Crossword Genius

Can't you live without such statistics? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

vital

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'without such statistics?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'can't you live' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'live' could be 'l' (electrical abbreviation) and 'l' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'vita' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for vital that I've seen before include "alive" , "Extremely important, essential to success" , "Of key importance" , "Characteristic of life" , "Imperative" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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