Percentages
A percentage of a number, a share, or a change between two.
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What you want to work out
The answer
12
15% of 80 is 12
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What this tool is for
This covers the three questions that come up constantly and get muddled with each other: a percentage of an amount, what share one number is of another, and the change from one figure to a second. Each is a different sum, which is why working them out in your head so often lands on the wrong answer.
How to work out a percentage
- Pick which of the three questions you are asking.
- Enter your two numbers.
- Read the answer, with the working shown alongside it.
Questions
What is the difference between percentage change and percentage points?
Going from 20 per cent to 25 per cent is a rise of five percentage points, but a 25 per cent increase. News stories mix these two up more often than not.
Why is a rise then a fall of the same percentage not back where it started?
Because the second one is taken from a bigger number. Add 50 per cent to 100 and you have 150; take 50 per cent off that and you have 75.
How do I find the original figure before a percentage was added?
Use the add or remove tax tool, which is built specifically for working backwards out of a total to the amount underneath it.
Do my figures get sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in this browser tab, so personal numbers stay on your device.
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