Percentage · lesson 11 of 20 · free

Percentage decrease — How to calculate percentage

When something falls — water in a tank, runs in a match, a price in a sale — the percentage decrease compares the fall with the starting value.

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How to work it out

The old value is 100% — “percentage decrease = decrease ÷ old value × 100”

  1. Decrease = old value − new value.
  2. Percentage decrease = decrease ÷ old value × 100.
  3. Decrease by p%: new value = old value − p% of the old value.

Use it for: Price cuts, water or fuel used up, falling scores, and the value of things going down over time.

🧮 Check your own sums with the free Percentage calculator — it shows the working.

Worked example: A tank had 80 litres of water. Now it has 68 litres. What is the percentage decrease? → 15

  1. Decrease = 80 − 68 = 12.
  2. Percentage decrease = decrease ÷ OLD value × 100 = 12 ÷ 80 × 100.
  3. 12 × 100 = 1200, and 1200 ÷ 80 = 15. So it is 15%.

Check: 15% of 80 = 12, and 80 − 12 = 68 ✓

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🖨️ Percentage Decrease Practice Worksheet

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