What does personal data refer to?

Personal data specifically refers to any information that relates to an identifiable, living individual. This can include a wide range of details such as names, identification numbers, location data, or any other identifiers that can be used to trace or recognize a person.

Understanding this definition is crucial because personal data is protected under various data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. These regulations are designed to safeguard individuals' privacy and ensure that their data is handled responsibly.

The other options do not fit the definition of personal data. Information on business operations pertains to organizational data rather than individual identities. Data presented in aggregated form typically summarizes information from multiple individuals, stripping out personal identifiers, which means it cannot be used to identify a specific person. Lastly, general statistics on population demographics provide trends and averages rather than details relating to individual persons, further distinguishing them from personal data.