Átlag

Átlag (Hungarian for "average") is a general term for summary measures that describe the central tendency of a set of values. In everyday language it often refers to the arithmetic mean, calculated by summing all observations and dividing by their number, but in statistics the concept includes several distinct measures used in different contexts.

Common types of átlag include the arithmetic mean, median and mode. The arithmetic mean is sensitive to extreme values, while the median—the middle value when observations are ordered—better represents central tendency in skewed distributions. The mode denotes the most frequent value in a dataset. Other variants are the weighted mean, geometric mean and harmonic mean, each appropriate when observations carry different importance or when combining rates and growth factors.

Átlag is widely used in education, economics, science and public statistics to summarize large datasets, compare groups and inform decision making. Its interpretation requires care: different averages can give different impressions of the same data, and reliance on a single measure can obscure variability, distribution shape and outliers. Complementary statistics such as variance, standard deviation and percentiles are often reported alongside átlag to provide a fuller picture.

In language and culture, átlag is also used colloquially to indicate what is typical or standard. Its proper use depends on selecting the measure that fits the data characteristics and the question being asked.