Major limitations or drawbacks of statistics can be highlighted as follows:
1. No Study Of Individual Items
One of the main disadvantages of statistics is that it does not deal with single or isolated items. It deals with the measurement of groups or masses only. So, data and information of single item cannot be obtained.
2. Not Applicable For Qualitative Phenomenon
Statistics is applicable only for quantitative data (data of those items which can be measures in numbers) such as income, expenses, wages, height etc. Qualitative phenomenon(which cannot be measured in numbers) such as blindness, efficiency, honesty etc. are completely ignored.
Statistics is applicable for homogeneous data only. It cannot study heterogeneous data. So, data of similar nature is required to apply statistical methods.
4. No 100% Accuracy
100 % accurate result cannot be obtained from statistical methods.
5. Not Universally True
Statistical facts are totally based on the averages. So, its laws are not universally true.
6. Requires Special Knowledge
It requires special knowledge to apply statistical laws. Simple knowledge of mathematics or economics is not sufficient to work with statistical data.
7. Possibility Of Mislead
Sometimes, result obtained from statistics may be misleading because of improper collection and interpretation of data.
