1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures the degree of change over time and is used in many fields to compare two values. It shows how much a quantity has increased or decreased relative to its original value.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage change formula:

Where:

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

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

3. Importance of Percentage Change

Details: Percentage change is widely used in finance (stock price changes), economics (inflation rates), business (sales growth), and science (experimental results comparison). It provides a standardized way to compare changes across different scales.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values. The calculator will show the percentage increase (positive result) or decrease (negative result). Values can be any real numbers, but old value cannot be zero.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What does a negative percentage change mean?
A: A negative result indicates a decrease from the old value to the new value.

Q2: Why can't the old value be zero?
A: Division by zero is undefined in mathematics. You cannot calculate percentage change from zero.

Q3: How is percentage change different from percentage difference?
A: Percentage change compares two values over time, while percentage difference compares two simultaneous values.

Q4: What's the difference between percentage points and percent change?
A: Percentage points measure absolute difference (e.g., 5% to 7% is a 2 percentage point increase), while percent change measures relative difference (40% increase in this case).

Q5: Can percentage change exceed 100%?
A: Yes, when the new value is more than double the old value, the percentage change will be greater than 100%.