The R Project for Statistical Computing is a free software environment designed for statistical analysis and data visualization. It provides a wide range of tools for data manipulation, statistical modeling, and graphical representation, making it popular among statisticians, data scientists, and researchers. R is known for its extensibility, allowing users to create custom functions and packages. The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) hosts thousands of packages that enhance R's capabilities, enabling users to perform complex analyses and generate high-quality graphics efficiently.