Percentage Points

The simple difference between percentage values.

How to Avoid Confusion with "Percentage Difference"!

If you simply subtract one percentage from another, use the term "Percentage Points" when talking about the difference.

This makes it clear that you do not mean a relative change (ie some fraction of the original value).

Example:

Headline: "Interest Rates Jump From 10% to 12%"

		Is that:		a 20% rise		(12/10 = 1.2 = 120%)
		Or is that:		a 2% rise		(from 10% to 12%)

Is it 20% or just 2%?

Correctly speaking, that was a 20% rise, because "%" is a ratio of two values (the new value divided by the old value).

But people with home loans may think that interest rates went from 10% to 30%, and you don't want them falling down in surprise!

But we can can say it was a rise of 2 Percentage Points.

So here are two correct ways to talk about a rise from 10% to 12%:

	a rise of 20%
	a rise of 2 Percentage Points

When in doubt, use both. For example, "Interest rates increased by 2 Percentage Points today, meaning a 20% increase in interest payments"

Basis Points

In financial markets they often use the term "Basis Points". A Basis Point is one hundredth of a Percentage Point:

0.01 Percentage Points = 1 Basis Point

so:

1 Percentage Point = 100 Basis Points