procentuele

Procentuele is a term used in statistics and data analysis to refer to quantities expressed as percentages or to describe data in percentage terms. In many languages, the root related to percent denotes a portion out of a hundred, and procentuele functions as an adjective meaning “percent” or as a noun referring to multiple percentages. Its etymology traces to Latin per centum, via Old French pour cent, and the English word percentage.

Definition and use: Procentuele describes data that are represented as a portion of a whole, typically calculated as part divided by total and multiplied by 100. It is a standardized way to compare different quantities regardless of the original item sizes. When reporting procentuele values, rounding to an appropriate precision is common.

Calculation example: If 25 of 200 items meet a criterion, the procentuele is (25/200) × 100 = 12.5%. Researchers may present both the percentage and the absolute counts to provide full context.

Applications: Procentuele are used across disciplines such as statistics, survey research, economics, education, and health metrics. They facilitate quick comparisons, for example in market share, error rates, or pass rates. Variants and translations exist in different languages, reflecting the same underlying concept.

Limitations and best practices: Percentages can be misleading when the base total changes or when sample sizes are small. Presenting absolute numbers alongside percentages improves clarity. When base values are unequal across groups, percentages should be interpreted with attention to denominators and context.

See also: percentage, proportion, rate, normalization, confidence interval.