The table below summarises the properties of the six data types provided in Standard Fortran:
| Data type | Characteristics |
| Integer | Whole numbers stored exactly. |
| Real | Numbers, which may have fractional parts, stored using a floating-point representation with limited precision. |
| Double Precision | Similar to real but with greater precision. |
| Complex | Complex numbers: stored as an ordered pair of real numbers. |
| Logical | A Boolean value, i.e. one which is either true or false. |
| Character | A string of characters of fixed length. |
The first four types (integer, real, double precision, and complex) all hold numerical information and are collectively known as arithmetic data types.