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Compatibility function
COVAR
Returns population covariance; replaced by COVARIANCE.P.
Rarely usedDifficulty 1350 · AdvancedUsage rank #367 of 520
When to use it
Population covariance. Replaced by COVARIANCE.P.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=COVAR(array1, array2)
Worked examples
Population
=COVAR({1,2,3,4},{2,4,6,9}) → 2.875
Divides by n.
Another pair
=COVAR({3,2,4,5,6},{9,7,12,15,17}) → 5.2
Another pair of arrays.
Self-covariance
=COVAR(A2:A13,A2:A13) → 2,016,400
With itself, the population variance.
Worth knowing
- COVARIANCE.P is identical; COVARIANCE.S divides by n-1.
- CORREL for a scale-free measure.
- Pairs with blanks are dropped.
Where it goes wrong
- #N/A for mismatched sizes.
- Flagged by the Compatibility Checker.
Related
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