1. What is Percent Increase?

Percent increase measures how much a quantity has grown relative to its original value, expressed as a percentage. It's commonly used to track growth rates, price changes, performance improvements, and other comparative metrics.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percent increase formula:

Where:

• New Value — The current or final value
• Old Value — The original or initial value

Explanation: The formula calculates the difference between the new and old values, divides by the original value to get the relative change, then converts to a percentage by multiplying by 100.

3. Importance of Percent Increase Calculation

Details: Percent increase is widely used in business (sales growth, price changes), finance (investment returns), science (experimental results), and everyday life (inflation tracking). It provides a standardized way to compare changes across different scales.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both old and new values. The old value cannot be zero (as division by zero is undefined). Values can be positive or negative, but the interpretation differs.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What does a negative percent increase mean?
A: A negative result indicates a percent decrease rather than increase.

Q2: How is percent increase different from percentage points?
A: Percent increase measures relative change from an original value, while percentage points measure absolute difference between two percentages.

Q3: Can I calculate percent increase when old value is negative?
A: Yes, but interpretation requires caution as the direction of change may be counterintuitive.

Q4: What's the difference between percent increase and growth factor?
A: Growth factor is the multiplier (e.g., 1.05 for 5% increase), while percent increase expresses this as a percentage.

Q5: How do I calculate compound percent increase over multiple periods?
A: Use the formula: Final Value = Initial Value × (1 + r)^n where r is the periodic increase and n is number of periods.