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, statistics, and general data analysis to compare growth rates.

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 starting value

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

3. Importance of Percentage Increase Calculation

Details: Percentage increase is essential for understanding growth rates in business (sales, profits), investments (stock performance), demographics (population growth), and scientific measurements.

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). 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 difference?
A: Percentage increase compares to the original value only, while percentage difference compares two values relative to their average.

Q3: What's considered a "good" percentage increase?
A: This depends entirely on context - in business, 5-10% annual growth might be good, while in investments, higher percentages are typically desired.

Q4: Can I calculate percentage increase over multiple periods?
A: For compound growth, use the formula for compound annual growth rate (CAGR) rather than simple percentage increase.

Q5: Why is percentage increase often more meaningful than absolute increase?
A: Percentage increase provides context relative to the starting size, making comparisons between different scales more meaningful.