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 track growth, inflation, performance improvements, and other changes over time.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:

Where:

• \( \text{Number1} \) — Original value
• \( \text{Number2} \) — New value

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

3. Practical Applications

Details: Percentage increase is used in finance (investment returns), business (sales growth), economics (inflation rates), science (experimental results), and everyday life (price changes).

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both numbers (must be positive). Number1 should be the original/base value, Number2 the new value. The calculator handles decimal values.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What if the percentage is negative?
A: A negative result indicates a percentage decrease rather than increase.

Q2: How is this different from percentage points?
A: Percentage increase is relative to the original value, while percentage points measure absolute difference between percentages.

Q3: What's the maximum percentage increase possible?
A: There's no theoretical maximum. A value increasing from 1 to 2 is a 100% increase, from 1 to 3 is 200%, etc.

Q4: Can I calculate percentage decrease with this?
A: Yes, the result will be negative if Number2 is less than Number1, indicating a decrease.

Q5: Why is the original value in the denominator?
A: This makes the increase relative to the starting point, allowing meaningful comparisons between different scales.