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, inflation, performance improvements, and other changes over time.

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 new and old values, divides by the original value to get relative change, then converts to a percentage by multiplying by 100.

3. Practical Applications

Details: Percentage increase is used in business (sales growth, price increases), finance (investment returns), statistics (population growth), and everyday life (salary raises, grade improvements).

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both values in the same units. The old value cannot be zero (division by zero is undefined). Negative values are acceptable and indicate percentage decrease when new value is less than old value.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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

Q2: How do I interpret negative percentage increase?
A: A negative result indicates a percentage decrease rather than increase.

Q3: What if my old value was zero?
A: Percentage change is undefined when starting from zero, as you cannot divide by zero.

Q4: Can percentage increase exceed 100%?
A: Yes, values over 100% mean the quantity has more than doubled.

Q5: 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.