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The average (also called the arithmetic mean) is the most common way to summarize a set of numbers into a single representative value. It's calculated by adding up all the values and dividing by how many there are.
The average, or arithmetic mean, is a measure of central tendency — a single number that represents the "typical" value in a data set. It's one of three common central tendency measures, alongside the median and mode. In everyday use, "average" and "mean" refer to the same calculation.
Average = (Sum of all values) ÷ (Number of values)The average is sensitive to outliers — a single very high or very low value can pull the average away from what most of the data actually looks like. For example, average household income is often much higher than the typical (median) household income, because a small number of very high earners pull the average up. In cases like this, the median often gives a more representative picture.
For more on how outliers distort an average, see Khan Academy's lesson on mean, median, and mode.
Yes, in everyday and academic use, "average" and "arithmetic mean" refer to the same calculation: sum divided by count. There are other types of averages (like median or geometric mean), but "average" without qualification almost always means the arithmetic mean.
A single extreme value can shift the average significantly, especially in small data sets. Since every value is added into the total, one very large or very small number pulls the average in that direction.
The average uses every value in the calculation, while the median is simply the middle value when the data is sorted. The median is less affected by outliers, which makes it more representative for skewed data.
Yes, but be careful: if the percentages come from groups of different sizes, a simple average can be misleading. In that case, a weighted average that accounts for group size gives a more accurate result.