Data abstraction is the process of hiding unnecessary implementation details and exposing only essential information to the user. It separates the interface from the implementation. In Python, data abstraction can be achieved through abstract classes, which cannot be instantiated directly but can be inherited. Abstract classes define a common API for subclasses and allow concrete methods to be implemented only once for all subclasses. Data abstraction improves flexibility, reusability, and makes working on large codebases with teams easier.