What is Percentage?

The term ‘Percentage’ is derived from the Latin phrase ‘per centum’ meaning ‘by a hundred.’ It is a commonly used mathematical operation that denotes a number or ratio as a fraction of 100.

Percentage is commonly denoted using % (percent symbol), or using abbreviations such as prct., prct, or pc. Percentage by itself is a dimensionless number but is often used as a unit of measurement.

Examples

• For example, 75% is equivalent to 75/100 or 75:100 when expressed as ratio or 0.75
• Similarly, if a school class has a strength of 100 and a 55% female strength, it means there are a total of 55 female students and 45 (i.e., 100 - 55) male students in the class.

Generally, the percentage values range between 0% and 100% but there is no defined minimum or maximum restriction as such.

The symbol % seems to be derived from the gradual contraction of Latin phrase ‘per centum’.

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This website provides different percentage calculators to let you quickly perform common calculations involving percentage values. You can use our calculator to quickly calculate discounts, tips, % increase, and % decrease etc.