"Louise" skrev i en meddelelse
...
Hi all

I'm sure this will be an easy calculation for most of you...........

If I have two numbers, ie. 390 and 217, how can I calculate the difference
between the two figures as a percentage? (These two figures represent
sales
in two months and I need to know the difference in percentage terms).

Thank you.
Louise

Hi Louise

It depends on, what you compare the difference to,
the first month or the second month.

Month A: 390
Month B: 217

Always first find the difference: 390-217=173

Now, If A is 173 larger than B, then B is 173 smaller
then A, because the figure is an absolute value,
but the same is not true for fractions (and % is
hundredths). If C for instance is 20% larger than
F, then it doesn't follow that F is 20% smaller than C.

Here the difference is compared to B.
How many % is A larger than B: (173/217)*100 = 79.7%

and here the difference is compared to A.
How many % is B smaller than A: (173/390)*100 = 44.4%

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Best regards
Leo Heuser

Followup to newsgroup only please.