1. What is Percentage Increase?

Percentage increase measures how much a quantity has grown relative to its original value, expressed as a percentage. It's commonly used to calculate annual growth rates, price increases, performance improvements, and other comparative metrics.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:

Where:

• New Value — The current or final value
• Old Value — The original or initial value

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

3. Importance of Percentage Increase Calculation

Details: Percentage increase is essential for analyzing growth trends in business, economics, personal finance, and scientific research. It allows for standardized comparison between different scales and time periods.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values as positive numbers. The old value must be greater than zero. The calculator will show the percentage increase (positive) or decrease (negative).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between percentage increase and absolute increase?
A: Absolute increase is simply the difference (New - Old), while percentage increase shows that difference relative to the original value.

Q2: How do I calculate annual percentage increase?
A: Use the same formula where Old Value is last year's value and New Value is this year's value. For multi-year averages, use compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Q3: What does a negative percentage increase mean?
A: A negative result indicates a percentage decrease rather than an increase.

Q4: Why do we multiply by 100 in the formula?
A: Multiplying by 100 converts the decimal result to a percentage, which is easier to interpret and compare.

Q5: Can percentage increase be more than 100%?
A: Yes, this means the new value is more than double the old value.