Born in 1980
People born in 1980 turn 46 in 2026. A dollar in 1980 buys what $4.09 buys in September 2026, and about 4.45 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1980
1980
What things cost in 1980
| U.S. average | 1980 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $4.09 | CPI-U |
| Gallon of regular gasoline APU000074714 | $1.25 | $5.09 | $4.48 |
| Dozen large eggs APU0000708111 | $0.84 | $3.45 | $2.27 |
| Pound of white bread APU0000702111 | $0.51 | $2.08 | $1.83 |
| Pound of ground coffee APU0000717311 | $3.14 | $12.85 | $9.33 |
| Pound of bananas APU0000711211 | $0.34 | $1.40 | $0.66 |
| Kilowatt-hour of electricity APU000072610 | $0.06 | $0.25 | $0.20 |
| Median price of a new house sold MSPUS | $64,750 | $264,741 | $410,700 |
| Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG | $3.10 | $12.67 | $7.25 |
1980 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED.
Who was in charge in 1980
- United States
- Jimmy Carter (President)
- United Kingdom
- Elizabeth II (Queen); Margaret Thatcher (Prime minister)
- Soviet Union
- Leonid Brezhnev (General Secretary); Leonid Brezhnev (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Alexei Kosygin, then Nikolai Tikhonov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- People's Republic of China
- Hua Guofeng (Chairman); Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Ye Jianying (NPC Standing Committee Chairman); Hua Guofeng (Premier)
- France
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (President); Raymond Barre (Prime minister)
- East Germany
- Erich Honecker (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman)
- West Germany
- Karl Carstens (President); Helmut Schmidt (Chancellor)
- Japan
- Hirohito (Emperor); Masayoshi Ōhira, then Zenko Suzuki (Prime minister); Masayoshi Ito (Acting Prime minister)
- Republic of India
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (President); Charan Singh, then Indira Gandhi (Prime minister)
From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1980 →
No. 1 songs of 1980
- “Please Don't Go” — KC and the Sunshine Band (1 week)
- “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” — Rupert Holmes (1 week)
- “Rock with You” — Michael Jackson (4 weeks)
- “Do That to Me One More Time” — Captain & Tennille (1 week)
- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” — Queen (4 weeks)
- “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” — Pink Floyd (4 weeks)
- “Call Me” — Blondie (6 weeks)
- “Funkytown” — Lipps Inc. (4 weeks)
- “Coming Up” — Paul McCartney (3 weeks)
- “It's Still Rock and Roll to Me” — Billy Joel (2 weeks)
- “Magic” — Olivia Newton-John (4 weeks)
- “Sailing” — Christopher Cross (1 week)
- “Upside Down” — Diana Ross (4 weeks)
- “Another One Bites the Dust” — Queen (3 weeks)
- “Woman in Love” — Barbra Streisand (3 weeks)
- “Lady” — Kenny Rogers (6 weeks)
- “(Just Like) Starting Over” — John Lennon (1 week)
Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1980, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1980 (Wikipedia revision 1380040841).
Famous people born in 1980
- 22 July: Scott Dixon, racing car driver. source
- 26 July: Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand source
- October 8 – The Miz, reality star, wrestler, and actor source
- December 18 – Christina Aguilera, singer/songwriter, actress and television personality source
- March 21 – Ronaldinho, footballer source
- 28 April – Bradley Wiggins, cyclist source
- January 21: Nana Mizuki, voice actress and singer source
- March 31: Maaya Sakamoto, voice actress and singer source
- 30 May – Steven Gerrard, football manager and player source
- 2 January – Kemi Badenoch, politician source
- 15 September – Jolin Tsai, singer and dancer. source
- 12 May – Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister source
- February 8 – Jenny Miller, Canadian-Filipino actress source
- June 6 – Pete Hegseth, television host and author source
- September 25 – T.I., rapper, film and music producer, actor, and author source
What happened in 1980
- January 14 – Indian National Congress party leader Indira Gandhi returns to power as the Prime Minister of India. source
- January 31 – Burning of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala: The Spanish Embassy in Guatemala is invaded and set on fire, killing 36 people. In the United States, it is dubbed "Spain's own Tehran". source
- January 27 – Canadian Caper: Six United States diplomats, posing as Canadians, manage to escape from Tehran, Iran, as they board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland, on Swissair. source
- January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. source
- 8 January – Tryggve Gran, aviator, explorer and author (b.1889) source
- 12 January – The annual Hahnenkamm downhill ski race is won by Canada's Ken Read, the event's first non-European winner. source
- January 1 – Changes to the succession to the Swedish throne come into effect, introducing absolute primogeniture, thus placing Crown Princess Victoria first in line to the throne (heir apparent), ahead of her baby brother. Sweden is the first monarchy to adopt this rule of succession. Members of the royal family may also now marry commoners without losing their place in the succession. source
- January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. source