1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures the degree of change over time. It represents the relative change between an old value and a new value expressed as a percentage. This calculation is widely used in finance, economics, statistics, and many other fields to compare changes in values over time.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage change formula:

Where:

• New Value — The current or ending value
• Old Value — The original or starting value

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

3. Importance of Percentage Change

Details: Percentage change is crucial for understanding growth rates, price changes, performance metrics, and trends. It allows for standardized comparison between different scales and magnitudes, making it easier to interpret changes across different contexts.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the old (original) value and the new (current) value. The calculator will automatically determine if it's a percentage increase or decrease. Note that the old value cannot be zero (division by zero is undefined).

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. For example, -10% means the new value is 10% less than the old value.

Q2: How is percentage change different from percentage difference?
A: Percentage change compares two values over time (old vs new), while percentage difference compares two simultaneous values without time dimension.

Q3: What if my old value is zero?
A: Percentage change is undefined when the old value is zero because you cannot divide by zero. In such cases, you should consider absolute change instead.

Q4: Can percentage change be more than 100%?
A: Yes, percentage change can exceed 100% when the new value is more than double the old value (for increases) or when decreasing from a positive value to a negative value.

Q5: How is percentage change used in finance?
A: In finance, percentage change is used to calculate returns on investments, track stock price movements, measure revenue growth, and compare financial metrics across periods.