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Economics vocabulary · Economic News and Data

Percentage point

Meaning in economics, with examples

nounCore term

In economics, percentage point means: The simple difference between two percentages: a rise from 3% to 5% is an increase of two percentage points, not of 2%.

In Turkish: yüzde puan, puan

How it is used

Essential for reading news about rates: unemployment rose by half a percentage point; the bank raised rates by two percentage points. Often shortened to points in speech and to pp or ppt in writing.

Example sentences

  1. Unemployment fell by 0.3 percentage points to 8.9%.

  2. The central bank raised its policy rate by five percentage points in a single meeting.

Common collocations

  • by one percentage point
  • half a percentage point
  • a percentage point rise
  • percentage points higher
  • basis pointOne hundredth of a percentage point (0.01%), used to describe small changes in interest rates and bond yields precisely.
  • interest rateThe price of borrowing money, shown as a yearly percentage of the amount borrowed; for savers, it is the return they earn on deposits.
  • unemploymentThe situation of people who have no job but are available for work and actively looking for one; also the number or share of such people.
  • inflationA general and continuing rise in the prices of goods and services in an economy, which means each unit of money buys less over time.

More terms: Economic News and Data

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.