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 rates, price changes, performance improvements, and other comparative measurements.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:

Where:

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

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 fundamental in financial analysis (investment returns, price changes), business metrics (sales growth), scientific research (experimental results), and everyday comparisons (salary increases, test scores).

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values as positive numbers. The old value must be greater than zero (division by zero is undefined). Results are rounded to two decimal places.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's the difference between percentage increase and absolute increase?
A: Absolute increase is simply new minus old value, while percentage increase shows the change relative to the original value.

Q2: Can percentage increase be negative?
A: Yes, if the new value is smaller than the old value, the result is a percentage decrease (negative increase).

Q3: How do I interpret a 100% increase?
A: A 100% increase means the value has doubled (become twice as large as the original).

Q4: Why use percentages instead of absolute numbers?
A: Percentages provide a standardized way to compare changes across different scales and magnitudes.

Q5: What if my old value was zero?
A: Percentage increase is undefined when starting from zero, as it would require division by zero.