Pros and Cons of Arithmetic Mean
Pros:
- It is rigidly defined
- It is easy to calculate and simple to follow
- It is based on all the observations
- It is determined for almost every kind of data
- It is finite and not indefinite
- It is readily used in algebraic treatment
- It is least affected by fluctuations of sampling
Cons:
- The arithmetic mean is highly affected by extreme values
- It cannot average the ratios and percentages properly
- It is not an appropriate average for highly skewed distributions
- It cannot be computed accurately if any item is missing
- The mean sometimes does not coincide with any of the observed values