1 Percentages

Articles you read and newscasts you may watch or listen to often mention the results of surveys and studies in percents. Literally, per cent means per one hundred. So 25 per cent means ‘25 out of one hundred.’

One of the reasons percentages are useful is that you can compare them easily. For example, if a restaurant noted that 42 per cent of customers opted for a meat dish, 35 per cent chose a vegetarian dish and 23 per cent ordered fish, you can quickly conclude that the meat dish was most popular.

Note that the preferences of the customers in the example above will add up to 100; in this case .