Definition Interpolation

Interpolation refers to the estimation of unknown values that lie between already established data values.

If, for instance, we know how many items a specific shop sells in the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023, we can interpolate the sales for 2022 by taking an average of the sales in 2021 and 2023 (under the very important assumption that the data point is simply missing for 2022 and the shop was not, for instance, closed).

Please note that the definitions in our statistics encyclopedia are simplified explanations of terms. Our goal is to make the definitions accessible for a broad audience; thus it is possible that some definitions do not adhere entirely to scientific standards.