Difference Between Percentile and Percentage
Main difference
The main difference between percentile and percentage is that the percentile is the value from which the percentage values are below it, while the percentage is a measure of the mathematical unit that shows values out of a total of 100.
Percentage vs percentage
The percentile is the mathematical value from which the percentage values below it are found, while the percentage is a measure of the mathematical unit that shows values over a total of 100. The percentile unit is denoted by x, such as 40 , while the percentage unit is denoted by %. The percentile cannot be written in ratio form in mathematics; on the other hand, percentage can be written in ratio form in mathematics. The percentile cannot be used as decimals either; on the contrary, the percentage can also be used in the form of decimals in mathematics. The percentile is usually based on the number of ranks; conversely, percentage is not based on numerical ranges. Percentile has quartiles in its formula, while percentage does not have quartiles. The percentage is usually based on the comparison of one case with all other cases in a specific condition, while the percentage is usually based on a single case in a situation. The percentile is based on the normal distribution; on the other hand, the percentage does not have a normal distribution.
Comparison chart
| percentile | Percentage |
| The percentile is the mathematical value from which the percentage values below it are found. | Percentage is a measure that shows values out of 100. |
| Position | |
| Value from which the percentage values are below | The mathematical unit that shows the position of values out of a total of 100 |
| Unit | |
| Denoted by x, as 40 | Denoted by % |
| quartiles | |
| has quartiles | has no quartiles |
| Rank | |
| Based on the number of ranks | Not based on numerical ranges |
| Decimals | |
| It cannot be used in decimal form. | It can be used in the form of decimals. |
| Proportion | |
| cannot be written proportionally | It can be written as a ratio |
| based on | |
| Based on a comparison of a case with all other cases in a specified condition | Based on a single case in a situation |
| Distribution | |
| Built on the normal distribution | does not have a normal distribution |
What is percentile?
The percentile is the mathematical value used in statistics from which the percentage values are below. Percentile is generally denoted by X such as 40th . Basically, percentile sounds familiar from percentage, but it’s different. The percentile usually gives and expresses all the observations of a given quantity below the exact percentage of that quantity. The percentile is relative, for example if a student got 500thrank meaning 499 people are ahead of him and 500 behind him and if someone led then his percentile will be 100 and it means everyone is behind him. These examples express an indication of how well or poorly that person or student compares to others. The percentile is actually a range out of 60 of a score above the average and is usually based on the number ranges. These are the reasons why percentile rankings are often more useful in weighing weight and interpreting the results. But percentile cannot be written in ratio form in math and also cannot be used as in decimal form, but percentile has quartiles in its formula. The percentile is based on the normal distribution method.
What is the percentage?
Percentage is a measure of a mathematical unit that shows values out of 100. The percentage unit is indicated as %. The percentage provides information on ratios, decimals, and proportions because the percentage can be written in ratio form in mathematics and also in decimal form. It is quite easy to understand the mathematical form and use differences when using percentages with different denominators instead of using fractions. For comparison purposes, using the percentage makes it quite easy to standardize different quantities. Therefore, the percentage has much broader applications in daily life than the percentile. The percentage is also used in areas where the calculation of interest rates is high, such as in the financial world or in the calculation of student grades. For example,
Key differences
- The percentile is the value for which the percentage values are below it, while the percentage shows values out of a total of 100.
- The percentile unit is denoted by x, such as 20, while the percentage unit is denoted by %.
- The percentile cannot be written in ratio form; on the other hand, the percentage can be written in ratio form.
- The percentile cannot be used as decimals; on the contrary, the percentage can be used in the form of decimals.
- The percentile is usually based on the number of ranks; conversely, the percentage is not based on numerical ranges.
- The percentile has quartiles, while the percentage has no quartiles.
- The percentile is usually based on the comparison of one case with all other cases, while the percentage is usually based on a single case in a situation.
- The percentile is based on the normal distribution; on the other hand, the percentage does not have a normal distribution.
Final Thought
The above discussion concludes that the percentile has percentage values that are below and have a normal distribution, while the percentage has a total value of 100 with no normal distribution.