Percentage Points vs Percent: What’s the Difference?
Why a move from 10% to 12% is 2 percentage points but a 20% relative increase — and why the distinction matters.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a percentage point?
It is the simple arithmetic difference between two percentages. From 5% to 7% is 2 percentage points.
How is a percentage point different from a percent?
A percentage point is the absolute gap between two percentages; a percent change is that gap relative to the starting percentage. 5% to 7% is 2 points but a 40% relative increase.
Why does the difference matter?
Because the two can give very different numbers from the same data, the wording changes how big a change appears.
How do I convert points to a percent change?
Divide the point change by the starting percentage and multiply by 100. A 2-point rise from 5% is 2 ÷ 5 × 100 = 40%.
Are percentage points related to basis points?
Yes. One percentage point equals 100 basis points, a unit used in finance for precise rate changes.
Which should the news use for poll changes?
Percentage points, since polls report shares of support. A move from 40% to 46% is a 6 percentage-point gain.
Percentage points vs percent
A percentage point is the plain arithmetic gap between two percentages. If an interest rate rises from 5% to 7%, that is an increase of 2 percentage points — not a 2% increase. Confusing the two is one of the most common errors in reporting numbers.
Why the distinction matters
Going from 5% to 7% is a 2 percentage-point rise, but as a relative change it is (7 − 5) ÷ 5 × 100 = a 40% increase. Both statements are true but mean very different things, so the wording you choose can dramatically change how a figure is understood.
Worked example
If a candidate’s support moves from 40% to 46%, that is a 6 percentage-point gain, but a 15% relative increase in support. Newspapers usually mean percentage points when they say a poll "rose 6 points".
The rule of thumb: use "percentage points" for the difference between two percentages, and "percent" for a relative change. When precision matters — finance, polling, statistics — saying which one you mean avoids serious misunderstanding.
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