Which SQL aggregate function is used to calculate the average of a set of values?

The SQL aggregate function that is specifically designed to calculate the average of a set of values is AVG. This function takes a set of numerical data as input and computes the arithmetic mean by adding all the values together and then dividing by the number of values in the set.

For example, if you have a set of numbers like 10, 20, and 30, using the AVG function would result in (10 + 20 + 30) / 3 = 20. This makes AVG essential for statistical analysis when determining the central tendency of a dataset.

The other functions serve different purposes: COUNT tallies the number of items in a dataset, SUM computes the total of all values, and MIN finds the smallest value. Thus, while those functions are valuable in their own right, it's AVG that directly addresses the need for calculating an average.