What is Percentage and Percentile?

The word “Percent” is derived from the Latin word “Per Centum”, meaning “by hundred”. Percentage is a proportion or ratio of a part and whole which is represented by a value with a condition that the whole will always be 100. It is represented by the % sign which is read as percent or “for every 100 parts” of any particular group of data. In other words, Percent means per hundred.

Meanwhile, Percentile is a type of mathematical quantity that determines the performance of a particular data (x) in comparison to other data in the dataset. It helps us understand the frequency distribution of data. We can calculate the order of data using percentile or vice-versa, in other words, to find percentile we always need to sort the data. It is very important to have data in order to calculate the value of percentile or centile.

Definition of Percentage

Percentage is a fraction in which the value of the whole(denominator) is 100. It is represented in the form of a fraction or ratio with a % sign. Examples of Percentages, where we can see the different forms of representation of percent.

• 45% = 45/100 = 0.45
• 10% = 10/100 = 0.1
• 90% = 90/100 = 0.9

Definition of Percentile

Percentile or a centile is a mathematical measure used in the field of statistical calculations which defines how a particular data, person, item or group compares to others in dataset. It also indicates the percentage of scores that fall below a particular value, showing where the value compares relative to other values in a group.

Example of Percentage and Percentile

If a student named Isha, scores 89 marks her science exam out of a total score of 100, she has scored 89% aggregate in her exam. In other words, Isha has scored 89% in her science exam. We can see examples of percentage in every sector of life, from description of distribution of population across the world to everyday exams, Whenever Numbers, Calculations and representation of numbers visually is concerned, Percentage come into picture.

Meanwhile In Percentile, we have to sort and compare Isha Science score with the score of total 30 students in Class 6th. We will first sort the science exam score of 30 students. For example, if the score is 89th Percentile, it would mean that her score is better than 89% of students. Percentile is important to understand and spot the trends and distribution of data.

Percentage and Percentile are similar concepts but have some differences between them. Percentage is used to express the mathematical calculation in terms of per 100, whereas percentile is used to express the relative value with respect to other data present.

In other words, Percentage is a ratio between a part and whole per 100 while Percentile is a representation of data in comparison with other data present in the dataset. Both Percentage and Percentile are related concepts but very different from each other, as they are used to represent data in two completely different ways.

In this article, we will understand both Percentage and Percentile in detail, understanding their difference in the expression of data.