What Is The Difference Between Percentage And Percentile
If I tell you that very few people know the difference between percentage and percentile, yet they use them in their daily lives without knowing the distinction, wouldn’t it be strange? That’s why today, I’ll clear up all your doubts about them. So, let’s dive in and gain a clear, deep understanding of both.
What Is Percentage
A percent is a concept that represents a ratio or number, which is a fraction of 100. The symbol used to indicate this is %. For example, if you scored 90 out of a hundred, your percentage is 90%.
If you are an academic student and want to convert your CGPA to percentage, use our CGPA to percentage calculator for accurate results.
What Is Percentile
The percentile refers to the rank you hold in comparison to others. It tells you how you rank in comparison to other people. A higher percentile mark indicates a better performance when compared with your peers. The percentile shows your rank within the data set, not the score itself. For instance, if you are at the 80th percentile on a test, it means 20 percent of test takers have scores greater than or equal to yours.
What is Percentage Formula
The formula for calculating percentage is:
Percentage = (Part / Total)×100
Example Of Percentage Calculations
Here are the following examples of how you can calculate your percentage.
| Student Name | Marks Obtained | Total Marks | Percentage (%) |
| John Doe | 85 | 100 | 85% |
| Jane Smith | 72 | 100 | 72% |
| Mark Johnson | 90 | 100 | 90% |
| Zohaib Arshad | 95 | 100 | 95% |
| Zainab | 78 | 100 | 78% |
In this table:
- The “Marks Obtained” column shows the marks each student received.
- The “Total Marks” column is the maximum marks for the exam.
- The “Percentage” column calculates the percentage of marks obtained, calculated as:
For example:
- Zohaib Arshad’s percentage: (95 / 100)×100=95 %
What Is Percentile Formula
The formula for calculating percentile is:
Percentile Rank of x=(Number of values less than x / Total number of values )×100
- Number Of Values Below “x”.: the number of values in the dataset below “x”.
- Total Values: the total number of values in the dataset.
Example Of Percentile Calculations
Here’s an example of calculating percentiles for a dataset presented in a table format:
Here’s an example of calculating percentiles for a dataset presented in a table format:
Data Set:
Scores of 10 students on an exam
| Student Name | Score |
|---|---|
| Alice | 65 |
| Bob | 90 |
| Charlie | 78 |
| David | 82 |
| Eva | 55 |
| Frank | 70 |
| Grace | 85 |
| Henry | 72 |
| Ivy | 88 |
| Jack | 95 |
Step 1: Arrange the scores in ascending order.
| Rank | Student Name | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eva | 55 |
| 2 | Alice | 65 |
| 3 | Frank | 70 |
| 4 | Henry | 72 |
| 5 | Charlie | 78 |
| 6 | David | 82 |
| 7 | Grace | 85 |
| 8 | Ivy | 88 |
| 9 | Bob | 90 |
| 10 | Jack | 95 |
Step 2: Calculate the percentile for each score.
The percentile rank of each score is calculated using the formula:
Percentile Rank of x = ( Number of values less than x / Total number of values) ×100
| Student Name | Score | Number of Values Less Than Score | Percentile Rank (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eva | 55 | 0 | 0% |
| Alice | 65 | 1 | 10% |
| Frank | 70 | 2 | 20% |
| Henry | 72 | 3 | 30% |
| Charlie | 78 | 4 | 40% |
| David | 82 | 5 | 50% |
| Grace | 85 | 6 | 60% |
| Ivy | 88 | 7 | 70% |
| Bob | 90 | 8 | 80% |
| Jack | 95 | 9 | 90% |
Explanation:
- Percentile Rank of Eva (55):
Eva’s score is the smallest, so there are 0 values less than 55. (010)×100=0% - Percentile Rank of Alice (65):
There is 1 score (55) less than Alice’s score. (1 / 10)×100=10% - Percentile Rank of Jack (95):
There are 9 scores less than Jack’s score. (9 / 10)×100=90%
Difference Between Percentage and Percentile
| Feature | Percentage | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A percentage is expressed as a fraction of 100. | A percentile is the value at which a certain percentage of observations falls. |
| Use | Useful to describe rates, proportions or changes. | Useful in statistical analysis to compare and rank data. |
| Calculation | (value / total value) × 100% | P= n / N ×100% |
| Example | 30% of the class will score above 80. | Students in the 90th percentile score higher than 90%. |
| Context | In financial and everyday contexts (e.g., interest rates, discounts). | Used in many fields, including educational testing, health metrics, and others needing ranking data. |
| Range | Always between 0 to 100. | In some cases, the value can be greater than 100 or lower than 0 (though it is usually between 0 to 100). |
| Directly Represents | A part of the whole. | Represents the relative position within a distribution. |
Importance In Career
Both percentage and percentile are crucial in shaping your career. A good percentage reflects consistent academic performance, helping you secure college admissions and scholarships. Meanwhile, a high percentile indicates strong performance in competitive settings, benefiting you in exams and job applications. Admissions committees and employers consider both to assess your capabilities, so it’s important to aim for both, as they complement each other and enhance your academic and professional profile.
Conclusion
We hope that after reading this article, you now understand the difference between percentage and percentile. These two may seem similar, but they have different purposes. If you face any difficulty in understanding them, you can contact our customer support team. If you need any calculator or tool related to GPA, SGPA, CGPA, and percentage, then you can let us know. Our team will provide you with a calculator. Also, check out our other related tools.
Hi, I’m Zohaib Arshad, the founder of CGPACalcs.com I hold a Bachelor’s in Information Technology and built these tools to make CGPA, GPA, and percentage conversions simple and accurate.
My goal is to save students time and confusion with easy-to-use, verified tools. I personally check every formula to ensure reliability.
Thanks for using CGPACalcs. I’m committed to making it even better for you!
