How to Calculate Growth Percentage with Formula in Excel

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In terms of calculation, MS Excel provides many opportunities to make our calculation process simple and efficient. In this article, I will show you how to calculate the growth percentage formula using Excel.


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Calculating Growth Percentage in Excel

For calculating growth percentage in Excel, we must have at least two values. For instance, if we have two numbers, then to find the percentage increment, we will first determine the difference between two numbers and then divide the acquired value with a shorter number among both values. After that, we will get the answer in decimal. Then to convert this value into a percentage, we need to click on the % symbol located in the Home menu’s Number section in Excel.

The syntax is something like this:

(Difference / Total) *100 = Percentage

But in MS Excel, we do not need to multiply 100. Instead, we can use this formula to find out the percentage:

Difference / Total = Percentage

But here, we will discuss the growth percentage calculation in Excel. For this, we can use the following formula:

= Total Amount * (1 + %) or

= ( Current Value / Previous Value) – 1 or

= ( Current Value  – Previous Value) / Previous Value


Five Easy Ways to Calculate Growth Percentage with Excel Formula

In this article, we will discuss 5 ways to calculate the growth percentage formula in Excel. Firstly, we will get the percentage increase between the two numbers. Secondly, we will evaluate percentage growth with a specific percentage. Then, we will try to find out the original price from percentage growth. After that, we will calculate the percentage increase on yearly basis. Finally, we will calculate the final annual growth.


1. Calculating Growth Percentage Between Two Numbers in Excel

To show this process, let’s assume we have a dataset of products with sales records for the last two years. Now we will find out the sales increase in percentages between these two years using the below formula:

= (Current Sales / Previous Sales) – 1

Steps:

  • Firstly, select the first cell E5 of Increase of Sales and enter the following formula:
=(D5/C5)-1
  • Hit Enter.

inserting formula to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • Then, copy down the formula up to E10.

  • After that, right click on it and select Format Cells.
  • Consequently, a prompt will appear on the screen.

formatting cells to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • From the prompt, first, select the Percentage option under Category.
  • Then, you could change the Decimal places of the percentage.
  • Finally, click OK.

using format cells prompt to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • As a result, all the values on the E column will be converted into percentages.

calculating growth percentage between two numbers to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

Note:

You can convert the values easily using the following steps:

  • Go to Home Tab.
  • Go to the Number section and select the % option. 
  • Increase or decrease the decimal places by clicking that option.

Read More: How to Calculate Percentage of Sales in Excel (5 Suitable Methods)


2. Calculating Growth Percentage Increased by a Specific Percentage in Excel

Here I will show the same growth percentage techniques where a specific percentage will increase it. For this, I will be using the formula below:

= Total Amount * (1+Specific Percentage (%))

For this, let’s consider a data set of a product list and its price. Now we will calculate the cost of each product after 15% VAT.

Steps:

  • Firstly, enter the following formula in the D column’s first cell D5.
=C5*(1+15%)
  • Then, hit the Enter button.

  • Consequently, we will get a 15% increase.
  • Then, copy down the formula for the other cells up to D10.

Read More: How to Calculate Dividend Growth Rate in Excel (3 Methods)


3. Calculating Original Price by Using Growth Percentage

To get the original price or value from any percent change, we can get help from Excel. Let’s assume we have to extract the original value from any given dataset where products are listed with their percent change and current price.  Using the following formula, we will calculate the original price:

= Current Price / ( Percent + 1 )

Steps:

  • To begin with, enter the formula below in cell E5,
=D5/(C5+1)
  • Then, hit Enter.

inserting formula to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • As a result, you will get all the Original Prices of each product.
  • Then, copy down the formula up to E10.

calculating original price to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

Read More: How to Use the Exponential Growth Formula in Excel (2 Methods)


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4. Calculating Growth Percentage Between Yearly Total Sales Data in Excel

Now for describing this method, let’s consider a product dataset with its yearly total sales. I will show how to calculate the growth percentage between yearly total sales data in Excel using the same formula used in method 1, but it will be row-wise. The formula will be:

= (Current Sales / Previous Sales ) – 1

Steps:

  • To start with, insert the formula below in the second cell D6 of the Growth Percentage column
=(C6-C5)/C5
  • Hit Enter.

entering formula to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • As a result, we will get the yearly growth percentage for the year 2013-14.
  • Finally, move the cursor down to the D9 cell to autofill the cells.

calculating growth percentage on yearly basis to show how to calculate growth percentage formula in excel

  • After that, upon selecting the cells go to the Home tab.
  • Then, select the % sign under the Number option.

