1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures how much a value has increased or decreased in relation to its original value, expressed as a percentage. It's commonly used in finance, economics, statistics, and many other fields to compare changes over time.

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 relative difference between two values as a percentage of the original value. A positive result indicates an increase, while a negative result indicates a decrease.

3. Importance of Percentage Change

Details: Percentage change is crucial for understanding growth rates, price changes, performance metrics, and trends across various domains including finance, business, science, and economics.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the original (old) value and the new value. The old value must be greater than zero. The calculator will show the percentage increase or decrease between the two values.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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

Q2: Can percentage change be more than 100%?
A: Yes, if the new value is more than double the old value, the percentage change will exceed 100%.

Q3: What if my old value is zero?
A: Percentage change is undefined when the old value is zero because you cannot divide by zero. The calculator will show an error in this case.

Q4: How is percentage change different from percentage difference?
A: Percentage change compares a new value to an old value, while percentage difference compares any two values without considering which is older.

Q5: What are common applications of percentage change?
A: Common uses include tracking stock price changes, measuring sales growth, analyzing population changes, and comparing test scores over time.