Rounding means making a number 

simpler but keeping its value close to what it was. 

It’s like the result is less accurate, but easier to use. Rounding numbers are important
to preserve significant figures in calculations and to record long numbers. Authors of
statistical publications face the challenge of finding a good balance between accuracy
and readability. In this perspective, reporting numbers to the last available digit is not
reasonable because it makes grasping relevant information difficult and may give a false
impression about the actual accuracy of data. For this reason, rounding both large
numbers and long decimals makes publications better readable and avoids spurious
accuracy.
In statistics the basic rounding rule is that when computations are done in the
calculation, rounding should not be done until the final answer is calculated. When
rounding is done in the intermediate steps, it tends to increase the difference between
the answer and the exact one. But in the textbook and solutions manual, it is not
practical to show long decimals in the intermediate calculations; hence, the values in the
examples are carried out to enough places (usually three or four) to obtain the same
answer that a calculator would give after rounding on the last step.

When performing statistical data analyses, quality professionals are always challenged
to maintain data integrity. When should you round up the answer; when should you
round down? How many significant figures are appropriate for the data set that has
been taken?

Below are a set of simple rules that should help you traverse the perils of statistical data
analysis.

General recommendations

The general recommendations apply to all communication elements of statistical

publications (texts, tables, graphs and maps):
1. Use only the number of digits which are necessary and make sense for the
purpose of a clear communication.
2. Rounding of numbers should take place at the latest phase of data processing and
analysis.
3. For target indicators always use the full precision of the indicator to assess
whether the target has been met. The rounding should not change the situation of
the countries towards the target (to achieve or exceed the target).
4. Big numbers are difficult to grasp. It may be reasonable to round them and use
the words millions, billions, etc.
5. In case of doubt on the number of digits to be used, authors should consult the
Dissemination unit.
6. A disclaimer should be added, when applicable, at the beginning or end of the
publication describing the rounding policy and the reasons for possible
inconsistencies. For instance:

Due to rounding, some totals may not correspond with the sum of the separate figures.

Specific recommendations
The specific recommendations are based on three increasing levels of approximation:
while detailed figures from data sources (e.g. Eurobase) should not be changed when
preparing graphs and maps (level 0), they should be partially rounded for compiling
tables (level 1) and rounded even further when writing texts (level 2).

Summary
 Level 0: Graphs and maps should be built using unrounded figures from the
original dataset(s).
Examples: 12.34 % and 56.789 %, 1 234 and 56 789 persons
 Level 1: For tables with percentages, the general rule is to round to one decimal.
For tables with absolute numbers, identify the smallest number, decide how
many digits to keep for this number, and then round all other entries to those
digits.
Examples: 12.3 % and 56.8 %, 1 200 and 56 800 persons
 Level 2: In text two significant (non-zero) digits are in general sufficient.
Examples: 12 % and 57 %, 1 200 and 57 000 persons

Details
The assessment whether a target has been met should be done on the bases of
unrounded figures (and properly reflecting the accuracy of the data).
 Level 1: Numbers and percentages shown in tables should be the result of a first
level of rounding (this recommendation concerns the text tables, not the detailed
tables that appear in annexes).

If the table presents relative quantities such as percentages and proportions, rounding

to one decimal should be applied. However, when values are generally higher than 70 %,
no decimal would be used. On the other hand, for some indicators, like monthly
changes, keeping more than one decimal might be needed.

When compiling a table with absolute numbers, identify the “shortest” number (in
terms of number of digits) and decide which significant digits to keep (two are in general
sufficient), then round all other entries to those digits. In this way the rounded total will
be consistent with the sum of the rounded addends (except for small rounding
differences).

For exchange rates showing the decimals is however important.

If several indicators are presented in the same table, try to keep the same number of
significant digits at one side for all absolute figures, and at the other side for all relative
quantities.
 Level 2: Numbers and percentages shown in text should present a further level
of rounding compared to tables.

In general it is not necessary to report detailed numbers and percentages in texts when
presenting analysis (about tables, maps and/or graphs). If the reader could benefit from
such detailed numbers and percentages, consider the inclusion of an additional table in
the publication.

When precision is not strictly needed, envisage grouping countries (or other statistical
units) and describe their characteristics with wording such as “at least”, ”about”, “less
than”, etc. In order to do so, do the regrouping by using unrounded numbers and then
do the rounding. It may be necessary to reconsider the text after the rounding as close
numbers may end up in the same rounded number.

When analysing absolute numbers, keeping the same number of significant digits for
countries of different size may eventually result in keeping different significant
positions. These inconsistencies are not of concern in texts as their primary function is
the communication of concepts.

When reporting totals, do not add up rounded addends, but add unrounded numbers or
percentages and round the total.

As a consequence of the general rule, the advice for relative quantities such as
percentages and proportions is to report in text one decimal for percentages below 10 %,
no decimals for figures above 20 %, and for percentages between 10 and 20 % the choice
between one or no decimal depends on the precision of the indicator.

Recommendations illustrated with an example

Tables
Consider the following population data extracted from Eurobase:

Luxembourg shows the smallest figure; keeping two significant digits implies rounding
to the “ten-thousands” position, i.e. to 340 000. By rounding all other numbers to this
position we obtain the table:
The unrounded total is 137 836 166 which, according to the rounding scheme applied in
the table, rounds to 137 840 000. This is exactly the sum of the rounded figures in the
table!

Even though the proposed rounding scheme reduces the possibility of inconsistencies
between the sum of rounded numbers and the rounded sum, small differences could still
occur. In this case, it is important to report the disclaimer described above (general
recommendations number 6).

