Learn English – difference between “increase of ” and “increase by”

prepositions

Is there any difference between there was an increase of 2% and “there was an increase by 2%”?

Best Answer

The former sounds better to me. The preposition "by" would be more appropriate if you had used "increase" as a verb instead of a noun. (i.e., "It increased by 2%" as opposed to "There was an increase of 2%.")