1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage Change measures the relative difference between an old value and a new value, expressed as a percentage. It's commonly used to track growth, decline, or variation in various fields including finance, economics, and statistics.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage change formula:

Where:

• \( \text{New} \) — The new or current value
• \( \text{Old} \) — The original or previous value

Explanation: The formula calculates the relative difference between two values by dividing the absolute change by the original value and converting it to a percentage.

3. Importance of Percentage Change Calculation

Details: Percentage change is essential for analyzing trends, comparing data over time, measuring performance improvements or declines, and making informed decisions based on relative changes rather than absolute numbers.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values. The old value cannot be zero (division by zero is undefined). Results are rounded to two decimal places for clarity.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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

Q2: What does a positive percentage change indicate?
A: A positive percentage change indicates an increase or growth from the old value to the new value.

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

Q4: How is percentage change different from percentage difference?
A: Percentage change compares two values over time (sequential), while percentage difference compares two distinct values at the same point in time.

Q5: Where is percentage change commonly used?
A: Commonly used in financial analysis, sales reports, population studies, scientific experiments, and any scenario tracking changes over time.