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 comparisons.

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 initial value

Explanation: The formula calculates the relative change between two values by comparing the difference to the original value.

3. Practical Applications

Details: Percentage increase is used in:

• Calculating salary raises
• Measuring investment growth
• Analyzing sales performance
• Tracking population growth
• Comparing price changes

4. Using the Calculator

Tips:

• Enter both new and old values
• Old value cannot be zero (division by zero)
• Negative results indicate percentage decrease
• Works with any numerical values (currency, quantities, etc.)

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 relative change compared to the original value.

Q2: How do I interpret a negative percentage increase?
A: A negative result actually indicates a percentage decrease between the values.

Q3: Why can't the old value be zero?
A: Division by zero is mathematically undefined, making percentage increase calculations impossible when starting from zero.

Q4: How is this different from percentage points?
A: Percentage points measure absolute difference between percentages, while percentage increase measures relative change from an original value.

Q5: Can I use this for percentage decrease calculations?
A: Yes, the same formula works - a negative result indicates a decrease. Alternatively, you can reverse the values (put the smaller value as "new").