Percentage Growth Calculator
Total Percentage Change:
How to Calculate Percentage Growth
Percentage growth is a measure of the relative increase or decrease of a value over time. It is widely used in finance, population studies, and business analytics to track performance trends.
The Percentage Growth Formula
((Ending Value – Starting Value) / |Starting Value|) × 100
Step-by-Step Calculation
- Identify Values: Determine your starting (initial) value and your ending (final) value.
- Find the Difference: Subtract the starting value from the ending value. A positive result indicates growth, while a negative result indicates a decline.
- Divide: Divide that difference by the absolute value of the starting value.
- Convert to Percent: Multiply the result by 100 to get the percentage growth.
Practical Examples
- Business Revenue: If your store made 1,000 sales last month and 1,250 sales this month, your growth rate is ((1250 – 1000) / 1000) * 100 = 25%.
- Website Traffic: If your blog had 5,000 visitors in January and 4,500 in February, your growth rate is ((4500 – 5000) / 5000) * 100 = -10% (a 10% decrease).
- Social Media: If you started with 200 followers and now have 1,000, your growth rate is 400%.
Why is Growth Calculation Important?
Understanding percentage growth allows you to compare different datasets on equal footing. For instance, an increase of 100 units might be massive for a small business but negligible for a global corporation. Using percentages provides context for the scale of change regardless of the raw numbers.