Fraction to percent calculator

Type a fraction such as 3/8, or a mixed number such as 1 1/2. The percent appears as you type, with the division worked below.

When the digits repeat for ever, a bar marks the repeating part, so 1/3 shows as 33.3̅%. The Rounded row gives the same answer to two decimal places.

Divide the top by the bottom to get a decimal, then multiply by 100. For 3/8, 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375, and 0.375 × 100 = 37.5%. Every fraction works this way, even one whose decimal never ends, because the long division stops as soon as a remainder comes round for a second time.

If the bottom number goes into 100, there's a shortcut. For 7/20, multiply the top and bottom by 5 to get 35/100, which is 35%.

A fraction bigger than 1 gives a percent over 100. 3/2 is 150%, and a mixed number such as 2 1/4 is 225%. Negatives stay negative.

The word comes from the Latin per centum, "by the hundred". The % sign grew out of the Italian per cento: writers shortened "cento" to two small circles with a line between them, and the sign we use came from that.

Working in hundredths is older than the word. In ancient Rome, Augustus taxed goods sold at auction at 1/100, which is a 1% tax.