What Is Percentage?
A percentage expresses a number as a fraction of 100. The symbol % comes from the Latin per centum, meaning "per hundred." Percentages are universal in everyday life — exam scores, bank interest rates, salary hikes, tax rates, price discounts, election results, nutritional labels, and weather forecasts all use percentages as the primary way to express proportions.
Understanding how to calculate percentages accurately is one of the most practical and frequently needed mathematical skills. Our four-mode percentage calculator covers every common scenario — whether you need to find what percentage a number is of a total, measure how much something has changed, convert raw marks to a percentage score, or reverse-engineer an original value from a percentage-adjusted final figure.
Percentage Formulas
1. Percentage of a Number
2. Percentage Change (Increase / Decrease)
3. Marks Percentage
4. Reverse Percentage
Real-Life Percentage Calculations — Worked Examples
Shopping Discounts
A shirt costs PKR 2,400 and is on sale at 30% off. Discount amount = 30% of 2,400 = PKR 720. Sale price = 2,400 − 720 = PKR 1,680. To reverse this: if you only know the sale price is PKR 1,680 after a 30% discount, original = 1,680 ÷ 0.70 = PKR 2,400.
Salary & Pay Raises
Your monthly salary is PKR 85,000 and you receive a 12% annual raise. New salary = 85,000 × 1.12 = PKR 95,200/month. Annual increase = 85,000 × 0.12 × 12 = PKR 122,400/year. Use the % Change tab to verify raises or negotiate: if your salary went from PKR 70,000 to PKR 84,000, that is exactly a 20% increase.
Bank Interest
You deposit PKR 500,000 in a savings account at 8% annual profit rate. Annual profit = 8% of 500,000 = PKR 40,000. Monthly profit = 40,000 ÷ 12 = PKR 3,333. To calculate what rate you need to earn PKR 50,000 per year on PKR 500,000: rate = (50,000 ÷ 500,000) × 100 = 10%.
Tax Calculations
A product is priced at PKR 3,600 including 18% GST (General Sales Tax). To find the pre-tax price: original = 3,600 ÷ 1.18 = PKR 3,050.85. Tax amount = 3,600 − 3,050.85 = PKR 549.15. This reverse percentage calculation is used daily in accounting, invoicing, and financial reporting.
Percentage in Everyday Pakistan Life
Percentages appear in every aspect of daily financial and academic life in Pakistan. Understanding them well is a practical skill that directly affects your money and decisions:
- FBR Income Tax (2026): Income up to PKR 600,000/year is tax-exempt. The 600K–1.2M bracket is taxed at 5%, 1.2M–2.4M at 15%, and so on. Your effective tax rate is a percentage of total income.
- Property Tax: Property tax in Pakistan is typically 0.5–1% of assessed value annually. On a PKR 2 crore property, annual tax is PKR 1–2 lakh.
- Inflation Rate 2026: Pakistan's inflation rate as of mid-2026 is approximately 7%. This means PKR 100 of goods in June 2025 costs PKR 107 today. Your salary needs to grow by at least 7% just to maintain the same purchasing power.
- Bank Profit Rates: Regular savings accounts offer 5–7% annual profit in 2026. Fixed deposits offer 8–11%. Understanding these as percentages helps you compare and choose the right product.
- Exam Results: Pakistani boards (FBISE, Punjab, Sindh) express results as percentages. HEC's scholarship criteria, university admissions, and civil service tests all use percentage cutoffs.
Grade Classification by Percentage (Pakistan 2026)
| Percentage | Grade | Division / Class |
|---|---|---|
| 90%–100% | A+ / A | Outstanding / Distinction |
| 80%–89% | A / A− | Excellent / First Division |
| 70%–79% | B | Good / First Division |
| 60%–69% | C | Average / Second Division |
| 50%–59% | D | Pass / Third Division |
| Below 50% | F | Fail |
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the Marks % tab above. Enter your obtained marks and total marks. The calculator applies (Obtained ÷ Total) × 100. For example, 360 out of 400 gives 90%. It also shows your grade classification based on Pakistan's standard marking scheme.
Use the % Change tab. Enter your old salary as Old Value and new salary as New Value. The formula ((New−Old)÷Old)×100 gives the exact percentage increase. For example, an increase from PKR 80,000 to PKR 96,000 is exactly a 20% salary hike.
Use the Reverse % tab. Select "Was decreased by %" and enter the discounted price as Final Value and discount percentage. For example, a product costs PKR 850 after a 15% discount — original = 850 ÷ 0.85 = PKR 1,000. This is useful for shopping, tax-inclusive pricing, and financial analysis.
20% of 5,000 = (20 ÷ 100) × 5,000 = 1,000. Use the "% of Number" tab above — enter 20 and 5000 to confirm. This type of calculation is used daily for tipping at restaurants, calculating tax portions, or finding commission amounts.
Use the % Change tab with the first number as Old Value and second as New Value. A positive result indicates a percentage increase; negative indicates a decrease. Note that "percentage difference" (absolute, direction-neutral) uses the average of both numbers as the denominator: |A−B| ÷ ((A+B)÷2) × 100.
450 out of 600 = (450 ÷ 600) × 100 = 75%. Use the Marks % tab — enter 450 obtained and 600 total. This grade falls in the B category (Good / First Division) under Pakistan's standard grading scheme. For SSC/HSSC, a 75% score is a strong First Division result.
Standard GST in Pakistan is 18% for most goods. To find GST-exclusive price from a GST-inclusive total: divide total by 1.18. For example, PKR 11,800 including GST → pre-tax price = 11,800 ÷ 1.18 = PKR 10,000, GST = PKR 1,800. Use the Reverse % tab: enter 11,800 as Final Value and 18 as percentage, select "Was increased by %".
10% of PKR 50,000 = PKR 5,000. New value after 10% increase = PKR 55,000. Use the "% of Number" tab: 10% of 50,000 = 5,000. This is useful for salary negotiations, inflation adjustments, and price mark-ups. A quick mental shortcut: to find 10% of any number, simply move the decimal point one place to the left.