Jagran Josh
Difference Between Percentage and Percentile: If you are confused trying to understand percentage vs percentile then check this article with overview and solved examples of both percentage and percentile.
Difference Between Percentage and Percentile with Examples
Percentage vs Percentile: Percentages and percentiles are important concepts when it comes to examinations and results such as ICSE and CBSE Board Exam Results, JEE and NEET examinations, etc. in interpreting scores from pre-employment tests. While many people are familiar with percentages from school grades and daily life, percentiles are less common but equally important. Percentiles indicate the percentage of scores that fall below a particular score, while percentages represent a fraction of a whole expressed as a percentage. Understanding the difference between the two concepts is important when interpreting test scores.
Percentage vs Percentile: Overview
From the table below, you can check how percentage is different from percentile:
|
Percentage |
Percentile |
|
|
Definition |
Percentage represents a part of a whole as a fraction of 100. |
Percentile is a statistical measure that indicates the position of an observation within a given sample set relative to the other observations. |
|
Calculation Process |
It is calculated by dividing the value being considered by the total and multiplying by 100. |
It is calculated by dividing the number of observations at or below a particular value by the total number of observations and multiplying by 100. |
|
Example |
For example, the percentage of girls in a class of 300 students can be calculated by dividing the number of girls by the total number of students and multiplying by 100. (Number of girls)/(Total number of students) x 100 |
For instance, if your school exam score falls in the 90th percentile, it means that 90% of the other exam scores in the same sample set are equal to or lower than your score. |
What is the Difference between Percentage and Percentile?
In short, you could say that percentage is a tool to measure values out of 100 whereas percentile is the mathematical value of percentage in comparison to other values/ percentages.
Let us begin to understand with the help of an example:
If ABC scores 99th percentile rank then it means that ABC has performed better than 99 percent candidates who took the examination. However, it does not mean that the student scored 99 percent marks in the exam.
Difference Between Percentage and Percentile
Check the major differences between percentile and percentage here:
|
Percentage |
Percentile |
|
|
Meaning |
Percentage is a representation of a part of a whole as a fraction of 100. |
Percentile is a way of ranking data to demonstrate what percentage of the data points are below a given value. |
|
Unit/ Symbol |
% |
Nth (n is a number or rank) |
|
Formula |
Percentage of X = (Numerator/Denominator) x 100 Where Numerator is the number of X Denominator is the total or whole |
Percentile Formula = P/100 (N+1) Where P is the percentile rank N is the number of a score in a distribution |
|
Used as |
Mathematical unit of measurement |
Statistical measure |
|
Importance |
Percentage calculations are crucial in various fields, especially in business and finance, where they are extensively employed for counting and comparing values. They play a vital role in calculating essential metrics such as ratios, profit margins, and revenue, offering insights into a company’s performance relative to its competitors in the same industry. |
Percentile calculation is important in evaluating individual values relative to the rest of a dataset. They find widespread application in standardised admission tests such as JEE Main and Advanced, CAT, SAT and GRE, determining the ranks of students by assessing their performance compared to their peers within the same group. |
How to Convert Percentile to Percentage: Step by Step
First, you must understand 2 important points given below:
- Understand the Percentile Value relative to Percentage: Percentile is a way of ranking data to demonstrate what percentage of the data points are below a given value whereas Percentage represents a part of a whole as a fraction of 100.
- Understand how to convert Percentile to Percentage: The direct conversion of percentile to percentage is often not practical because these concepts have distinct meanings. Nonetheless, in certain specific situations like standardised testing or performance evaluation, it might be feasible to establish a relationship between percentiles and percentages.
Follow this step-by-step guide to convert percentile to percentage:
- Step 1: Determine the percentile
- Step 2: Subtract the percentile value from 100
- Step 3: Determine the total number of subjects/data points
- Step 4: Determine the percentile rank relative to percentage
- Step 5: Calculate proportion by dividing the percentile rank by total data points
- Step 6: Multiply the proportion with 100
Example
If you scored 90th percentile rank in a test taken by 1000 students, then
- Step 1: Given percentile = 90
- Step 2: 100 – 90 = 10
- Step 3: Total number of subjects/data points = 1000
- Step 4: Relation between percentile and percentage = you scored better than 90% of the people who took the test. Conversely, you could say you scored in the top 10%. Hence, you scored higher than 90% of 1000 students i.e 900 students
- Step 5: Proportion = 900/ 1000 = 0.9
- Step 6: 0.9 x 100 = 90%
NOTE: While you find yourself in the 90th percentile, it’s important to understand that this doesn’t directly equate to a 90% score. However, it does offer a familiar frame of reference to grasp how to convert percentile to percentage.
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