British Pound to Indian Rupee exchange rate history 1973 to 2026: a long-run trend
One British Pound bought 18.758 INR in 1973 and 126.434 INR in 2026. A long-run trend. The series covers 54 years of annual data.
- 2026 avg
- 126.43
- year to date
- Highest avg
- 126.43
- 2026
- Lowest avg
- 15.12
- 1984
- Traded range
- 13.81 to 130.57
- low 1985, high 2026
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 cross rate (DEXUSUK ÷ DEXINUS). Latest daily observation 2026-10-30.
Annual averages of daily observations.
GBP/INR since 1973
British Pound to Indian Rupee averaged 18.758 INR in 1973 and 114.971 INR in 2025, 512.9% higher across 53 complete years.
The annual average has ranged from 15.118 in 1984 to 126.434 in 2026. On individual trading days the series reached 13.814 and 130.573, a ratio of 9.5 to 1.
GBP/INR by decade
Grouped by decade, the annual average was 17.237 in 1973-1979 and 106.416 in 2020-2026. The widest decade-to-decade change was +174.3% between 1980-1989 and 1990-1999, when the average moved from 18.973 to 52.051.
The final bucket, 2020-2026, is a partial decade and includes the year-to-date 2026 average. The table below shows every bucket with its high and low, so the short-run moves and the long-run level can be read together.
The long decline of GBP/INR
GBP/INR has a long-run trend as well as a cycle. A currency that runs persistently higher inflation than its partner tends to depreciate over time, even when it strengthens in individual years.
The pair combines a sterling that has depreciated against the dollar with a rupee that has also weakened over time. The annual average moved from 18.758 in 1973 to 114.971 in 2025, a change of +512.9%. The path was not straight: the pair rose in 35 complete years and fell in 17.
The result is a long-run upward trend in the rupee price of a pound, punctuated by sharp moves. For long series, the level at the start and end matters less than the inflation differential that produced it.
The five largest GBP/INR moves
Ranked by absolute year-end change, the five largest moves were 1991 (+37.5%), 1990 (+27.7%), 1987 (+23.6%), 1985 (+22.1%), 2011 (+19.4%). The biggest was 1991, when the rate moved from 34.964 to 48.068, a change of 37.5%.
Across 53 complete years the pair rose in 35 and fell in 17. The average annual change was +4.1% with a standard deviation of 10.5 percentage points, which is one way to compare its volatility with other pairs.
What moves GBP/INR
GBP: Sterling is a free-floating currency with a long history of fixed parities before 1971 and a large financial services sector.
INR: The Indian rupee is a managed float. The Reserve Bank of India intervenes to limit volatility, and the currency is sensitive to oil imports.
For GBP/INR, the GBP leg responds to Bank of England policy, UK inflation, Brexit and trade relations, while the INR leg responds to Reserve Bank of India intervention, oil imports, inflation. The exchange rate is the market's attempt to balance the two sets of forces.
How to read the GBP/INR data
This is a derived cross rate. Each day's GBP/INR is calculated from the two US dollar legs in Federal Reserve H.10 cross rate (DEXUSUK ÷ DEXINUS), joined on the same calendar date with up to seven days of holiday carry-forward. No figure on this page is estimated or interpolated.
GBP/INR by decade
Annual averages grouped into decade buckets. The first and last buckets may cover fewer than ten years.
| Period | Average | High | Low | vs previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–1979 | 17.24 | 19.78 | 13.99 | n/a |
| 1980–1989 | 18.97 | 27.96 | 13.81 | +10.1% |
| 1990–1999 | 52.05 | 73.02 | 27.31 | +174.3% |
| 2000–2009 | 76.95 | 88.84 | 64.07 | +47.8% |
| 2010–2019 | 87.59 | 106.78 | 65.48 | +13.8% |
| 2020–2026 | 106.42 | 130.57 | 87.21 | +21.5% |
Average of the annual averages in each period. The first and last rows cover partial decades.
GBP/INR annual average, 1973 to 2026
Annual average with the full trading range for each year. average high–low range
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 cross rate (DEXUSUK ÷ DEXINUS). Figures are annual averages of daily observations.
Five largest GBP/INR moves
The largest absolute year-end changes in the published series, using complete calendar years only.
- 1991 +37.5% 34.96 to 48.07
Year-end rate moved from 34.96 to 48.07, a change of 37.5%.
- 1990 +27.7% 27.38 to 34.96
Year-end rate moved from 27.38 to 34.96, a change of 27.7%.
- 1987 +23.6% 19.45 to 24.05
Year-end rate moved from 19.45 to 24.05, a change of 23.6%.
- 1985 +22.1% 14.34 to 17.50
Year-end rate moved from 14.34 to 17.50, a change of 22.1%.
- 2011 +19.4% 68.96 to 82.36
Year-end rate moved from 68.96 to 82.36, a change of 19.4%.
GBP/INR history: the years that moved the rate
Each event below is dated and tied to one of the currencies in this pair.
- 1991 1991-07-01
India devalues the rupee in two steps
With foreign reserves near depletion, India devalued the rupee on 1 and 3 July 1991 by a cumulative 18 to 19 percent against the US dollar.
- 2008 2008-09-15
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
The collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis, a flight into the US dollar and extreme volatility across currency markets.
- 2013 2013-05-22
Federal Reserve taper signal hits emerging market currencies
Signals that the Federal Reserve would slow asset purchases pushed US yields higher and weakened several emerging market currencies, including the Indian rupee, Brazilian real and South African rand.
