How many species have been formally described by science?
Science hard Data from 2024
Guess before you scroll — the answer is below
The answer
2,160,000 species
Roughly 2.2M.
Science has named about 2.16 million species. Estimates of how many actually exist range from 8 million to over a trillion once microbes are counted, so we have plausibly catalogued well under a quarter of visible life — and a rounding error of the rest.
Where this number comes from
| Source | Catalogue of Life |
|---|---|
| Figure refers to | 2024 |
| Last checked | |
| Unit | species |
Numbers move. If this one has drifted from its source, let us know.
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