Synthetic data can mean many different things depending upon the way they are used. Sometimes, as in computer programming, the term means data that are completely simulated for testing purposes. Other times, as in statistics, the term means combining data, often from multiple sources, to produce estimates for more granular populations than any one source can support. An example of this usage is the U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. In data confidentiality applications, synthetic data are modeled statistical outputs released in a format that closely resembles the confidential data format. Synthetic data can be disaggregated to the individual or business record level, or aggregated into tabular format.