The Lesson

A percentage can be converted to a fraction.

How to Convert a Percentage to a Fraction

Converting a percentage to a fraction is easy. Write the percentage as the top number of the fraction, 100 as the bottom number and then simplify the fraction.

Question

What is 20% as a fraction?

Step-by-Step:

1

Write the percentage (20) as the top number of a fraction (called the numerator).

2

Write 100 as the bottom number of the fraction (called the denominator).

2

Simplify the fraction if possible. The fraction in our example can be simplified by dividing both top and bottom by 20.

Answer:

20% converted to a fraction is 1⁄5.

Lesson Slides

The slider below gives another example of converting a percentage to a fraction.

What Is a Percentage?

A percentage expresses a part of a whole number as parts out of 100. "Per cent" means "per 100" or "out of 100". A percentage is shown by the symbol %.

What Is a Fraction?

Fractions consist of a numerator and a denominator.

The denominator tells you how many equal parts the whole is divided into, and the numerator tells you how many of these parts there are.