Percentage points are the distance between two marks on a rate scale; percent change compares that distance with the starting mark.
Go deeper
When a rate moves from one percentage to another, subtraction gives the change in percentage points. Percent change instead divides that difference by the starting value and multiplies by 100. Both descriptions can be correct, but they express different things and can sound dramatically different in a headline.
The starting value matters for a relative change. A one-point increase from a low rate is a larger proportional movement than a one-point increase from a high rate. Writing both the starting and ending rates often makes the meaning clearest. The same distinction applies when a rate falls rather than rises.
Make it concrete
Hypothetical example: a rate rises from 4% to 5%. The increase is 1 percentage point. Relative to the original 4%, the increase is 25%, calculated as (5 − 4) ÷ 4 × 100.
When you read a headline
Do not replace “percentage points” with “percent.” Ask what the starting rate was and whether the sentence describes an absolute gap or a proportional change.