In statistics, the nth order statistic for a sample is equal to the nth-smallest sample value.

For example, if the sample values are

6, 9, 3, 8

then the second order statistic is

X₍₂₎ = 6

The first order statistic (or smallest order statistic) is always the minimum of the sample. For a sample of size n, the nth order statistic (or largest order statistic) is the maximum.

Contrast with ranked data (name??)....

Contrast with quantiles....

Distributional properties, etc....

See also:

• Box plot
• Fisher-Tippett distribution