Survivor count

The number of surviving Colonial citizens and military in the fleet was provided at intervals throughout the first season on a whiteboard on Colonial One, and in one instance spoken aloud in dialogue. In the second season, this number appears in the opening credits of every episode (sometimes jokingly referred to as the "Countdown to Extinction"), and displays limited omniscience, updating itself to reflect the deaths on Kobol early in that season. This page collects the figures available thus far, cross-referenced with date information from Timeline (RDM).

Graph

All dates up until 51 are exact, 51-950 use estimates below, all tallies past 950 use an average of 5 days between counts (it averages out)

Data

Season 1

Zero Hour

• Miniseries
  • 50,000,000,000 - Estimated total population of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol prior to the Cylon attack ^{(TRS: "A Disquiet Follows My Soul")}.

Day 6

• 33
  • 50,298 - Initial estimate.
  • 49,998 - Revised count. A decrease of 300.
  • 49,317 - Second revision. A decrease of 618 (cut scene, DVD).
  • 47,972 - A loss of 1345 after destruction of the Olympic Carrier.
  • 47,973 - One birth aboard the Rising Star.

Day 10

• Water
  • 47,958 - A net loss of 15.

Day 15

• You Can't Go Home Again
  • 47,958 - 13 pilots killed in a hangar deck accident in "Act of Contrition." (The count is not updated.)

Day 25

• Flesh and Bone
  • 47,954 - A net loss of 4 after deaths of a marine and three crew in "Litmus", the discovery of Ellen Tigh one week prior to "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", and the disappearance of Shelly Godfrey in "Six Degrees of Separation". Aaron Doral (Scorpia Traveler copy) was apparently not included among the fleet's population. The events of "Act of Contrition" have (still) not been accounted for.

Day 28

• Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down
  • 47,905 - A loss of 49. Total stated by Dr. Gaius Baltar, possibly excluding himself and Sharon Valerii.

Day 48

• Colonial Day
  • 47,898 - Valance is murdered while in custody aboard Cloud 9. Four Viper pilots killed in "The Hand of God". Two additional unexplained deaths.

Day 50

• Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I
  • 47,897 - One unseen death.

Day 51

• Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
  • 47,887 - Raptor 3 destroyed over Kobol with 10 souls aboard.
• Scattered
  • 47,875 - "Boomer" Valerii is removed from the count after her assassination attempt. Probably includes the death of Karma in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I", since the on-screen total appears to include deaths on Kobol. 10 additional unseen deaths.

Season 2

• Valley of Darkness
  • 47,874 - Tarn shot by Cylon Centurions.
• Fragged
  • 47,862 - Flyboy killed by Cylon Centurion. Socinus euthanized by Galen Tyrol. Additional casualties during Cylon boarding action of Galactica.

Day 54 (est.)

• Resistance
  • 47,861 - Crashdown shot by Gaius Baltar.

Day 60 (est.)

• The Farm
  • 47,857 - Four civilians massacred by marine strike team aboard the Gideon.

Dates Unknown

• Home, Part I
  • 47,858 - Return of Helo, who was presumed dead. Caprica Valerii is not included in the count.
• Home, Part II
  • 47,855 - Death of Elosha and a faction redshirt.
• Final Cut
  • 47,853 - Death of Meier and unnamed Tom Zarek henchman in "Home, Part II".

Day 86 (est.)

• Flight of the Phoenix
  • 47,853 - No change since "Final Cut".

Dates Unknown

• Pegasus
  • 49,605 - After the return of the battlestar Pegasus, a dramatic increase of 1,752 over the previous count. The change is shown in the opening credits of Pegasus, since the ship appeared in the "teaser" before the opening credits.
• Resurrection Ship, Part I
  • 49,604 - Death of Alastair Thorne.
• Resurrection Ship, Part II
  • 49,604 - No change since "Resurrection Ship, Part I".

Day 189

• Epiphanies
  • 49,598 - Deaths of Admiral Helena Cain and an unnamed marine guard on Pegasus. The remaining casualty count of four is conspicuously low given the scope of the battle depicted in the previous episode.

Dates Unknown

• Black Market
  • 49,597 - The death of a suicide bomber on the Daru Mozu. Based on dialogue, the attack took the lives of the bomber and at least two civilians. This may have been offset by births in between the two episodes. The death of Jack Fisk was shown in the teaser of Black Market, and should be counted in the opening credits.
• Scar
  • 49,593 - Deaths of Commander Jack Fisk, Fisk's assassin, Phelan, and one other person, presumably Beano. It is unclear where the death of Beano, the first of four pilots killed by Scar is counted. Since much of the episode, including the deaths of the four pilots killed by Scar, is shown in flashback.

