UFO Statistics
Martin Gottschall, PhD ©

The UFO phenomenon seems to impact on all nations and cultures in much the same way, and in this respect it seems to be a truly global phenomenon. The following are some of the "basic" statistics that have emerged over the years.

1. All our historical and prehistoric records contain references to recognisable UFO's or "Flying Saucers", indicating that the phenomenon has always been with us. This however does not mean that the same visitors have been coming, or that their purpose has always been the same.

2. About 6% of the population has had one or more sightings of UFO's. This translates into about 60,000 people per million, and is approximately the number of people in Brisbane who have had sightings. As a consequence of this statistic, virtually everyone knows one or more persons who have had sightings, as well as being aware of the phenomenon though the media and the literature. It may therefore be deduced that all but people with a powerful emotional or belief orientated objection can have any real doubts about the reality of this phenomenon. The level of public acceptance is probably about 90% of the population.

3. About half of those who have had sightings have reported two or more such sightings. In many cases these sightings were made by the witnesses while in the company of different other witnesses on each such occasion. The high incidence of multiple sightings indicates that sightings are not a matter of chance, and that some kind of selection or planning is associated with them. On the basis of chance, we would expect only about four people in a thousand to have seen UFO's on two occasions, and two in ten thousand to have had three sightings. A consequence of the high rate of multiple sightings is that there exists about one sightings experience for each seven people in the community, or about 150,000 per million of population.

4. About 2% to 4% of the population is believed to have experienced alien abductions. These tend to recur many times in the person's life, and tend to follow family trees. Genetic factors seem to be important in selection for abductions, and the maintenance of an alien population seems to be a governing motivation of this alien activity. Since abductees generally experience many abductions, and since the sighting of a UFO is not uncommon during such episodes, it may be surmised that at least a sizeable fraction of those reporting multiple UFO sightings are also abductees. Only a very small percentage of abductees seem to be consciously aware of this aspect of their experiences.

5. About 3% of the people who have a UFO sighting report this experience to some appropriate organisation such as the Air Force or UFORQ. Some of these respondents are prompted by media reports of other people's sightings when they report theirs. There is clearly a great wastage of sightings data, and the true incidence of these sightings is greatly understated by the number of reports actually made. There is every indication that the quality of unreported sightings is the same as that of reported sightings, and the reasons for non reporting are generally not connected to the quality of sightings data obtained.

6. Of the sightings reported, about 75% remain probable UFO's after exhaustive investigation and analysis. Only a small fraction of the reported sightings receive such exhaustive study, but their numbers are large enough, and the selection criteria random enough to justify this claim about sightings generally. The remaining 25%, comprises sightings where the data is inadequate to allow a reliable interpretation, and sightings for which a probable mundane explanation can be found. The frequent claims that only a small percentage of reported sightings remain "unexplained" after investigation and analysis (meaning a possible UFO), downplays the enormous stockpile of "real" UFO sightings that is on record.

7. Over the period of its existence UFORQ has accumulated a few thousand sightings reports out of about 200.000 sightings made in SE Queensland. There are probably about 50,000 abductees in this region also. If a significant fraction of these numbers wanted to report their sightings, or sought help in coping with their abduction experiences, we would be altogether overwhelmed by sheer numbers. This could happen anytime if for example mass sightings of UFO's or abduction disclosures prompted it. The training of investigators should be viewed in part as preparation for such an eventuality.

When these statistics are viewed together, we can see more clearly how the policy of "silence" practiced by our authorities and institutions has hidden the sheer size of the impact of the UFO phenomenon on mankind. Clearly something big is going on, which the general public does not realise or understand, and yet we are most intimately involved.

Back to Articles Index

Rights to all articles are held by the authors but permission to reprint from this website must be sought from UFO Research Queensland.

Please note that UFO Research Queensland reserves the editorial right to make amendments to submissions without consulting the author/s.