percentage. percentage points.

A percentage increase is not the same as a percentage point increase.

If a number increases from 20% to 22%, that’s a difference of two percentage points. It’s not two percent.

Use percentage to describe the difference between two whole numbers. For example:

“Sales jumped from $90K to $150K, or 66%.”

Use percentage points to describe the difference between two percentages:

“Trump’s approval rating has dropped 10 percentage points, from 40% to 30%.”