This document provides an introduction to statistics. It discusses the history and evolution of statistics as a field of study. Statistics involves the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data. It can be descriptive, focusing on organizing and summarizing data, or inferential, using data to draw conclusions about populations. The key stages of statistical study are data collection, organization, presentation, analysis and interpretation. Common statistical tools include tables, graphs, averages and percentages. Statistics is useful across many domains like economics for understanding trends, making predictions and informing decisions. Some limitations are that statistics relies on samples and averages which may not perfectly represent populations.