In this tutorial we Discuss definition of population and types of population in statistics so continue.. Population is a group of individuals, items, subjects or objects specified by certain characteristics under study. It is the totality of all items under investigation. An aggregate of any items or individuals that is to be very large. It is also called ‘Universe’. According to Kish, it is defined in terms of;
- Content(eg. all person).
- Units(eg. family unit).
- Time(eg. calendar year).
- Extend(eg. area covered).
The total number of items of population is known as population size. It is usually denoted by ‘N’.
How many Types of population in statistics
- Finite and infinite.
- Homogenous and heterogeneous.
- Real and hypothetical.
- Target and sampling.
Target and sampling population.
In sample study, two types of population are to be considered.
- Target population: It is a population for which representative information is desired.
- Sampling population: It is a population from which samples are taken for study of population parameters.
Finite and infinite population
Population may be finite or infinite (on the basis of number).
- Finite population: A population whose objects are possible to count is called finite population. The no. of books in a library, the no. students in a campus, the no. of goods produced in an industry etc. are some examples of finite population.
- Infinite population: A population whose objects are so large that it is not possible to count is called infinite population. For example; the total no. of stars in the sky, total number of fishes in the ocean, total no. of forest in a forest, all real numbers etc.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Population
On the basis of characteristics, it may be homogeneous and heterogeneous.
- Homogeneous population: A population is said to be homogeneous if all the individuals or objects of the population have the same nature or characteristics. In other words, if the no. of objects is divided into different groups in the basis of similar characteristics then such type of population is known as homogeneous population. For example; same age group of people, group of same height, color, religions of people etc.
- Heterogeneous population: A population is said to be heterogeneous if all objects of population have different nature of characteristics. For example; a group of people having different races, a group of people having different age groups, a group of all types of books.
Real and Hypothetical Population
On the basis of subjects (concrete or not concrete), population may be real and hypothetical.
- Real population: A population consisting of the items which are all present physically is known as real population. For example; group of people, no. of buildings, no. of vehicles etc.
- Hypothetical population: A population consisting of the items which are all imaginary is known as hypothetical or imaginary population. For example; tossing of a coin repeatedly, rolling of a die again and again results into a hypothetical population.