A relational database is a type of database that stores and provides access to data points that are related to one another. It is based on the relational model, which means that the logical data structures, such as data tables, views, and indexes, are separate from the physical storage structures. The data in a relational database is stored in tables, and each row in a table has an access key, while each column has data attributes. The attributes have values that help users understand the relationships between data entries.

The term "relational database" was first defined by E. F. Codd at IBM in 1970. Codd introduced the term in his research paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks". In this paper and later papers, he defined what he meant by "relational". One well-known definition of what constitutes a relational database system is composed of Codds 12 rules.

Relational databases are used to track inventories, process e-commerce transactions, manage huge amounts of mission-critical customer information, and much more. The main benefit of the relational database model is that it provides an intuitive way to represent data and allows easy access to related data. The primary benefit of the relational database approach is the ability to create meaningful information by joining the tables. Joining tables allows users to connect data from different tables to obtain useful insight.

While relational databases structure data into a tabular format, non-relational databases do not have as rigid of a database schema. Non-relational databases organize data differently based on the type of database. These types of databases include document-oriented databases, key-value stores, and graph databases.