Rules For Rounding Whole Numbers

Rule One. Determine what your rounding digit is and look to the right side of it. If the
digit is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 do not change the rounding digit. All digits that are on the right-
hand side of the requested rounding digit will become 0.
Rule Two. Determine what your rounding digit is and look to the right of it. If the digit
is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, your rounding digit rounds up by one number. All digits that are on the
right-hand side of the requested rounding digit will become 0.

Rounding Rules For Decimal Numbers

When rounding numbers involving decimals, there are 2 rules to remember:
Rule One Determine what your rounding digit is and look to the right side of it. If that
digit is 4, 3, 2, or 1, simply drop all digits to the right of it. If the number you are
rounding is followed by 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, round the number up. Example: 38 rounded to
the nearest ten is 40
Rule Two Determine what your rounding digit is and look to the right side of it. If that
digit is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 add one to the rounding digit and drop all digits to the right of it. If
the number you are rounding is followed by 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, round the number down.
Example: 33 rounded to the nearest ten is 30
Rule Three: Some teachers prefer this method:
This rule provides more accuracy and is sometimes referred to as the 'Banker's Rule'.
When the first digit dropped is 5 and there are no digits following or the digits following
are zeros, make the preceding digit even (i.e. round off to the nearest even digit).
E.g., 2.315 and 2.325 are both 2.32 when rounded off to the nearest
hundredth. Note:The rationale for the third rule is that approximately half of the time
the number will be rounded up and the other half of the time it will be rounded down.

Examples Of How To Round Numbers

765.3682 becomes:
1000 when asked to round to the nearest thousand (1000)
800 when asked to round to the nearest hundred (100)
770 when asked to round to the nearest ten (10)
765 when asked to round to the nearest one (1)
765.4 when asked to round to the nearest tenth (10th)
765.37 when asked to round to the nearest hundredth (100th.)
765.368 when asked to round to the nearest thousandth (1000th)

Rounding Fractions
Rounding fractions works exactly the same way as rounding whole numbers. The
only difference is that instead of rounding to tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on, you
round to tenths, hundredths, thousandths, and so on.
 7.8199 rounded to the nearest tenth is 7.8
 1.0621 rounded to the nearest hundredth is 1.06
 3.8792 rounded to the nearest thousandth is 3.879
Here's a tip: to avoid getting confused in rounding long decimals, look only at the
number in the place you are rounding to and the number that follows it. For
example, to round 5.3824791401 to the nearest hundredth, just look at the number in
the hundredths place—8—and the number that follows it—2. Then you can easily round
it to 5.38.

Variation Data Round-off
Rule: Round off the answer to one more significant figure than present in the original
data.
Rule: This rule is only valid for final results, not intermediate values.
Example: Cycle-time data for an application receipt to account opening process is as
follows (in days): 4, 4, 3, 5, 1, 5. The mean of these values is 3.66666666…, and should
be rounded to 3.7. Because the original data were whole numbers, we round the answer
to the nearest tenth.

Probability Data Round-off
Rule: Either provide the exact fraction or decimal of the probability or round-off the
final result to three significant digits.
Example: The probability of rolling a ‘4’ with a single die is 1/6 or 0.16666666…, which
would be rounded-off to 0.167. The probability of a coin landing on ‘tails’ is 1/2 or 0.5 –
because 0.5 is an exact figure, it is not necessary to express it as 0.500.

Sample Size Round-off
Rule: When the calculated sample size is not a whole number, it should be rounded up
to the next higher whole number.
Rule: Rounding up a sample size calculation for conservativeness ensures that your
sample size will always be representative of the population.
Example: A sample size calculation determined that 2006.083 data points were
necessary to represent the population. In this case, 2007 data points samples should be
taken.

Rounding to Significant Digits

To round to "so many" significant digits, count digits from left to right, and then
round off from there.
1.239 rounded to 3 significant digits is 1.24
as the next digit (9) is 5 or more
134.9 rounded to 1 significant digit is 100
as the next digit (3) is less than 5

When there are leading zeros (such as 0.006), don't count them because they are only
there to show how small the number is:
0.0165 rounded to 2 significant digits is 0.017
as the next digit (5) is 5 or more

The Rounding Rule for the Mean

The mean should be rounded to one more decimal place than occurs in the raw data.

The Rounding Rule for the Standard Deviation

The rounding rule for the standard deviation is the same as that for the mean. The final
answer should be rounded to one more decimal place than that of the original data.

The Rounding Rule for Probabilities

Probabilities should be expressed as reduced fractions or rounded to three decimal
places. When the probability of an event is an extremely small decimal, it is permissible
to round the decimal to the first nonzero digit after the point… When obtaining
probabilities from [a table], use the number of decimal places given in the table. If
decimals are converted to percentages to express probabilities, move the decimal point
two places to the right and add a percent sign.

The Rounding Rule for the Mean, Variance, and Standard Deviation for a
Probability Distribution
The rounding rule for the mean, variance, and standard deviation for variables of a
probability distribution is this: The mean, variance, and standard deviation should be
rounded to one more decimal than the outcome X. When fractions are used, they should
be reduced to lowest terms.

The Rounding Rule for a Confidence Interval for a Mean

When you are computing a confidence interval for a population mean by using raw data,
round off to one more decimal place than the number of decimal places in the original
data. When you are computing a confidence interval for a population mean by using a
sample mean and a standard deviation, round off to the same number of decimal places
as given for the mean.

The Rounding Rule for a Confidence Interval for a Proportion

Round off to three decimal places.

The Rounding Rule for the Test Value

The test value should be rounded off to the same decimal place as the critical value.

The Rounding Rule for the Correlation Coefficient

Round the value of r to three decimal places.

The Rounding Rule for the Intercept and Slope

Round the values of a and b to three decimal places.