Honestly, if you walked into a crowded stadium and tried to count how many intersex people were in the stands, you’d probably fail. Not because they aren't there—far from it—but because most of the time, being intersex doesn’t look like what the movies or old textbooks told us it looks like.
For a long time, the conversation around how many intersex people are there has been stuck in a tug-of-war between two very different numbers. On one side, you have the "1.7%" figure, which you’ve likely seen quoted by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch. On the other, you have a much smaller 0.018% cited by some clinicians.
That is a massive gap. We’re talking about the difference between "as common as red hair" and "extremely rare medical anomaly."
So, who’s right? Well, it’s complicated. It basically comes down to how you define the word "intersex" in the first place.
The 1.7% Figure: Why It’s the Gold Standard for Advocates
Most people first encounter the 1.7% statistic via the UN or major human rights organizations. This number comes from research by Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling, a professor at Brown University. In her work—specifically her book Sexing the Body—she looked at a wide range of biological variations.
She wasn't just looking at people with "ambiguous genitalia" at birth. She included anyone whose biological sex characteristics—chromosomes, hormones, or internal anatomy—don’t fit the typical binary of "standard male" or "standard female."
What’s actually inside that 1.7%?
Most of this group is made up of people with conditions like:
- Late-onset Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (LOCAH): This is actually the biggest chunk. It often doesn't show up until puberty or even later.
- Klinefelter Syndrome (XXY): Men born with an extra X chromosome.
- Turner Syndrome (XO): Women born with only one X chromosome.
- Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS): Where the body doesn't respond to male hormones in the "standard" way.
If you use this broad definition, about 1 in 60 people are intersex. That’s roughly the same percentage of the global population that has red hair. It’s not a tiny, invisible minority; it’s your neighbor, your barista, or maybe even someone in your family who doesn't know it yet.
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The 0.018% Argument: The "Strict" Definition
You’ll sometimes see skeptics or specific medical researchers—like Dr. Leonard Sax—push back hard on that 1.7% number. Their argument is that it's "inflated."
They argue that conditions like Klinefelter syndrome or LOCAH shouldn’t count because those individuals usually identify as male or female and often have "standard" looking external anatomy at birth. To them, "intersex" should only apply when there is a clear discrepancy between chromosomes and phenotype (how the body looks) or when the genitalia are physically unclassifiable as either male or female.
Under this much narrower lens, the number drops to 0.018%. That’s about 1 in 5,500 people.
But here’s the thing: focusing only on what the genitals look like at birth misses the entire reality of how biological sex works. Biology isn’t just a binary switch; it’s more like a complex mixing board with dozens of sliders. If a woman has XY chromosomes but a uterus and female external anatomy (which happens in Swyer syndrome), is she not intersex just because she "looks" standard? Most advocates say that’s a narrow, outdated way of looking at human diversity.
Why We Don't Have a "Perfect" Count Yet
If you’re looking for a single, undisputed number for how many intersex people are there, I’ve got some bad news. We don't have one.
Data collection is a mess. For decades, intersex variations were treated as "shameful" secrets. Doctors often performed "corrective" surgeries on infants without telling the parents the full scope of the situation, or sometimes without the child ever finding out the truth until they encountered fertility issues in their 20s or 30s.
When the medical system itself has spent a century trying to erase these variations, getting an accurate census is nearly impossible.
Also, think about the testing. Most people never have their chromosomes checked. You might go your entire life assuming you are "standard" XX or XY. It’s only when someone struggles to conceive, or has a strange reaction to certain medications, or goes through an unusual puberty, that they find out their biology has a different plan.
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It’s About People, Not Just Percentages
We get so caught up in the math that we forget why these numbers matter. For the intersex community, the 1.7% figure isn't just a stat—it’s a shield. It proves they aren't "broken" or "malfunctions." They are a natural, albeit less common, part of the human spectrum.
Real people like Hida Viloria or Pidgeon Pagonis have spent years explaining that being intersex isn't a medical emergency that needs to be "fixed" with a scalpel. When we use the smaller 0.018% number, it makes it easier for the medical establishment to justify "normalizing" surgeries on infants because they are seen as "rare exceptions." When we acknowledge the 1.7%, we acknowledge that biological diversity is actually quite common.
Common variations you might have heard of:
- Hypospadias: Where the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis. This is actually very common (about 1 in 200 births).
- MRKH (Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome): Where a person is born with an underdeveloped or absent uterus and vagina, despite having XX chromosomes.
- 5-alpha reductase deficiency: Often famous for the "Guevedoces" in the Dominican Republic, where children appear female at birth but develop male anatomy during puberty.
What You Can Actually Do With This Info
If you’re trying to be a better ally or just want to understand the world better, stop looking for a "box" to put intersex people in.
- Acknowledge the range: Accept that the 1.7% figure is widely accepted by human rights organizations because it captures the lived experience of having a body that doesn't fit the mold.
- Watch the language: Avoid terms like "hermaphrodite," which is scientifically inaccurate and often considered a slur. "Intersex" or "Variations of Sex Characteristics" (VSC) are the preferred terms.
- Support bodily autonomy: The biggest issue facing intersex infants today isn't their biology; it's the fact that they often undergo irreversible surgeries before they can consent.
The next time someone asks how many intersex people are there, you can tell them that while the "strict" medical definition might be small, the actual reality of human biological diversity is much, much larger. We’re talkin’ millions of people worldwide.
Start by looking into the work of organizations like InterACT or the OII (Organisation Intersex International). They provide resources for parents of intersex children that focus on support rather than immediate surgery. You can also read memoirs like Born Both by Hida Viloria to get a sense of the human story behind the statistics. Understanding that biology is a spectrum, not a binary, is the first step toward making the world a bit more welcoming for the millions of people who live somewhere in the "in-between."