• thanks_shakey_snake
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    1 month ago

    Whoa do “percent” and “percentage points” actually refer to different things?

    • sushibowl@feddit.nl
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      1 month ago

      Yeah, “percentage points” is used to refer to a difference between two percentages.

      For example, let’s say some company previously held 25% of the market, but grew and is now holding 50% of the market. The company’s market share actually doubled in size, which we could call an increase of 100%. Or, looking at it another way, because they grew from 25% to 50%, you can call it an increase of 25 percentage points.

      • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Sounds like “percentage points” provides less information to the viewer, which explains the context I most often see it used.

    • Ross_audio@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Yes. If you have a half full battery it’s at 50% full.

      If the charge goes up by 50% you get a 75% full battery.

      If the charge goes up by 50 percentage points it goes up to 100%