This document provides an introduction to business statistics. It discusses the origin of the word statistics from Latin and other European languages. It was originally used to count people for purposes like calculating the number of young men available for the army or estimating land revenue. The document defines statistics both in its plural sense, referring to data like income, production and prices, and in its singular sense, referring to statistical methods, data collection and analysis. It outlines some key features of statistics, such as statistics involving aggregates of facts that are numerically expressed and affected by multiple causes.