GBP to INR exchange rate by year
Every year since 1973: annual average, the year high and low, the year-end rate, and the change on the previous year.
| Year | Average | High | Low | Year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 18.76 | 19.78 | 17.77 | 18.95 | n/a |
| 1974 | 18.78 | 19.55 | 18.20 | 19.08 | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 18.62 | 19.51 | 18.06 | 18.15 | -4.9% |
| 1976 | 16.19 | 18.25 | 13.99 | 15.19 | -16.3% |
| 1977 | 15.29 | 16.18 | 15.02 | 15.78 | +3.9% |
| 1978 | 15.72 | 16.80 | 15.19 | 16.80 | +6.5% |
| 1979 | 17.30 | 18.37 | 16.16 | 17.75 | +5.6% |
| 1980 | 18.32 | 18.98 | 17.51 | 18.97 | +6.9% |
| 1981 | 17.49 | 19.39 | 16.26 | 17.48 | -7.8% |
| 1982 | 16.56 | 17.57 | 15.47 | 15.57 | -11.0% |
| 1983 | 15.31 | 16.05 | 14.51 | 15.23 | -2.2% |
| 1984 | 15.12 | 15.96 | 14.28 | 14.34 | -5.8% |
| 1985 | 15.96 | 17.94 | 13.81 | 17.50 | +22.1% |
| 1986 | 18.48 | 19.45 | 17.13 | 19.45 | +11.2% |
| 1987 | 21.23 | 24.05 | 19.19 | 24.05 | +23.6% |
| 1988 | 24.74 | 27.96 | 22.79 | 27.11 | +12.7% |
| 1989 | 26.52 | 27.47 | 24.97 | 27.38 | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 31.26 | 35.77 | 27.31 | 34.96 | +27.7% |
| 1991 | 40.02 | 48.70 | 33.93 | 48.07 | +37.5% |
| 1992 | 49.72 | 57.06 | 43.07 | 43.88 | -8.7% |
| 1993 | 46.99 | 50.24 | 42.39 | 46.45 | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 48.09 | 51.37 | 45.87 | 49.15 | +5.8% |
| 1995 | 51.15 | 56.33 | 48.48 | 54.65 | +11.2% |
| 1996 | 55.43 | 61.56 | 51.61 | 61.56 | +12.6% |
| 1997 | 59.56 | 66.74 | 56.36 | 64.56 | +4.9% |
| 1998 | 68.55 | 73.02 | 63.00 | 70.70 | +9.5% |
| 1999 | 69.74 | 72.93 | 67.26 | 70.27 | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 68.12 | 72.11 | 64.07 | 69.91 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 67.98 | 71.86 | 64.59 | 70.20 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 73.05 | 77.26 | 68.08 | 77.26 | +10.1% |
| 2003 | 76.13 | 81.27 | 72.18 | 81.27 | +5.2% |
| 2004 | 82.95 | 86.38 | 77.77 | 82.91 | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 80.07 | 84.07 | 75.20 | 77.26 | -6.8% |
| 2006 | 83.32 | 88.84 | 76.46 | 86.39 | +11.8% |
| 2007 | 82.38 | 87.60 | 77.87 | 78.20 | -9.5% |
| 2008 | 79.89 | 86.40 | 69.17 | 71.02 | -9.2% |
| 2009 | 75.59 | 80.79 | 66.92 | 75.01 | +5.6% |
| 2010 | 70.53 | 75.28 | 65.48 | 68.96 | -8.1% |
| 2011 | 74.66 | 82.96 | 69.07 | 82.36 | +19.4% |
| 2012 | 84.61 | 89.34 | 76.76 | 89.21 | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 91.61 | 106.78 | 80.62 | 102.63 | +15.0% |
| 2014 | 100.51 | 104.65 | 96.56 | 98.20 | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 97.99 | 105.08 | 91.13 | 97.60 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 91.03 | 99.59 | 81.17 | 83.79 | -14.2% |
| 2017 | 83.84 | 88.06 | 79.67 | 86.36 | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 91.24 | 98.05 | 85.84 | 88.80 | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 89.86 | 94.76 | 83.60 | 94.69 | +6.6% |
| 2020 | 95.08 | 100.07 | 87.21 | 99.75 | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 101.75 | 105.19 | 99.03 | 100.43 | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 97.03 | 102.47 | 87.34 | 99.90 | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 102.72 | 107.74 | 96.90 | 106.01 | +6.1% |
| 2024 | 106.93 | 112.26 | 103.01 | 107.12 | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 114.97 | 122.24 | 105.00 | 120.81 | +12.8% |
| 2026 YTD | 126.43 | 130.57 | 120.83 | 127.20 | +5.3% |
1973–2026 · 53 complete calendar years. Annual figures are averages of available daily observations. 2026 is year to date: the average is based on 209 published trading days through 2026-10-30.
GBP/INR history: common questions
What was the GBP/INR rate in 1973?
One GBP averaged 18.758 INR in 1973, with a range of 17.774 to 19.785 and a year-end rate of 18.952.
What is the highest GBP/INR rate on record?
The highest annual average was 126.434 in 2026. The highest single observation was 130.573 in 2026.
What is the lowest GBP/INR rate on record?
The lowest annual average was 15.118 in 1984. The lowest single observation was 13.814 in 1985.
What was the biggest single-year move in GBP/INR?
1991 was the largest, at +37.5%. The year-end rate moved from 34.964 to 48.068.
How volatile has GBP/INR been?
Across 53 complete years the average annual change was +4.1% with a standard deviation of 10.5 percentage points. The largest drawdown was 24.9%, from 1974 to 1984.
What is the GBP/INR rate in 2026?
The 2026 average is 126.434 INR per GBP, based on the year to date. The latest complete year, 2025, averaged 114.971.
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