it is generally treated as a serious economic problem rather than good news. What people mean by "prices coming down" almost never happens, and has not happened here.
Read this carefully: CPI measures a representative basket, not any individual household. Households spending more of their income on energy and food experienced considerably higher inflation than the headline rate during 2022 and 2023.
United Kingdom · July 2026 · Released 2026-08-19
Source: ONS Consumer Price Inflation · uk-statpack.co.uk
See growth, productivity and what has actually happened to pay →UK Facts · Economy
2.9%
Consumer price inflation
July 2026 · United Kingdom. Annual rate of change in consumer prices; a falling rate still means prices are rising, just more slowly.
ONS Consumer Price Inflation · verified 2026-08-19
1.3%
GDP growth
Annual, 2025
ONS, Quarterly national accounts (series IHYP)
3.4%
CPI inflation
Annual average, 2025
ONS, Consumer price inflation time series (series D7G7)
0.1%
Productivity growth
Output per hour, 2025
ONS, Labour productivity time series (series LZVD)
Figures cover different geographies and reporting periods. Open the full analysis for definitions and caveats before quoting any of them.
Generated from the same verified stat registry and chart datasets as the rest of the site.