'Seven' Triumphs in Poll to Discover World’s Favourite Number

The results of an online survey reveal a world in love with numbers that stand out and feel exceptional

Brides. Sages. Days. Seas. Sins. Sisters. Dwarves.

When it comes to ancient myths, stories and traditions, humans have always favoured seven above other numbers. And this heptophilia continues to the present day.

Today I’m releasing the results of an online survey I set up to find the world’s favourite number. Drum roll please! The top ten are:

  1. 7
  2. [amazon asin=1451640099&template=*lrc ad (right)]3
  3. 8
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 13
  7. 9
  8. 6
  9. 2
  10. 11

[amazon asin=1416588280&template=*lrc ad (left)]The number 7 would like to thank its agent, its mother and its fans.

Okay, so I’m having a bit of fun. But only to make a serious point. The aim of the survey was to research the emotional connection that people have with numbers. In what non-numerical ways are we influenced by arithmetical patterns?

I got interested in this area because, as a maths communicator, I am always asked for my favourite number. Whenever I give talks – in schools, universities, festivals and corporate events – it’s guaranteed this question will come up.[amazon asin=0747597162&template=*lrc ad (right)]

At first I thought this favourite number interrogation was frivolous, a way of poking fun at me (or maths). But gradually I learned that many people have genuinely strong feelings about numbers, and this realisation prompted me to launch the survey.

The response surpassed my expectations. Within a few weeks more than 30,000 people had taken part, which is when I started to clean the data and analyse it. Total responses now stand at 44,000.

The survey only polled people who found out about it online, and who voluntarily decided to take part, which means that the results do not have the rigour of a professional opinion poll or a laboratory experiment. Yet even so it is revealing about our number choices.

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