• Sacrifice
  • 49,590 - Deaths of three pilots killed by Scar: Reilly, Brent "BB" Baxton, and Joseph "Jo-Jo" Clark.

c. Day 210

• The Captain's Hand
  • 49,584 - Deaths of Sesha Abinell, Kern Vinson, Nelson Page, George Chu, and two unnamed marines, and Billy Keikeya. Sesha Abinell's husband Ray was killed during a Cylon attack ten weeks prior to this episode, but it does not appear to have been counted. It may have been offset by a birth.

c. Day 240

• The Captain's Hand
  • 49,579 - Deaths of Buster, Shark, the two-man crew of Raptor 314, and Commander Barry Garner (seen near the end on the white board).

Between c. Day 240 and c. Day 270

• Razor ( Present events)
  • 49,579 - confirms closing count from "The Captain's Hand".

c. Day 270

• Downloaded
  • 49,579 - confirms closing count from "The Captain's Hand". The count is either not updated to reflect the deaths of Kendra Shaw and Dasilva in "Razor" or there were births that offset those deaths.
• Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I
  • 49,579 - No change since "Downloaded". It is unclear how the birth of Hera is counted. Her birth appears to be offset by the death of Maya's child. Maya's child seems to be the one seen in the incubator, and whose ashes are spread out of a Raptor by Helo and Tyrol.

c. Day 280

• Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II
  • 49,550 - Raptor 612 jumped into a mountain on Caprica. This could account for four people: A pilot, an ECO, and two marines.

During the Settlement of New Caprica (from c. Day 280 to c. Day 660)

• Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II
  • After the "One Year Later" time jump later in the episode, the population of New Caprica City is given as 39,192. This includes separated military personnel, but does not include military and civilians in the small fleet orbiting the planet.
• Precipice
  • According to Lee Adama, about 2,000 civilians escaped with the ships in orbit of New Caprica.
  • Adama also states that both Galactica and Pegasus are at half strength (this can't be taken literally).
    • A careful crew tally establishes that, at full strength, Galactica is crewed by about 2,808 people and Pegasus by about 2,445.
    • The same tally indicates that immediately prior to the one-year jump, Galactica was crewed by about 2,600 people, and Pegasus by about 1,700. At half-strength, this puts the minimum number of military personnel at about 2,200.
  • This puts our estimate of the total human population at roughly 43,400 (39,192 + 2000 + 2200)
  • Subtracting from the figure of 49,550 given in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II", this means that the total population fell by about 6150 people during the one-year gap. The majority of these deaths probably happened as a result of the destruction of Cloud Nine and the surrounding vessels.

For a confirmation of these estimates with more accurate numbers see the "Crossroads, Part I" section

Season 3

During the Occupation of New Caprica (from c. Day 660 to c. Day 798)

• An unknown number of people died in the insurgency and Cylon retaliation. However this must be offset by additional births during this four month time span. Accurately tracking the population numbers is impossible at this point, but known casualty figures are given below:
• c. Day 729
  • Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance - 10 people are killed at the temple, including Nora Farmer.
• c. Day 794
  • Occupation - Tucker Clellan bombs the New Caprica Police graduation ceremony, killing 33 humans.
• c. Day 796
  • Precipice - suicide bombing at the power substation kills 4 humans. Three resistance fighters die in the ambush at Breeders Canyon.
• c. Day 798
  • Exodus, Part II - numerous casualties during the evacuation of New Caprica, including Maya. Ellen Tigh is poisoned by her husband for collaborating with the Cylons, but as she is a Cylon herself her death is not counted.

c. Day 800

• Collaborators
  • 41,435 - Fleet population as of the third day of the Second Exodus. Given the above numbers, the death toll of the resistance and the Battle of New Caprica is about 2000 people. Given the total in the next episode, this figure does not reflect the 13 collaborators executed by the Circle between this episode and the last.
  • Several hundred children might have been born on New Caprica. Since they are also included in the count, the Fleet has lost more older and able-bodied people than apparent.

c. Day 830

• Torn
  • 41,422 - Figure now reflects the 13 collaborators executed by the Circle. No deaths occur in this episode.

c. Day 831

• A Measure of Salvation
  • 41,420 - Two unseen deaths.

c. Day 935

• Hero
  • 41,421 - Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek escapes from Cylon custody and joins the population of the fleet.

c. Day 950

• Unfinished Business
  • 41,422 - One birth.

Dates Unknown

• The Passage
  • 41,420 - Two unseen deaths.

• The Eye of Jupiter
  • 41,402 - Eighteen deaths from radiation exposure, including the skeleton crews of the Adriatic and the Carina. This also includes Louanne Katraine.

• Rapture
  • 41,401 - One unseen death.

• Taking a Break from All Your Worries
  • 41,403 - Deaths of Hillard and Omar Fischer. Hera Agathon, Gaius Baltar and Caprica-Six join the Fleet's population, in addition to two possible birth. Caprica-Six is not added to the count.

• The Woman King
  • 41,401 - Two unseen deaths.

• A Day in the Life
  • 41,398 - Deaths of Willie King and two other Sagittarons; possibly more if offset by births.

• Dirty Hands
  • 41,400 - Two births.

• Maelstrom
  • 41,400 - No net change.

• The Son Also Rises
  • 41,399 - Death of Kara Thrace in the prior episode, and Alan Hughes at the end of this episode's teaser. Hughes' death is either not counted, offset by a birth, or Thrace's death is not counted.

