what is difference between percentage and percentile?

In your academic journey, you often come across the terms “percentage” and “percentile.” While they might sound similar, they have different meanings and uses. You should know the difference between them so that you won’t be confused in future.

What is percentage

A percentage is a simple way to show a part of something as compared to a whole, with the whole always being out of 100. It’s used to make comparisons between different things easier. For example, when we talk about test scores or discounts in a store, percentages help us quickly understand how much someone scored or how much money we can save.

the percentage sign % denotes percentage.

How to calculate/Formula of percentage

Here’s the formula to calculate the percentage:

Percentage

(Part / Whole) × 100
(50 / 200) × 100 = 25%

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What is percentile

A percentile is a way to show how a particular score compares to other scores in a group. It tells you what percentage of scores are the same or lower than a specific score. For example, in a test, if someone is in the 80th percentile, it means they did better than 80% of the people who took the test.

Percentiles are often used in things like exams or performance reviews to help rank individuals. By showing how one score compares to others, it helps people understand where they stand within a group. It’s a useful tool for seeing how well someone did compared to everyone else.

How to calculate/Formula of percentile

Here’s the formula to calculate a percentile in simple terms:

Percentile

(Number of values below ‘x’ / Total number of values) × 100

For example, if you’re trying to find out the percentile rank of a score, you count how many scores are below that number, divide by the total number of scores, and multiply by 100 to get the percentile

Examples show the difference between percentage and percentile

Example 1

A student scores 80 out of 100 marks on an exam, giving them a percentage of 80%.
A student in the 80th percentile on a test has performed better than 80% of the class.

Example 2

1. If a worker completes 60% of their tasks in a day, it means 40% of the tasks remain unfinished.
2. Imagine you have 100 workers. If 60 workers completed fewer tasks than one specific worker, that means this worker did better than 60% of the workers.
So, this worker would be in the 60th percentile.

Example 3

1. Let’s say you finished the race in 30 minutes out of a total 50 minutes.
To find out the percentage of the race you completed, you divide the time you took by the total time and multiply by 100. This means you completed 60% of the race in 30 minutes.
2. Now, after the race is done, you find out that 75 people finished the race slower than you, meaning they took longer than 30 minutes.
Since 75% of the racers were slower than you, you are in the 75th percentile.
This means you did better than 75% of the other racers.

Key differences between Percentage and Percentile

PERCENTAGE	PERCENTILE
Percentage: A percentage is a way to express a part of a whole, with the whole always being out of 100. It shows what portion of something you have in relation to the total.	Percentile:A percentile shows the relative ranking of a specific value within a dataset. It indicates how a score compares to others, showing what percentage of data points fall below a certain value.
Percentage: Denoted by the symbol “%” and represents a proportion out of 100	Percentile: Denoted by “xth,” where “x” is a number, such as the 30th or 90th percentile, representing the position within a group.
Percentage: This does not involve quartiles, as it only deals with individual values about the whole.	Percentile:** This method utilizes quartiles to rank data into four parts, helping to understand the distribution and ranking of data points.
Percentage: Can be expressed as ratios or in decimal form. For instance, 25% can be written as 0.25 or 25/100.	Percentile: This cannot be expressed in decimals or ratios, as it is specifically related to ranking within a dataset.
Percentage: Not based on the rank or order of values. It simply reflects a part of a whole, without considering the position of that part among others.	Percentile: Entirely based on rank. A percentile shows how a value ranks compared to others, making it a relative measurement.
Percentage: Commonly used in everyday calculations such as test scores, financial growth rates, or population distribution. It’s a simple way to express parts of a whole.	Percentile: More commonly used in statistics, education, and testing environments to assess performance and rank individuals or data points compared to the rest of the group.
Percentage: This doesn’t require data to be sorted. You can calculate percentages without needing to order the data in any specific way.	Percentile: This requires sorted data. To calculate a percentile, the data must be arranged in ascending order to determine the position of a particular value.
Percentage: It is independent of data distribution. It works with any kind of data without depending on how the data is spread out.	Percentile: Relies on normal distribution or the specific arrangement of data points. Percentile calculations are sensitive to how data is distributed across a dataset.
Percentage: Primarily used to represent simple comparisons. For example, scoring 75% on a test means you got 75 out of 100 marks, but it doesn’t tell you how well you did compared to others.	Percentile: Provides detailed comparisons within a group. For instance, being in the 75th percentile on a test means you scored better than 75% of the other test takers.
Percentage: Focuses on showing the proportion or part of a whole. It’s ideal for visualizing how much of something is present in the total.	Percentile: Shows the rank or position of a particular value relative to others. It helps assess performance and rankings, often used in standardized tests and performance evaluations.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Percentage:

Advantage of %

Allows for quick and clear comparisons between different quantities or data sets.
Percentage is recognized globally, making it an effective communication tool in various fields.
Simplifies complex data By reducing numbers to a fraction of 100, percentages make large or complex data easier to interpret.
Commonly used in finance, education, statistics, and everyday scenarios like discounts and grades.
Straightforward calculations Makes it easy to calculate ratios, proportions, and rate changes.
Percentages can be easily visualized through pie charts and bar graphs, aiding in data interpretation.
Useful in tracking progress in tasks, projects, or personal goals.
Effective in financial assessments Crucial for calculating profit margins, interest rates, taxes, and financial growth.

Disadvantage of %

Rounding errors take place as the Percentages often involve rounding, which can lead to slight inaccuracies.
Focusing solely on percentages can obscure important details within a dataset.
Misleading comparisons take place as the Percentages can be manipulated or misrepresented to exaggerate differences between groups or quantities.
Not suitable for ranking because percentages don’t provide a ranking system or show relative standing in a group.
percentages require full context of the data, such as total or maximum possible value.
In surveys, a small percentage difference may not reflect a significant real-world difference.
In some fields, like temperature or time, percentages don’t always make sense.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Percentile:

Advantage of percentile

Ranks performance as the Percentile ranks help in determining where an individual stands compared to others in a dataset.
Percentiles are commonly used in standardized tests like SATs or GMATs to compare student performance
Reflects distribution as the Percentiles show how values are distributed, giving more context than just averages or percentages.
Percentiles are effective when working with large data sets, simplifying complex distributions into understandable rankings.
Performance tracking over time is done with percentile as it observe how performance or data ranking shifts over time.
Percentiles allow for a fair comparison among participants, considering varying levels of difficulty in exams or tasks.

Disadvantage of percentile

Complex to calculate because Percentiles require ordered data and can be harder to compute compared to percentages.
Percentiles provide relative ranking but don’t reveal the exact score or performance gap between participants.
High percentile ranks may create a false sense of achievement if the performance difference is minimal.
Percentile ranks vary with the distribution of the data set, making it harder to interpret across different groups.
percentiles don’t show exact performances or position in a ranking, they don’t indicate the actual value or score.
Extreme values in a dataset can distort the distribution, making the percentile less meaningful for middle or lower ranks.
Percentiles are more suited for quantitative measurements and are not applicable in qualitative data comparisons.

Final words

In conclusion, understanding the concepts of **percentage** and **percentile** is crucial for interpreting data in various fields. While percentages simplify comparisons by showing a part of a whole, percentiles offer deeper insights into rankings and relative performance within a group.

Both are valuable tools in education, finance, statistics, and daily life, helping us make informed decisions and evaluations. By mastering the use of these two concepts and applying them in real-life scenarios, we can enhance our ability to interpret and analyze information effectively.

Whether you’re calculating grades, analyzing trends, or comparing test scores, knowing the difference between percentage and percentile is essential for accurate data interpretation.