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Percent Symbol (%)

The percent symbol (%) means 'out of every hundred' — 50% is exactly half.

Percent Sign · U+0025 · Math Symbols

Click the symbol or the button to copy it, then paste it anywhere — documents, messages, bios and code.

Percent Symbol codes

Code	Value
Unicode code point	`U+0025`
Unicode name	`Percent Sign`
HTML named entity	`&percnt;`
HTML decimal	`%`
HTML hex	`%`
CSS content code	`\25`
JavaScript / JSON	`\u0025`
Windows Alt code	No standard Alt code — copy it from the card above
LaTeX	`\%`

Percent Symbol variants (3)

3 related glyphs — click any tile to copy it. Tiles with a page open that symbol's own page.

‰Per Mille Sign‱Per Ten Thousand Sign％Fullwidth Percent Sign

Meaning & usage

The % sign grew out of the Italian phrase 'per cento' (for each hundred), scribbled smaller and smaller until it became two little zeros split by a slash. It is how the whole world talks about discounts, tax, battery life, exam scores and interest rates.

Watch for its rarer relatives: ‰ is per thousand (used for alcohol and salinity) and ‱ is per ten thousand. Style guides differ on the space before % — most English usage writes 50% with no space.

Examples in use

50% off everything today
Battery at 12% — charge soon
She scored 98% in the exam

How to type the percent symbol

Windows

Press Shift+5 — the Percent Symbol is a standard keyboard character.

Mac

Press Shift+5 — the same as on Windows.

iPhone & Android

The % sign is on the main symbol keyboard of every phone.

Linux

Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 0025 and press Enter (works in most GTK apps and terminals with IBus). Or copy it from this page.

Frequently asked questions

Where is % on the keyboard?

It is Shift+5 on most layouts, and on phone symbol keyboards it is a primary key.

What does ‰ mean?

The per mille sign ‰ works exactly like % but per thousand instead of per hundred — 10‰ is 1%. It appears in blood-alcohol limits and water salinity.

Why does % sometimes show as a box or question mark?

The box (called tofu) means the device or font viewing it has no drawing for U+0025 (Percent Sign). The character itself is fine — try a different font or a newer device, or use one of the variants on this page.

Is the Percent Symbol free to use?

Yes. % is a standard Unicode text character published in the Unicode Character Database. You may use it in personal and commercial documents, designs and products without permission or payment.