Percentage Vs Percentile

 Percentage:

The percentage is the mathematical calculation we use in our day-to-day life. It is the ratio of a number presented out of 100. We usually denote percentage by the symbol “%”.  It indicates the proportionate of a total number. It is easy to use and to understand. 

Example:

For an instance, if a student scored 415 in five subjects out of 500 then his percentage will be 83%. Percentage values are from 0 to 100. It can be either in decimal or in ratios. The formula for finding the percentage is

%age = Value Obtained / Total Value * 100

 Percentile:

The term Percentage is different from Percentile. Percentile is the calculation to determine how you have performed in comparison to others. It is calculated irrespective of the actual score. In short, it is the comparison between similar values. It can’t be written in the form of ratios or in decimals. Its values lie between 0 to 100 same as in percentage.

 Example:

For example, if your percentile is 50th, it does not mean that you have scored 50%. Rather, you have scored better than 50% of people who competed with you. The formula for finding the percentile is

Percentile Formula, P= [n/(N+1)]*100

Where n is the ordinal rank of the given value P is the percentile rank and N is the total number of a score in a distribution.

Data or marks are divided into four quarters. These are commonly known as Quartiles. The very first and lowest quartile is defined as Q1 and its value is the 25th percentile. This means the scores fall below this value. The second quartile is Q2, which is also called Median. The value of the median is the 50th percentile. Here, the first half of the scores is higher and the rest of the half of the scores is lower. The last and the final quartile is Q3. The value of this quartile is the 75th percentile.

 Uses:

We can use percentiles to better understand test results, health indicators, and bio-metric measurements. But percentile is most commonly used in test results for competitive exams like Neet, JEE, CAT, etc. It can also be used in the calculation of child’s growth chart. The pediatricians use percentile to state the information about the height and weight of the children. Percentile is used to define the height and weight of the children under the same age group. By the use of this percentile, parents compare their child’s growth with other children.