1. What is Percentage Change?

Percentage change measures the degree of change over time. It's used to compare the difference between an old and new value relative to the old value, expressed as a percentage.

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, showing how much the new value has changed compared to the old value.

3. Importance of Percentage Change

Details: Percentage change is widely used in finance, economics, statistics, and science to measure growth rates, price changes, performance improvements, and other comparative metrics.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values. The calculator will show the percentage increase (positive result) or decrease (negative result). The 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 use absolute value for the denominator?
A: Using absolute value ensures the percentage change makes sense whether the old value was positive or negative.

Q3: 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 reference to which is older.

Q4: What if the old value is zero?
A: Percentage change is undefined when the old value is zero, as division by zero is impossible.

Q5: Can percentage change exceed 100%?
A: Yes, percentage change can be any value. A change from 10 to 30 would be a 200% increase.