R is a powerful programming language and software environment primarily used for statistical computing and data analysis. It provides a wide variety of statistical and graphical techniques, making it a popular choice among statisticians and data scientists. With its extensive package ecosystem, R allows users to perform complex data manipulation and visualization tasks with ease. Developed by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman in the mid-1990s, R has grown into a robust community-driven project. Its open-source nature encourages collaboration and innovation, leading to a rich set of libraries and tools that cater to diverse data analysis needs.