Uses

Arithmetic mean is widely used because of the following reasons:

1. Mean is the simplest average to understand and easy to compute.

2. It is relatively reliable in the sense that it does not vary too much when repeated samples are taken from one and the same population, at least not as much as some other kind of statistical descriptions.

3. The mean is typical in the sense that it is the center of gravity balancing the values on either side of it.