Excel is a popular spreadsheet program that is widely used for data analysis and management. One of the most common tasks in Excel is calculating percentages. Whether you want to calculate a percentage increase, decrease, or a percentage of a total, Excel can help. In this article, we will show you how to calculate percentage in Excel step by step.
Understanding Percentages
Before we start calculating percentages in Excel, let’s understand what percentages are. Percentages are a way of expressing a fraction or a ratio as a proportion of 100. For example, 50% is the same as 0.5, which is the same as 1/2 or 50/100.
Percentage Increase
Percentage increase is a measure of how much a value has increased from its original value. To calculate percentage increase in Excel, you need to use the following formula:
= (new value - old value) / old value * 100Here, the “new value” is the increased value, and the “old value” is the original value. Let’s say you want to calculate the percentage increase of sales from last year to this year. You have the following data:
- Last year sales: $10,000
- This year sales: $15,000
To calculate the percentage increase, you need to subtract the old value from the new value, divide the result by the old value, and multiply by 100. Here’s the formula:
= (15000 - 10000) / 10000 * 100
The result is 50%, which means sales have increased by 50% from last year.
Percentage Decrease
Percentage decrease is a measure of how much a value has decreased from its original value. To calculate percentage decrease in Excel, you need to use the following formula:
= (old value - new value) / old value * 100
Here, the “old value” is the original value, and the “new value” is the decreased value. Let’s say you want to calculate the percentage decrease of the stock price from last week to this week. You have the following data:
- Last week stock price: $50
- This week stock price: $40
To calculate the percentage decrease, you need to subtract the new value from the old value, divide the result by the old value, and multiply by 100. Here’s the formula:
= (50 - 40) / 50 * 100
The result is 20%, which means the stock price has decreased by 20% from last week.
Percentage of a Total
Percentage of a total is a measure of how much a value is as a proportion of a total value. To calculate percentage of a total in Excel, you need to use the following formula:
= value / total * 100
Here, the “value” is the value you want to calculate the percentage of, and the “total” is the total value. Let’s say you want to calculate the percentage of sales for each product category. You have the following data:
| Product Category | Sales |
|---|---|
| Category A | $10,000 |
| Category B | $20,000 |
| Category C | $30,000 |
| Total | $60,000 |
To calculate the percentage of sales for each category, you need to divide the sales of each category by the total sales and multiply by 100. Here are the formulas:
- Category A:
= 10000 / 60000 * 100 - Category B:
= 20000 / 60000 * 100 - Category C:
= 30000 / 60000 * 100
The results are as follows:
| Product Category | Sales | Percentage of Total Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Category A | $10,000 | 16.67% |
| Category B | $20,000 | 33.33% |
| Category C | $30,000 | 50% |
Using Percentage Format in Excel
Once you have calculated percentages in Excel, you can display them in percentage format. To do this, select the cell or cells that contain the percentage value and go to the “Home” tab in the Excel ribbon. Then, click on the “Percentage” button in the “Number” group.
Using Functions to Calculate Percentages in Excel
Excel has several built-in functions that can be used to calculate percentages. Some of these functions include:
PERCENTILE: This function returns the k-th percentile of a data set. For example, if you have a list of test scores and you want to find the score at the 90th percentile, you can use thePERCENTILEfunction.PERCENTILE.INC: This function returns the k-th percentile of a data set using exclusive percentiles. This means that the specified percentile is not included in the calculation. For example, if you have a list of sales data and you want to find the sales amount at the 75th percentile, you can use thePERCENTILE.INCfunction.PERCENTILE.EXC: This function returns the k-th percentile of a data set using inclusive percentiles. This means that the specified percentile is included in the calculation. For example, if you have a list of test scores and you want to find the score at the 75th percentile, you can use thePERCENTILE.EXCfunction.PERCENTRANK: This function returns the rank of a value in a data set as a percentage of the data set. For example, if you have a list of test scores and you want to find the percentage of students who scored higher than a certain score, you can use thePERCENTRANKfunction.PERCENTRANK.INC: This function returns the rank of a value in a data set as a percentage of the data set using exclusive percentiles. For example, if you have a list of sales data and you want to find the percentage of salespeople who have made more sales than a certain amount, you can use thePERCENTRANK.INCfunction.PERCENTRANK.EXC: This function returns the rank of a value in a data set as a percentage of the data set using inclusive percentiles. For example, if you have a list of test scores and you want to find the percentage of students who scored higher than or equal to a certain score, you can use thePERCENTRANK.EXCfunction.
FAQ’s
The formula for calculating percentage increase in Excel is: (new value - old value) / old value * 100.
The formula for calculating percentage decrease in Excel is: (old value - new value) / old value * 100.
To display a percentage value in Excel, select the cell or cells that contain the percentage value and go to the “Home” tab in the Excel ribbon. Then, click on the “Percentage” button in the “Number” group.
Some Excel functions that can be used to calculate percentages include PERCENTILE, PERCENTILE.INC, PERCENTILE.EXC, PERCENTRANK, PERCENTRANK.INC, and PERCENTRANK.EXC.
To calculate percentage of a total in Excel, use the formula: value / total * 100.
Calculating percentages in Excel is a fundamental task for anyone who works with data. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily calculate percentage increase, decrease, and percentage of a total in Excel. Whether you are working with financial data, sales data, or any other type of data, Excel makes it easy to perform complex calculations and analysis.
