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Suppose, you have

x=8 y=10 

Then y is 25% more than x, if x is used as the "base" value. If y ist the base, then x is 20% less than y.

So if I want to say, that the difference between x and y is ... percent, what value could I use? I can think of using 22.5% being in the middle between 20% and 25%, but that does not feel well-founded.

Should I not use percentages at all?

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    This is an interesting idea, @Henr$y$! Thank you.2011-07-19

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A percentage can not stand alone, it's always a percentage of something.

You have to specify which number you are using as a base. No way around it...unless of course you work in marketing.

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    @Sebastian: We *can* speak of percentage deviation from the mean. However, the context there is not a mere two observations. Using it on say two prices would be misleading.2011-07-16