You are given a table containing historical data on the pollution levels within Central London and asked to calculate the percentage change to nitrogen oxide (NO2) from 2009 to 2013. To check that the situation warrants a percentage increase calculation, review the data provided and ensure that it is increasing over time.ĭon’t allow yourself to be distracted by any extra data provided in the question. The first step is to confirm what type of percentage change question you are dealing with. Step 1: Confirm it is a percentage increase question There’s no need to worry about answering percentage increase questions though, as it’s simple to calculate – regardless of the scenario presented - if you know the steps involved. As these are timed assessments, you’ll need to be able to perform the required calculations quickly and accurately. Percentage change questions are often featured in numerical reasoning tests. A step-by-step guide to calculating percentage increase This expression aids with both understanding and communicating the shift that has occurred. If any quantity changes over time, this difference can be pithily quoted as a percentage change. If it has decreased instead, this requires a percentage decrease calculation. Quite simply, if a quantity has increased in value, you’ll be calculating a percentage increase. It is also useful for expressing trends in scientific fields, such as changes in annual percentage rainfall or the percentage of environmental protected areas.
Percentage change is commonly encountered in finance when analysing profits, tracking prices of stocks and shares, or comparing currency values. It is expressed as a percentage of the initial quantity.įor example, if a company announces a five percent increase in profit for the third quarter, compared to the previous quarter of the financial year, they have reached this figure using a percentage increase calculation. Percentage change is a mathematical concept indicating the degree of change that has occurred over time.
We’ll go through these stages in detail below. Calculate the increase as a percentage of the original number.Calculate the difference between the two numbers being compared.Confirm it is a percentage increase question.