Absolute Frequency and Relative Frequency
Absolute frequency is how often something happens. Relative frequency compares that count to the whole: count ÷ total. The relative frequencies always add up to 1, or 100%.

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What Is Absolute Frequency?
- It tells you the exact number of times something happens
- Adding all absolute frequencies gives the total number of data values
What Is Relative Frequency?
- It tells you how big each category is, as a fraction or percentage
- Adding all relative frequencies gives 1, or
How to Calculate Absolute and Relative Frequency?
- Relative frequency = absolute frequency of the category ÷ total number
- Absolute frequency = relative frequency of the category × total number
Practice Questions
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The frequency table below shows the grades achieved by a class of 25 students. How many students obtained the grade Satisfactory?

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All five frequencies must add up to the class total of 25 students.
The four known frequencies add to .
So the missing Satisfactory frequency is students. Checking: .
The table below shows the results of a survey of favourite activities among 50 students. How many students chose Sports as their favourite activity?

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A relative frequency of means 40 out of every 100, which as a decimal is .
To turn a relative frequency into an absolute frequency, multiply by the total count: .
So 20 students chose Sports. As a check, the four activities give students.
The table below shows how the 80 students in Class M travel to school. How many more students take the bus than cycle?

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First turn each relative frequency into an absolute frequency by multiplying by the total of 80 students.
Bus: students. Cycle: students.
"How many more" means subtract: students. Note that the answer must be a number of students, not a difference in percentages.
The table below shows the methods of payment used by customers at a supermarket on one day. How many degrees of a pie chart correspond to customers who paid with cash?

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First find the total number of customers: .
Cash was used by 50 of them, so the cash fraction is .
A full pie chart is , so the cash sector is .
The table below shows the results of a survey on students’ favourite fruits among 60 students in Class Q. What is the relative frequency of students who prefer bananas, and how many degrees of a pie chart does this represent?

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The frequencies add to , which matches the class size.
Relative frequency of bananas: .
A full pie chart is , so the banana sector is .
The pie chart below represents the favourite drinks of 90 students. How many students prefer Milk? How many degrees of the pie chart correspond to it?

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The Milk sector is labelled of the chart, which as a decimal is .
Number of students: students.
Angle: a full pie chart is , so the Milk sector is . The angle depends only on the percentage, while the number of students depends on the total of 90.
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Absolute Frequency and Relative Frequency frequently asked questions
The questions students bump into most on this topic
Absolute frequency counts how many times a category appears in a data set. Relative frequency shows that count as a proportion of the total. If 5 out of 25 students walk to school, the absolute frequency is 5 and the relative frequency is 20%. Absolute frequency uses whole numbers, while relative frequency uses fractions, decimals, or percentages.
Yes. The sum of all relative frequencies in a data set always equals 1 (or 100%). Every item belongs to exactly one category. If your relative frequencies do not add up to 1, you have made a calculation error. This rule gives you a useful way to double-check your working in exam questions.
You find relative frequency by dividing the absolute frequency of a category by the total count. If 12 out of 25 students take the bus, the relative frequency is 12 ÷ 25 = 0.48, or 48%. You can express the result as a fraction, decimal, or percentage depending on what the question requires.
No. Relative frequency represents a proportion of the total, so it always falls between 0 and 1 (or 0% and 100%). A value of 0 means the category never occurs, while 1 means every data point belongs to that category. If your result exceeds 1, check you divided the absolute frequency by the total count.