< Percent Calculators

Percent to Decimal Calculator

Convert a percent to its decimal equivalent. Two calculation methods are shown.

%

Examples: Convert 5 percent to decimal, convert 50 percent to decimal

About Percentages and Converting to Decimal

Percent is really two words: per cent, where per means for each, and cent, derived from the latin word centum, means "hundred". We often think of a cent in the US monetary system as being a penny, but it, too, is derived from centum, and means one hundredth of a dollar.

So when a number is a percent, it represents what part of 100 that number is. For example, 10% means 10 out of 100, 50% means 50 of 100, and 100% means 100 out of 100.

A percent is often seen as being more than 100, such as 125% or 300%. Percents more than 100% are still caclulated based on per one hundred, and in these case, it means there are more than 100 per 100. For example, 125% means that for every 100, there are 125.

Calculating the decimal number corresponding to a percentage number is done by first dropping the percentage sign, and then dividing the number by 100. Some examples:

  • Convert 10% to Decimal: 10 / 100 = .10
  • Convert 50% to Decimal: 50 / 100 = .50
  • Convert 100% to Decimal: 100 / 100 = 1
  • Convert 125% to Decimal: 125 / 100 = 1.25

There's another way to convert a percent to a decimal. First remove the percent sign from the number. Then move the decimal to the left by 2 places. If there is no decimal place, first place it at the end of the number. Also, pad the number with 1 to 2 zeros to the left of the number, if needed.

Example: Convert 10% to decimal

  1. Drop the % sign. 10% = 10
  2. Add the decimal point. 10 = 10.
  3. Move the decimal point 2 places to the left. 10. = .10

Example: Convert 1% to decimal

  1. Drop the % sign. 1% = 1
  2. Add the decimal point. 1 = 1.
  3. Pad the number with 1 zero. 1. = 01.
  4. Move the decimal point 2 places to the left. 01. = .01

The reason for padding the number with at most 2 zeroes is shown in the above example. We need to move the decimal 2 places to the left, and to make that possible there needs to be 2 places. When there are not, that's accomplished by adding leading zeros. In the above example, only 1 leading 0 was needed.

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