Percentage Calculator

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About This Calculator

This versatile tool helps you effortlessly solve a wide range of percentage and calculations. Whether you're figuring out discounts, calculating growth rates, determining proportions, or working with finer ratios, this calculator provides clear, accurate results. We cover common calculations such as finding 'X percent of Y', determining 'what percentage X is of Y', figuring out 'X is Y percent of what', calculating percentage increase or decrease between two values, and finding the percentage difference. Bookmark this page for quick access!

What is a percentage (%)?

A percentage represents a part of a whole expressed in hundredths. It's a fraction where the denominator is 100. The symbol '%' is used to denote percentage. For example, 25% means 25 out of 100, which is equivalent to the fraction 1/4 or the decimal 0.25. It's a common way to express proportions and changes.

How do you calculate a percentage?

There are several common percentage calculations: 1. Finding the percentage of a number: Convert the percentage to a decimal (divide by 100) and multiply by the number (e.g., 20% of 150 is 0.20 * 150 = 30). 2. Finding what percentage one number is of another: Divide the 'part' by the 'whole' and multiply by 100 (e.g., What percentage is 30 of 150? (30 / 150) * 100 = 20%). 3. Finding the whole when a part and percentage are known: Convert the percentage to a decimal and divide the 'part' by this decimal (e.g., 30 is 20% of what number? 30 / 0.20 = 150). Our online calculator handles these for you.

Practical Examples

Percentages are woven into the fabric of everyday life, often used without a second thought. When shopping, we constantly encounter discounts presented as percentages, like a "30% off sale," requiring us to calculate the reduced price or the amount saved. In finance, percentages are fundamental for understanding interest rates on loans or savings accounts, calculating investment returns (ROI), figuring out sales tax, or determining an appropriate tip at a restaurant. Statistics rely heavily on percentages to convey proportions clearly, such as in election results, survey responses, or market share analysis. Even in the kitchen, adjusting a recipe might involve thinking in terms of percentage increases or decreases for ingredients. Health and nutrition labels use percentages to indicate the Daily Value (%DV) of nutrients. Furthermore, calculating percentage change helps us understand growth or decline, whether it's tracking business performance, analyzing changes in stock prices, or seeing improvement in personal goals like fitness metrics or test scores. They provide a standardized way to compare relative quantities and changes across diverse situations.

History of percentages

The concept of calculating parts "per hundred" has ancient roots, tracing back to Roman times where taxes were often calculated in fractions of 1/100. The term "percent" itself derives from the Latin "per centum," meaning "by the hundred." While the idea existed, calculations involving fractions with denominators other than 100 were common for centuries. During the Middle Ages, particularly as commerce and lending grew in Italian city-states, expressing rates of interest or profit "per cento" became increasingly practical. The symbol we use today, "%", evolved gradually. It's believed to have originated from Italian manuscript abbreviations of "per cento," such as "p.c.", "p cento", or simply "pc". Over time, possibly through hurried writing, the "c" morphed into the top circle and the "o" of "cento" became the bottom circle, separated by a horizontal line derived from the abbreviation or potentially representing a fraction bar. By the 17th century, the use of percentages and its symbol became more standardized across Europe, solidifying its role as a fundamental tool in finance, mathematics, and statistics.