Percentile vs. Percentage

Main Difference

The main difference between percentile and percentage is that percentile is the value from which percentage values are found below it, whereas percentage is a measurement of the mathematical unit which shows values out of total 100.

Difference Between Percentile and Percentage

Comparison Chart

Percentile vs. Percentage

Percentile is the mathematical value from which percentage values are found below it, whereas percentage is a measurement of the mathematical unit which shows values out of total 100. Percentile unit is denoted by xth such as 40th, while percentage unit is denoted by %. Percentile cannot be written as in ratio form in mathematics; on the other hand, percentage can be written as in ratio form in mathematics. Percentile also cannot be used in the form of decimals; on the contrary, percentage also can be used in the form of decimals in mathematics. Percentile is usually based on the number ranks; conversely, percentage is not based on number ranks. Percentile has quartiles in its formula, whereas percentage does not have quartiles. Percentile is generally based on a comparison of one case with all other cases in a specific condition, while percentage is normally based on only one case in a situation. Percentile is built on normal distribution; on the other hand, the percentage does not have a normal distribution.

What is Percentile?

Percentile is the mathematical value used in statistics from which percentage values are found below it. Percentile is usually denoted by xth such as 40^th. Basically, percentile sounds familiar with the percentage, but it is different. Percentile usually gives and express all the observations of a given amount below the exact percentage of that amount. Percentile is relative for instance if a student scored 500^th rank, so it means 499 people are ahead of him and 500 are behind him and if someone topped, then his percentile will be 100 and means everyone is behind him. These examples express an indication of how well or not well that person or student is compared to the others. Percentile, in reality, is a rank of actually 60 of an above-average score and usually based on the number ranks. These are the reasons that percentile rankings are more often useful in weighing weight and for interpreting results. But percentile cannot be written as in ratio form in mathematics and also cannot be used as in decimal form, but Percentile has quartiles in its formula. Percentile is built on normal distribution method.

What is the Percentage?

The percentage is a measurement of a mathematical unit which shows values out of total 100. Percentage unit is denoted by %. Percentage gives information of ratios, decimals, and proportions because percentage can be written as in ratio form in mathematics and also in decimal form. It is quite easy to understand mathematical form and to use differences when using percentage with different denominators rather than using fractions. For comparison purposes, by using percentage it becomes quite easy to standardize different quantities. Percentage is, therefore, had many wider applications in daily life than percentile. The percentage also used in areas where calculating interest rates are high such as in the financial world or calculating student’s grades. For example, a student’s grades improve from one test to another and improved by 10%. So it is helpful as it shows change over time with the exact same value.

Conclusion

Above discussion concludes that percentile has percentage values found below it and have a normal distribution, whereas percentage has total value out of 100 with no normal distribution.