November 7th, 2011

Percentages may not add up to 100%, but not for the reason you suggest

I saw a chart which had the disclaimer, “Percentages may not add up to 100%, as they are rounded to the nearest percent.” The values in the table were 10.4%, 4.0%, 9.4%, 9.3%, 9.2%, 21.2%, 20.0%, and 15.8%.

This is a use of the phrase “nearest percent” I was previously unfamiliar with.

Author

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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