The percent sign (%) is the symbol used to indicate a percentage (that the preceding number is divided by one hundred). It is represented in Unicode by U+0025.

Related signs include the permille sign ‰ (Unicode: U+0025) and the per ten thousand sign ‱ (Unicode: U+2031; also known as a basis point), which indicates that a number is divided by one thousand or ten thousand respectively. Higher proportions use parts-per notation.

Evolution

---

The symbol evolved from a symbol similar except for a horizontal line instead of diagonal (c. 1650), which in turn evolved from an abbreviation of "P cento" (c. 1425, from the Italian per cento "for a hundred").

Image:Percent 1425.png|"%" in the 15th century, an abbreviation of per cento Image:Percent 1650.PNG|"%" in the 17th century, with only the o from cento remaining Image:Percent 18e.PNG|"%" as soon as the 18th century; note the diagonal line

See also

---

• Punctuation
• Special characters

References

---

Punctuation | Typography | Mathematical symbols