From Miller’s book, this is a good example to show the difference between percentage, percentile, and percentage change:

-A rise in unemployment rate from 4.2% to 5.3% is a difference of 1.1 percentage points but not a 1.1% rise.

-The percentage change for this number would be a 26% increase: (5.3 – 4.2)/4.2 x 100

-A difference in percentage points and also percentage change can be less than 0 or more than 100. Percentage and percentile both must full between 0 and 100 since they represent a share of a whole. Going back to Learning Module 5, you might remember how percentiles are related to a distribution of values. If you are in the 80th percentile for high, that means 80% of people are at or lower than your height. Percentile, then, is a type of ranking.