Covariance Calculator
Calculate sample and population covariance between two variables. Find correlation coefficient, determine relationship strength and direction, with scatter plots and step-by-step calculations.
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Covariance Calculator - Sample & Population Covariance
Calculate covariance to measure how two variables change together. Compute both sample covariance (for statistical inference) and population covariance, along with correlation coefficient, means, standard deviations, and detailed step-by-step calculations with scatter plot visualization.
What is Covariance?
Covariance is a measure of the joint variability of two random variables. It indicates whether two variables tend to move in the same direction (positive covariance), opposite directions (negative covariance), or are independent (zero covariance). Unlike correlation, covariance is not standardized and its magnitude depends on the units of the variables, making it harder to interpret directly but useful for mathematical calculations.
Sample Covariance Formula
Cov(X,Y) = Σ(xᵢ - x̄)(yᵢ - ȳ) / (n - 1)How to Use This Calculator
Covariance Applications
Portfolio Management
Calculate covariance between asset returns to construct diversified portfolios and minimize risk through asset allocation.
Economic Analysis
Analyze relationships between economic indicators like GDP growth and unemployment rates, inflation and interest rates.
Scientific Research
Measure how experimental variables vary together in biological, physical, and social science studies.
Machine Learning
Used in Principal Component Analysis (PCA), feature selection, and multivariate Gaussian distributions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Population covariance divides by N (total observations), while sample covariance divides by n-1 (Bessel's correction). Use sample covariance when working with a subset of data to get an unbiased estimate of the true population covariance. Population covariance is used when you have data for the entire population.