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Statistical function

STDEV.P

Returns the standard deviation of an entire population.

OccasionalDifficulty 1200 · ProficientUsage rank #120 of 520

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When to use it

Population standard deviation, using n in the denominator. Correct when the data is the whole population: every store, every employee, every order in the period.

The shape of it

Syntax: =STDEV.P(number1, [number2], ...)

Worked examples

Eight values
=STDEV.P(2,4,4,4,5,5,7,9) → 2
Sum of squared deviations 32 divided by 8, square root.
Every store
=STDEV.P(A2:A51) → 0.85
Spread across all 50 stores.
Compared with the sample version
=STDEV.P(B2:B13) → 1,360
Slightly smaller than STDEV.S on the same data.

Worth knowing

On large data the two versions barely differ; on small samples STDEV.P understates the spread.
If in doubt, use STDEV.S.
Works with one value (returns 0), unlike STDEV.S.

Where it goes wrong

Using it on a sample understates uncertainty.
Text and blanks are ignored.

AVERAGE COUNT COUNTA COUNTIF COUNTIFS MAX

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