A percent frequency distribution can be used to understand what percentage of a distribution is composed of certain values.
The following step-by-step example shows how to create a percent frequency distribution in Excel.
Step 1: Create the Data
First, let’s create a dataset that contains information about 20 different basketball players:
Step 2: Calculate Frequencies
Next, we’ll use the UNIQUE() function to produce an array of unique team values in column A:
Next, we’ll use the COUNTIF() function to count the number of times each team appears:
Step 3: Convert Frequencies to Percentages
Next, we’ll convert each frequency to a percentage by dividing each individual frequency by the sum of the frequencies:
Next, we’ll highlight each of the values in column F and click the percentage (%) icon in the Number group along the top ribbon:
Each value will automatically be displayed as a percentage:
From the output we can see that:
- 35% of all players belong to team A
- 25% of all players belong to team B
- 15% of all players belong to team C
- 25% of all players belong to team D
Note that the percentages add up to 100%.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials offer additional information on how to calculate frequencies in Excel:
How to Calculate Cumulative Frequency in Excel
How to Create a Frequency Distribution in Excel
How to Make a Frequency Polygon in Excel