below the average vs under the average

Both 'below the average' and 'under the average' are correct and commonly used phrases in English. They are interchangeable and can be used to indicate something is less than the average value.

Last updated: March 23, 2024 • 1559 views

below the average

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to indicate that something is less than the average value in a comparison.

Examples:

Her test scores were below the average for the class.
The company's profits were below the average for the industry.
The temperature is below the average for this time of year.

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The report states that since the beginning of the liberalisation process, sectoral pay developments in all but three countries have been below the average.
The concept of average returns necessarily implies that the profitability of many enterprises is below the average in their industry.
The total amount of the issues is far below the average for France Télécom over the period 1997-2003.
September 2001, but declined as the krona recovered against the euro thereafter, and at the beginning of 2002 it was clearly below the average level for the period under review.
That is why, although the approval ratings are below the average for the candidate countries, the accession referendum in Estonia too should produce a vote in favour of EU membership.
Indeed, a comparison of the utilisation rates of the arrangement for LDC's with the average utilisation rate for the whole scheme, allows concluding that the EBA regime has been performing below the average for the three years under consideration.
The intermediate category contradicts the principle of converging European regions whose development is below the average European Union level.
Furthermore, the prices at which PAC is currently being imported have been established to be dumped and lie far below the average sales prices (and costs) of the Community industry.
The proportion of the agricultural workforce taking part in skills training is below the average for the workforce as a whole in the EU.
Moreover, as is always found in the Unioncamere study, the average disposable income for households in 2009 was at least 71.2 % of the national figure and four points below the average in the south.
The Portuguese authorities indicate that the profits were between 30 % and 39,5 %, which, in their opinion, represents a margin that is fair or even slightly below the average for economic activities.
Welcomes the increase in average staff per EUR 10 million managed from 4,1 in 1999 to 4,8 in 2004; regrets that this figure remains well below the average for European donors and is now falling;
Insists that all forms of dumping be prohibited and be defined as exports made at prices below the average full production cost, taking into account all types of upstream and downstream subsidies and crosssubsidisation;
Insists that all forms of dumping be prohibited and be defined as exports made at prices below the average full production cost, taking into account all types of upstream and downstream subsidies and cross-subsidisation;
Welcomes the increase in average staff per EUR 10 million managed from 4,1 in 1999 to 4,8 in 2004; regrets that this figure remains well below the average for European donors and is now falling;
), with a utilisation rate of 90,21%, below the average of the other institutions (93,82%);
), representing an increase of nearly 20% as compared with 2006, with a utilisation rate of 86,14%, below the average of the other institutions (93,84%);
), with a utilisation rate of 81,44 %, below the average of the other institutions (97,69 %);
Internet use by the Spanish public is increasing at the same rate as the Union average, although the percentages of habitual users (58 %) and frequent users (44 %) are still below the average.
In Spain, the implicit tax rate on energy - an indicator that measures the tax revenue that arises from energy use and that helps foster energy efficiency - is way below the average for the EU as a whole.

Alternatives:

less than the average
lower than the average
beneath the average
under the average
not up to the average

under the average