12.6.4  Cumulative percentage

The cumulative percentage for a given category means the percentage of people who fall into that category, or a lower category. To work out the cumulative percentage for each category, you just have to add the percentage for that category to all of the percentages for the categories which are lower. Table 12.7 shows an example of cumulative percentages using the same data as in Table 12.6. It is a way of presenting the same data in a more descriptive way.

Table 12.7  Percentage and cumulative percentage of females by age group.
Age groupNumber of womenPercentage of the totalCumulative percentage
under 302001717
30–404003350
41–503502979
over 5025021100
all ages1200100100

12.6.3  Proportion and percentage

12.7  Ethical considerations