# STDEV.P
## Content
This function returns the standard deviation for an entire specified population (of numeric values).
## Syntax
`STDEV.P(value1, [value2], ...)`
## Arguments
This function has these arguments:
| Argument | Description |
| -------- | ----------- |
| *value1* | [Required] The first value argument corresponding to a population |
| *value2* | [Optional] Value arguments 2 to 254 corresponding to a population. You can also use a single array or a reference to an array instead of arguments separated by commas |
## Remarks
The standard deviation is a measure of how widely values are dispersed from the average value. If your data represents a sample of the population, then compute the standard deviation using the STDEV function.
The standard deviation is calculated using the "biased" or "n" method.
Logical values and text representations of numbers that are typed into the list of arguments are counted. If an argument is an array or reference, only numbers in that array or reference are counted. Empty cells, error values, logical values, or text in the array or reference are ignored.
The equation for calculating the standard deviation for a population is:
where x is the sample mean, AVERAGE(number1,number2,…), and n is the number of values.
## Examples
`STDEV.P(A1,B2,C3,D4,E5,F6)`
`STDEV.P(A1:A9)`
`STDEV.P(R1C2,R3C4,R4C5,R7C2)`
`STDEV.P(95,89,73,87,85,76,100,96,96)` gives the result 8.80796497