Born in 1981
People born in 1981 turn 45 in 2026. A dollar in 1981 buys what $3.71 buys in September 2026, and about 4.53 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1981
1981
What things cost in 1981
| U.S. average | 1981 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $3.71 | CPI-U |
| Gallon of regular gasoline APU000074714 | $1.38 | $5.11 | $4.48 |
| Dozen large eggs APU0000708111 | $0.90 | $3.33 | $2.27 |
| Pound of white bread APU0000702111 | $0.53 | $1.95 | $1.83 |
| Pound of ground coffee APU0000717311 | $2.53 | $9.37 | $9.33 |
| Pound of bananas APU0000711211 | $0.36 | $1.34 | $0.66 |
| Kilowatt-hour of electricity APU000072610 | $0.07 | $0.26 | $0.20 |
| Median price of a new house sold MSPUS | $68,950 | $255,507 | $410,700 |
| Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG | $3.35 | $12.41 | $7.25 |
1981 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 1981
- United States
- Jimmy Carter, then Ronald Reagan (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); Nikolai Tikhonov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- People's Republic of China
- Hua Guofeng, then Hu Yaobang (Chairman); Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Ye Jianying (NPC Standing Committee Chairman)
- France
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, then François Mitterrand (President); Raymond Barre, then Pierre Mauroy (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); Zenko Suzuki (Prime minister)
- Republic of India
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (President); 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 1981 →
No. 1 songs of 1981
- “(Just Like) Starting Over” — John Lennon (4 weeks)
- “The Tide Is High” — Blondie (1 week)
- “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (2 weeks)
- “9 to 5” — Dolly Parton (2 weeks)
- “I Love a Rainy Night” — Eddie Rabbitt (2 weeks)
- “Keep On Loving You” — REO Speedwagon (1 week)
- “Rapture” — Blondie (2 weeks)
- “Kiss on My List” — Daryl Hall & John Oates (3 weeks)
- “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” — Sheena Easton (2 weeks)
- “Bette Davis Eyes” — Kim Carnes (9 weeks)
- “Medley” — Stars on 45 (1 week)
- “The One That You Love” — Air Supply (1 week)
- “Jessie's Girl” — Rick Springfield (2 weeks)
- “Endless Love” — Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (9 weeks)
- “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)” — Christopher Cross (3 weeks)
- “Private Eyes” — Daryl Hall & John Oates (2 weeks)
- “Physical” — Olivia Newton-John (6 weeks)
Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1981, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1981 (Wikipedia revision 1378862615).
Famous people born in 1981
- September 4 – Beyoncé, singer/songwriter and member of Destiny's Child source
- 8 August – Roger Federer, tennis player source
- 31 January – Gemma Collins, media personality and businesswoman source
- January 31 – Justin Timberlake, singer/songwriter, actor, record producer, and member of NSYNC source
- December 2 – Britney Spears, singer, dancer, and actress source
- January 3 – Eli Manning, football player source
- January 25 – Alicia Keys, singer, pianist and actress source
- August 4 – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, American-born actress and member of the British royal family source
- 15 May – Patrice Evra, international soccer player. source
- October 15 – Keyshia Cole, singer/songwriter and television personality source
- April 9 – Eric Harris, mass murderer (died 1999) source
- September 11 – Dylan Klebold, mass murderer (died 1999) source
- April 25 – Felipe Massa, race car driver source
- 7 July – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, cricketer. source
- July 30 – Nicky Hayden, motorcycle racer (died 2017) source
What happened in 1981
- January 1 – Palau becomes a self-governing territory. source
- 5 January – For the first time since Iraq had invaded its territory in September, Iran launched a counterattack, concentrating its armies at Sousangerd. After 18 months, Iraqi forces had been driven out of Iran, which then began a drive toward capturing Iraqi territory. The war would continue until 1988. source
- 11 February – Franz Sondheimer (born 1926), German-born Israeli-British chemist. source
- January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. source
- 10 February – Townsville International Airport opens in Townsville source
- 17 January – Cargo ship Deniz Sönmez sinks near Crete, resulting in 32 fatalities. source
- January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz following his death on December 24. source
- January 1 – Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. source