Born in 1988
People born in 1988 turn 38 in 2026. A dollar in 1988 buys what $2.85 buys in September 2026, and about 5.14 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1988
1988
What things cost in 1988
| U.S. average | 1988 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $2.85 | CPI-U |
| Gallon of regular gasoline APU000074714 | $0.95 | $2.70 | $4.48 |
| Dozen large eggs APU0000708111 | $0.79 | $2.25 | $2.27 |
| Pound of white bread APU0000702111 | $0.61 | $1.75 | $1.83 |
| Pound of ground beef APU0000703112 | $1.36 | $3.89 | $6.79 |
| Pound of ground coffee APU0000717311 | $2.77 | $7.89 | $9.33 |
| Pound of bananas APU0000711211 | $0.42 | $1.19 | $0.66 |
| Kilowatt-hour of electricity APU000072610 | $0.08 | $0.23 | $0.20 |
| Median price of a new house sold MSPUS | $112,225 | $319,750 | $410,700 |
| Median household income MEHOINUSA646N | $27,230 | $77,583 | $87,460 |
| Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG | $3.35 | $9.54 | $7.25 |
1988 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 1988
- United States
- Ronald Reagan (President)
- United Kingdom
- Elizabeth II (Queen); Margaret Thatcher (Prime minister)
- Soviet Union
- Mikhail Gorbachev (General Secretary); Andrei Gromyko (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Mikhail Gorbachev (Chairman of the Supreme Soviet); Nikolai Ryzhkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- People's Republic of China
- Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Zhao Ziyang (General Secretary); Li Xiannian, then Yang Shangkun (President); Li Peng (Premier)
- France
- François Mitterrand (President); Jacques Chirac, then Michel Rocard (Prime minister)
- East Germany
- Erich Honecker (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman)
- West Germany
- Richard von Weizsäcker (President of West Germany); Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of West Germany)
- Japan
- Hirohito (Emperor); Noboru Takeshita (Prime minister)
- Republic of India
- R. Venkataraman (President); Rajiv 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 1988 →
No. 1 songs of 1988
- “Faith” — George Michael (1 week)
- “So Emotional” — Whitney Houston (1 week)
- “Got My Mind Set on You” — George Harrison (1 week)
- “The Way You Make Me Feel” — Michael Jackson (1 week)
- “Need You Tonight” — INXS (1 week)
- “Could've Been” — Tiffany (2 weeks)
- “Seasons Change” — Exposé (1 week)
- “Father Figure” — George Michael (2 weeks)
- “Never Gonna Give You Up” — Rick Astley (2 weeks)
- “Man in the Mirror” — Michael Jackson (2 weeks)
- “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car” — Billy Ocean (2 weeks)
- “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” — Whitney Houston (2 weeks)
- “Wishing Well” — Terence Trent D'Arby (1 week)
- “Anything for You” — Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine (2 weeks)
- “One More Try” — George Michael (3 weeks)
- “Together Forever” — Rick Astley (1 week)
- “Foolish Beat” — Debbie Gibson (1 week)
- “Dirty Diana” — Michael Jackson (1 week)
- “The Flame” — Cheap Trick (2 weeks)
- “Hold On to the Nights” — Richard Marx (1 week)
- “Roll With It” — Steve Winwood (4 weeks)
- “Monkey” — George Michael (2 weeks)
- “Sweet Child o' Mine” — Guns N' Roses (2 weeks)
- “Don't Worry, Be Happy” — Bobby McFerrin (2 weeks)
- “Love Bites” — Def Leppard (1 week)
- “Red Red Wine” — UB40 (1 week)
- “A Groovy Kind of Love” — Phil Collins (2 weeks)
- “Kokomo” — The Beach Boys (1 week)
- “Wild, Wild West” — The Escape Club (1 week)
- “Bad Medicine” — Bon Jovi (2 weeks)
- “Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley” — Will to Power (1 week)
- “Look Away” — Chicago (2 weeks)
- “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” — Poison (2 weeks)
Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1988, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1988 (Wikipedia revision 1362801131).
Famous people born in 1988
- August 21 – Robert Lewandowski, Polish footballer source
- 5 May – Adele, singer/songwriter source
- September 29 – Kevin Durant, American basketball player source
- February 20 – Rihanna, Barbadian pop singer source
- February 7 – Matthew Stafford, American football player source
- August 18 – G-Dragon, South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter and fashion icon source
- June 2 – Sergio Agüero, Argentine footballer source
- 14 July – Conor McGregor, mixed martial artist. source
- 15 October – Mesut Özil, footballer source
- March 19 – Clayton Kershaw, American baseball player source
- February 8 – Zemfira Magomedalieva, Russian boxer source
- October 4 – Derrick Rose, American basketball player source
- March 27 – Atsuto Uchida, Japanese football player source
- November 6 – Emma Stone, American actress source
- 12 March — Sebastian Brendel, German sprint canoeist source
What happened in 1988
- January 13 – Vice-president Lee Teng-hui takes over as President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang following the death of Chiang Ching-kuo. source
- January 7–8 – In the Soviet-Afghan War, 39 men of the Soviet Airborne Troops from the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment fight off an attack by 200 to 250 Mujahideen in the Battle for Hill 3234, later dramatized in the Russian film The 9th Company. source
- February 12 – The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy intentionally rams USS Yorktown in Soviet territorial waters while Yorktown claims innocent passage. The accompanying US destroyer USS Caron escapes damage. source
- January 1 – The Soviet Union begins its program of economic restructuring (perestroika) with legislation initiated by Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (though Gorbachev had begun minor restructuring in 1985). source
- January 26 – A re-enactment of the First Fleet arrives in Sydney Harbour to mark the bicentenary of the First Fleet arriving in Australia in 1788. source
- January – The cargo ship Khian Sea deposits 4,000 tons of toxic waste in Haiti after wandering around the Atlantic for sixteen months. source
- February 13–28 – The 1988 Winter Olympics are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. source
- January 28 – Toymaker company Mattel Incorporated announces the closure of its Philippine subsidiary, with 3,000 job losses. source