SAS Base Programming Certification Practice Exam

In the context of SAS reporting, numeric variables are typically more suitable for analysis because they can be used in statistical calculations, aggregations, and computations. Numeric data often represents quantities or measurements, making them essential for various analysis techniques such as averages, medians, sums, and other statistical tests.

While character variables can provide valuable context and categorical information, their usage in analysis is often limited to grouping or filtering data rather than performing numeric computations. SAS reports frequently utilize numeric variables for generating summary statistics, trend analyses, and other quantitative measures that require mathematical operations.

Character variables, on the other hand, may not lend themselves to the same kind of analytical processing as numeric data does. They serve well for descriptive aspects of a dataset, such as classifying or labeling data points, but they are not the primary focus when it comes to performing detailed analyses.

It's also worth noting that while both types of variables can play a role in SAS reporting, the emphasis is usually placed on numeric variables when it comes to conducting analysis, which aligns with the provided answer.