Percentage Examples

Worked examples for common percentage calculations.

Example 1: What is 20% of 250?

(20 ÷ 100) × 250 = 0.2 × 250 = 50

Example 2: 45 is what percent of 180?

(45 ÷ 180) × 100 = 0.25 × 100 = 25%

Example 3: Percentage increase

Salary increased from 40,000 to 46,000. What is the percentage increase?

((46,000 − 40,000) ÷ 40,000) × 100 = (6,000 ÷ 40,000) × 100 = 15%

Example 4: Percentage decrease (discount)

Price reduced from 200 to 150. What is the percentage decrease?

((200 − 150) ÷ 200) × 100 = (50 ÷ 200) × 100 = 25%

Example 5: Add 18% tax to 1,000

Tax = 1,000 × (18 ÷ 100) = 180. Total = 1,000 + 180 = 1,180

Example 6: Marks percentage

Obtained: 85, 90, 78, 92. Max each: 100. Total obtained = 345, total max = 400.

Percentage = (345 ÷ 400) × 100 = 86.25%

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Common Indian-context percentage problems

The examples above use generic numbers; the table below shows the same four formulas applied to real situations Indian users actually search for — GST on bills, hike calculation, exam marks, and SIP returns.

Five worked problems with Indian numbers

12% TDS on ₹50,000 freelance invoice: 50,000 × 0.12 = ₹6,000 TDS → ₹44,000 net
CBSE Class 10: 92 out of 100 in maths: 92.0% (best-of-five aggregation depends on board rule)
EMI eats ₹28,000 of ₹80,000 take-home: (28,000 ÷ 80,000) × 100 = 35% — RBI-recommended ceiling is ~40%
SIP corpus grew from ₹4 lakh to ₹6.2 lakh in 3 years: ((6.2 − 4) ÷ 4) × 100 = 55% absolute return → ~15.7% CAGR
Petrol up from ₹95 to ₹103.5 per litre: ((103.5 − 95) ÷ 95) × 100 = 8.95% rise

Note the difference between absolute return (total %) and CAGR (annualised %). Most Indian mutual fund factsheets publish CAGR for periods longer than 1 year; absolute return is reserved for 1-year and shorter windows.