2.5a Frequencies and Percentages
Frequency
Frequency is a count of how often something occurs. For example, 156,302,318 out of 244,604,566 eligible voters in the United States went to the polls in 2024 (Lindsay, 2024). In the United Kingdom, 28,809,340 out of 48,253,193 eligible voters voted in 2024 (House of Commons, 2025). However, these whole numbers need to be converted to percentages so that they can be compared. A percentage is a number that states the data as a fraction of 100. Thus, among eligible voters, 63.9% voted in the United States, and 59.70% voted in the United Kingdom.
Table 2.2 presents frequencies without percentages, and shows that more U.S. women 70 and older have ever been married than men in the same category: 17,698,110 women compared to 13,212,900 men. However, the totals show more women aged 70 than men. The numbers can not be compared unless they are reported as percentages. Table 2.3 shows the same data as percentages. The percentages in this table allow the data for men and women to be compared. At age 70 or older, about the same percentage of men (95.4%) and women (95.1%) have ever been married.
Table 2.2
Marital History of People Aged 70 and Older Using Frequencies
| Marital Status | Men (Number) | Women (Number) |
| Never Married | 637,100 | 911,890 |
| Ever Married | 13,212,900 | 17,698,110 |
| Married Once | 9,071,750 | 13,138,660 |
| Married Twice | 3,019,300 | 3,480,070 |
| Married Three or More Times | 1,108,000 | 1,079,380 |
| Total | 13,850,000 | 18,610,000 |
Based on data from Mayol-García, Y., Gurrentz, B., & Kreider, R. M. (2021, April). Number, timing, and duration of marriages and divorces: 2016. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p70-167.html. In the public domain.
Table 2.3
Marital History of People Aged 70 and Older Using Frequencies and Percentages
| Marital Status | Men | Women | ||
| (Number) | (%) | (Number) | (%) | |
| Never Married | 637,100 | 4.6 | 911,890 | 4.9 |
| Ever Married | 13,212,900 | 95.4 | 17,698,110 | 95.1 |
| Married Once | 9,071,750 | 65.5 | 13,138,660 | 70.6 |
| Married Twice | 3,019,300 | 21.8 | 3,480,070 | 18.7 |
| Married Three or More Times | 1,108,000 | 8.0 | 1,079,380 | 5.8 |
| Total | 13,850,000 | 100 | 18,610,000 | 100 |
Based on data from Mayol-García, Y., Gurrentz, B., & Kreider, R. M. (2021, April). Number, timing, and duration of marriages and divorces: 2016. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p70-167.html. In the public domain.