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Economics vocabulary · Inflation and Prices

Nominal

Meaning in economics, with examples

/ˈnɒmɪnl/adjectiveCommon term

In economics, nominal means: Measured in current money values without adjusting for inflation, such as a salary or a GDP figure expressed in today's prices.

In Turkish: nominal, cari fiyatlarla

How it is used

Always paired with its opposite, real: nominal GDP and real GDP, nominal wages and real wages, the nominal interest rate and the real interest rate. Good economic reports state clearly which one they mean.

Example sentences

  1. Nominal GDP grew by 60%, but most of that was inflation rather than real growth.

  2. The nominal interest rate is 6% and inflation is 4%, so the real interest rate is roughly 2%.

Common collocations

  • nominal GDP
  • nominal wages
  • nominal interest rate
  • in nominal terms
  • in real termsMeasured after removing the effect of inflation, so that a figure shows the true change in what money can buy.
  • GDPShort for gross domestic product: the total value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period, usually a quarter or a year.
  • inflationA general and continuing rise in the prices of goods and services in an economy, which means each unit of money buys less over time.
  • interest rateThe price of borrowing money, shown as a yearly percentage of the amount borrowed; for savers, it is the return they earn on deposits.

More terms: Inflation and Prices

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.