  • Consequently, all the values will be in a percentage format.

Read More: How to Calculate Revenue Growth Rate in Excel (3 Methods)


5. Calculating Final Annual Growth

In business, we need to calculate final or annual growth to measure development progress every year. Excel helps us in this way also. I will show you how to calculate the final gain by using the growth percentage in Excel.

Let’s have data on the yearly sales of any company. Now we will calculate the annual growth rate in percentage. We can calculate the final growth in two ways.

  • Calculating Final Compound Annual Growth Rate in Excel
  • Calculating Final Average Annual Growth Rate in Excel

5.1 Calculating Compound Annually Final Growth Rate in Excel

Here I will calculate the final compound annual growth rate using this formula.

=((End Value/Start Value)^(1/Periods) -1

Steps:

  • Firstly, type the following formula in the E5 cell,
=(C10/C5)^(1/(6-1))-1
  • Then, press Enter.

  • As a result, we will get the annual final growth percentage. But not in a percentage format.

  • Then, we will calculate and show the result in percentage.
  • To do that, first, go to the Home tab.
  • Choose the % sign under the Number option.

  • Consequently, we will get the annual growth rate in a percentage format.

Read More: Calculate Percentage Using Absolute Cell Reference in Excel (4 Methods)


5.2 Calculating Average Annually Final Growth Rate in Excel

Consider the same example above, but here we will calculate the average annually final growth rate using the below formula:

= (Last Value – First Value) / First Value

Finally, we will use the AVERAGE function to calculate the average value of all the years.

Steps:

  • Firstly, we will calculate the Average Growth Rate in the D column using this formula below in cell D6:
=(C6-C5)/C6
  • Then, hit Enter.

  • Consequently, we will get the percent growth rate by year.
  • Then, lower the cursor down to autofill the rest of the cells.
  • As a result, we will get the annual growth values not in percentage form.

  • Then, go to the Home tab.
  • From the Number, option selects the % sign.
  • As a result, we will get all the values in a percentage format.

  • After that, select the F5 cell and write the following formula,
=AVERAGE(D6:D10)
  • Then, hit Enter.

  • As a result, we will get the average annual growth percentage rate.

Read More: How to Calculate Monthly Growth Rate in Excel (2 Methods)


How to Calculate Percentage Decrease in Excel

The percent decrease is the amount decreased from the initial value. This is the same as the percent increase that we discussed earlier. But in this case, the initial value is greater than the final value.

Steps:

  • Firstly, select the E5 cell and write the following formula down,
=(D5/C5)-1
  • Then, hit Enter.

  • Consequently, we will get a percent decrease in the year 2020 and it will not be in a percentage form.
  • Now, move the cursor to autofill the rest of the cells.

  • Then, upon selecting all the data, go to the Home tab.
  • From there, select the % sign under the Number option.

  • As a result, all the data will be transformed into percentage formats.

Read More: Calculate Reverse Percentage in Excel (4 Easy Examples)


Conclusion

Thus, we can calculate growth or increment percentage formula in Excel most efficiently and perfectly. Here I have discussed every formula and its implementation. I have also provided a downloadable file for practicing and better understanding.


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Md. Abdullah Al Murad

Md. Abdullah Al Murad

Hello! Welcome to my Profile. Currently, I am working and researching Microsoft Excel, and here I will be posting articles related to this. My last educational degree is BSc, and my program was Computer Science and Engineering from American International University-Bangladesh. I am a Computer Science graduate with a great interest in research and development. Always try to gather knowledge from various sources and try to make innovative solutions.

3 Comments
  1. Reply
    Md Sabbir Hossain Jun 16, 2021 at 5:52 PM

    Thanks for sharing. Very informative article.

  2. Thank you! This is exactly what I needed!

    • Dear Elizabeth,

      You are most welcome. We are so glad that our article fulfilled your need.

      Regards
      ExcelDemy

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