Practice
Percent and percentage: understand the difference
Sign in to saveThe survey found that 68 percent of the group preferred morning classes. A high percentage of the group gave a reason for that choice. The number uses percent; the general proportion uses percentage.
Choose percent or percentage when you state a number, describe a proportion, or write about a rate.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
The percentage of students who passed increased. /ðə pərˈsentɪdʒ əv ˈstudənts hu pæst ɪnˈkrist/
The short answer
Use percent after a number: 40 percent, 40%, or a 40 percent discount. Use percentage for a proportion or rate: a small percentage of customers, the percentage of students who passed, or a percentage increase.
Thirty percent of the tickets were sold online, but the percentage sold at the door was not recorded.
Why it works: Thirty is the exact number, so it goes with percent. The second phrase names a proportion without stating it.
5 more examples
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Eighteen percent of the staff work from home on Fridays.
Eighteen is a specific number, so percent follows it.
Not this:A high
percentageof the staff work from home on Fridays. What changes: This sentence describes the share as high but does not state the exact number. -
The app uses 12% less data after the update.
The percent sign stands for percent after the number 12.
Not this:The app shows a lower
percentageof data use after the update. What changes: Percentage names the rate or share instead of giving the number. -
The percentage of late arrivals fell this month.
The phrase names a rate, so percentage is the natural noun.
Not this:Late arrivals fell by
6 percentthis month. What changes: Percent follows the measured change, 6. -
The store offered a 20 percent discount on notebooks.
Before the noun discount, the number and percent describe its size.
Not this:The store increased the
discount percentageon notebooks. What changes: Percentage can be part of a noun phrase when you mean the discount rate. -
Forty percent of the water is clean enough to drink.
Water is uncountable, so the verb is singular: is.
Not this:
Forty percent of the bottles areclean enough to use. What changes: Bottles is plural, so the verb is plural: are.
Read the full guide
Start by looking for a number. If you can say 12, 45, or 100 before the word, choose percent. If you are naming the share itself, choose percentage. This check works in reports, conversations, and everyday writing.
Use percent with a number
Percent normally follows a number. It tells you how many parts there are out of every hundred.
Only 7 percent of the buses were late.
The number 7 gives the measurement, so percent is the word that follows it.
Choose the word after 35: 35 ___ of the seats were empty.
Use percent: 35 percent of the seats were empty.
Use percentage for a share or rate
Percentage is a noun for the share itself. It is useful when you do not give the number or when you talk about how a rate changes.
A small percentage of visitors stayed after the talk.
Small describes the proportion, but the sentence does not tell us its exact number.
The percentage of completed forms rose in June.
Here percentage is the subject and means the completion rate.
Write the percent sign in the right place
The symbol % means percent. Put it directly after a number in a table, chart, or other format that uses symbols.
The battery was at 90% by noon.
The symbol replaces the word percent after 90; it does not replace percentage.
Which short form gives a measured result: 90% or 90 percentage?
Use 90%. It means 90 percent.
Use percent before a noun with a number
A number plus percent can describe a following noun. This pattern is common with change, discount, increase, decrease, and chance.
The company reported a 9 percent increase in sales.
The phrase 9 percent tells us the size of the increase.
There is a 50 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
The number and percent describe chance, so percentage is not needed.
Match the verb after percent of
After percent of, the noun after of usually decides whether the verb is singular or plural. Check that noun before you choose is or are.
Sixty percent of the work is finished.
Work is uncountable, so is is the natural verb.
Sixty percent of the tasks are finished.
Tasks is plural, so are is the natural verb.
Check what your sentence needs
Ask two questions before you write. Do you have a number? Then use percent. Are you naming a proportion or rate? Then use percentage.
The report gave the percentage of homes with internet access.
The sentence names the measure and does not provide the result yet.
Complete the phrase: a growing ___ of customers.
Use percentage. Growing describes the share of customers.
Before you go
Remember this
Put a number before percent, or use the percent sign after a number when the format allows it. Choose percentage to name a proportion, a rate, or a share without an exact number. For percent of, choose is or are from the noun after of.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Percent and percentage: understand the difference"
What is the main difference between percent and percentage?
Use percent with a specific number, as in 18 percent or 18%. Use percentage when you mean a proportion or rate, especially when the exact number is not given. A high percentage of staff and the percentage of late arrivals are both natural patterns.
Eighteen percent of the staff work from home on Fridays.
Can I say 20 percentage?
No. After a number, use percent: 20 percent or 20%. Percentage is a noun, so use it in phrases such as a 20 percentage point change only when point is included and the comparison is about the difference between two rates.
A high percentage of the staff work from home on Fridays.
When should I use the percent sign?
Use % directly after a number in formats that allow symbols, such as a chart, table, or short note. It means percent. In ordinary prose, many style guides prefer the written word, but the rule about using a number stays the same.
The app uses 12% less data after the update.
Is the verb singular or plural after percent of?
Look at the noun after of. Use a singular verb with an uncountable or singular noun, as with water. Use a plural verb with a plural noun, as with bottles or tasks. Percent itself does not decide the verb form.
The app shows a lower percentage of data use after the update.
Can percentage come before another noun?
Yes. Percentage can describe a rate in a noun phrase, as in percentage increase, response percentage, or the percentage of completed forms. Use the phrase when you are naming the rate, rather than stating a particular number with percent.
The percentage of late arrivals fell this month.