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 in finance, economics, statistics, and everyday calculations.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:

Where:

• Old Value — The original amount before increase
• Rate — The percentage increase (e.g., 5 for 5%)
• New Value — The resulting amount after increase

Explanation: The formula factors the percentage increase by converting the rate to a decimal (dividing by 100) and adding 1 to represent the original value plus the increase.

3. Practical Applications

Details: Percentage increase calculations are used in:

• Salary raises and wage increases
• Price adjustments and inflation calculations
• Investment growth projections
• Population growth estimates
• Performance improvements in business metrics

4. Using the Calculator

Tips:

• Enter the original value (must be ≥ 0)
• Enter the percentage increase rate (must be ≥ 0)
• The calculator automatically factors the percentage into the new value
• For percentage decreases, use a negative rate (not supported in this version)

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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

Q2: How do I calculate percentage increase manually?
A: First convert percentage to decimal (divide by 100), multiply by original value, then add to original value.

Q3: Can I use this for compound percentage increases?
A: No, this calculates a single percentage increase. For compound increases, you'd need to apply the formula multiple times.

Q4: Why does 100% increase double the value?
A: Because 100% of the original value added to itself equals 2 times the original (100% = 1.0 in decimal form).

Q5: How is this different from percentage of a total?
A: Percentage increase compares change to original value, while percentage of total shows a part's relation to a whole.