What is coefficient of variation?

Coefficient of variation is a type of relative measure of dispersion. It is expressed as the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean. The coefficient of variation is a dimensionless quantity and is usually given as a percentage. It helps to compare two data sets on the basis of the degree of variation.

What is the difference between standard deviation and coefficient of variation?

In short, the standard deviation measures how far the average value lies from the mean, whereas the coefficient of variation measures the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean. The coefficient of variation can be useful when comparing data sets with different units or widely different means.

What does a lower coefficient of variation mean?

In statistics, the Coefficient of variation formula (CV), also known as relative standard deviation (RSD), is a standardized measure of the dispersion of a probability distribution or frequency distribution. If the value of the coefficient of variation is lower then it indicates that the data has less variability and high stability.