1. What Is the Calculation for Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures the relative change between an old value and a new value, expressed as a percentage. It quantifies how much a value has increased or decreased relative to its original amount.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage change formula:

Where:

• \( New \) — New value (unitless)
• \( Old \) — Old value (unitless)

Explanation: The formula calculates the difference between new and old values, divides by the old value to get relative change, then multiplies by 100 to convert to percentage.

3. Importance of Percentage Change Calculation

Details: Percentage change is widely used in finance, economics, statistics, and business to analyze growth rates, price changes, performance metrics, and trend analysis across various domains.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values. The old value cannot be zero (division by zero). Positive results indicate increase, negative results indicate decrease.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What does a negative percentage change mean?
A: A negative percentage change indicates a decrease from the old value to the new value.

Q2: Can the old value be zero?
A: No, the old value cannot be zero as it would result in division by zero, which is mathematically undefined.

Q3: How is percentage change different from percentage point change?
A: Percentage change measures relative change from original value, while percentage point change measures absolute difference between two percentages.

Q4: What are common applications of percentage change?
A: Stock price changes, sales growth, inflation rates, population changes, test score improvements, and many other comparative analyses.

Q5: How do I interpret a 100% increase?
A: A 100% increase means the new value is exactly double the old value (100% more than the original).