Calculation of Percentage

Calculator for percent calculations. Enter two values, the third will be calculated.
Examples: 4 of 8 equals 50 percent. 17 of 53 equals slightly over 32 percent.

of equals % (percent)

Percent comes from latin and means 'per hundred'. The value in percent indicates how much a portion is when the total amount is 100. 100 is used as a uniform basic value, and ratios are thus comparable. A similar, somewhat less common expression is per mille, which refers not to one hundred, but to one thousand. In science, however, it is common to refer to one as a whole.

Percentage calculation goes back to the ancient Romans, who did not yet calculate in the decimal system. They often referred to hundredths; for example, when collecting taxes, one or more hundredths, i.e. percent, were due. These portions were whole numbers, so in order to still have small increments, a relatively large reference value of 100 was used.
In the late Middle Ages in Europe, calculating with hundredths became standard in financial transactions, and from the 17th century onwards interest was stated in hundredths.
Percentage calculation in its simplest form is not particularly complicated. However, it opens the door to numerous important calculations, particularly in financial and economic mathematics. Even in statistics, when it is communicated to the general public, percent is often mentioned, whereas scientific statistics usually refers to 1, for example 0.5 instead of 50 percent. Percentage calculation becomes complicated when it is carried out several times in succession, such as when calculating compound interest, or when you want to convert regular percentages for different periods of time, such as interest per year and month. In those cases, you need the methods of exponential calculation.