• Crossroads, Part I
  • Unknown, as there is no intro for this episode.
  • The following numbers are given during Baltar's trial by Cassidy: 44,035 - the number who settled on New Caprica; 38,838 - the number the day after the escape. However the number of escapees can only refer to the civilian population of the Fleet, and despite talking specifically about the people who settled on New Caprica, this number includes the total population, including those in orbit.
  • This contradictory wording is a writing error, but interpreting them slightly differently confirms the estimates from "Precipice":
    • 41,435 (Collaborators) - 38,838 = 2,597 (the military personnel in the Fleet)
    • 44,035 - 39,192 (the inhabitants of New Caprica City) = 4,835 (the total population left in orbit)
    • 4,835 - 2,597 = 2,238 (in "Precipice" Lee Adama refers to roughly 2,000 civilians who escaped New Caprica)
    • 49,550 (count in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II") - 39,192 - 4,835 = 5,523 (the death toll prior to the occupation, mostly incurred with the destruction of Cloud Nine)
    • 49,550 - 5,523 - 41,435 = 2,592 (the causalities of the Cylon occupation and the escape from New Caprica)

Note: While this number of military personnel fits with the estimate about their strength during the settlement of New Caprica, it still does not fit with the depiction of overcrowding on Galactica after the escape from the planet and the destruction of Pegasus, since the battlestar was crewed with approximately 2,600 people to begin with. The number of civilians should therefore be lower.

• Crossroads, Part II
  • Unknown, as there is no intro for this episode.

Season 4

• He That Believeth in Me
  • 39,698 - A loss of 1,701, accounting for the ca. 600 deaths on Pyxis, and ca. additional 1,100 deaths on other ships damaged during the Battle of the Ionian Nebula, such as the Zephyr and Astral Queen. The assumed dead Kara Thrace returns, presumably increasing the number by one. Samuel Anders, Tory Foster, Saul Tigh, and Galen Tyrol likely removed from the count upon revelation of their Cylon nature.

• Six of One
  • 39,676 - 22 unaccounted for deaths from the previous episode. These may be people who were wounded in the battle, but died of their injuries later.

• The Ties That Bind
  • 39,676 - No change. Cally Tyrol dies during the course of the episode.

• Escape Velocity
  • 39,675 - Cally Tyrol's death is accounted for.

• The Road Less Traveled
  • 39,676 - An increase of one; likely a birth in the Fleet. Sergeant Erin Mathias dies during the episode.

• Faith
  • 39,675 - Mathias's death is accounted for. Jean Barolay and Emily Kowalski die during the episode.

• Guess What's Coming to Dinner?
  • 39,673 - Barolay's and Kowalski's deaths are counted.

• Sine Qua Non
  • 39,674 - An unexplained increase by one. During the episode Eammon Pike is found the dead in the Raptor and several pilots were likely killed in the battle at the Resurrection Hub. Natalie Faust succumbs to her injuries from Sharon Agathon's assassination attempt. Her death is not counted.

• The Hub
  • 39,673 - A decrease of one, possibly counting Pike's death. However, the episode takes place concurrently with "Sine Qua Non" and Pike only dies later in the episode.

• Revelations
  • 39,665 - A decrease of eight, likely accounting for the Colonial casualties during the Battle of the Resurrection Hub.

• Sometimes a Great Notion
  • 39,651 - A decrease of fourteen. Accounting for the unnamed pilot executed by D'Anna in "Revelations", and thirteen additional unexplained deaths.
  • 39,650 - Anastasia Dualla commits suicide.

• A Disquiet Follows My Soul
  • 39,644 - A loss of six. Ensign "Easy" Esrin, Lieutenant J. "Shark" Finnegan, and Specialist Brooks are murdered by "Sweet Eight" aboard Raptor 718, and three possible suicides. 2 marines die in the course of the episode.

• The Oath
  • 39,643 - A loss of one, Peter Laird (killed by Tom Zarek).

• Blood on the Scales
  • 39,603 - A loss of 40. Probably casualties of Felix Gaeta and Tom Zarek's coup d'etat. Private Stewart Jaffee and Lance Corporal Maldonaldo are among the slain.

• No Exit
  • 39,556 - A loss of 47, including eleven members of the Quorum, Parr, Tom Zarek and Felix Gaeta, and other probable casualties of the coup.

• Deadlock
  • 39,556 - No change. Ellen Tigh and Sharon Valerii return to the fleet but are not factored into the count.

• Someone to Watch Over Me
  • 39,556 - No change.

• Islanded in a Stream of Stars
  • 39,521 - 35 casualties from the damage done to Galactica by Sharon "Boomer" Valerii's mistimed FTL jump. Cylon workers are among the dead but are not factored into the count.

• Daybreak, Part I
  • 39,516 - 5 unknown casualties, possibly people who were wounded in the previous episode but did not die until later.

• Daybreak, Part II
  • Unknown - No opening count for this episode. Heavy losses incurred during the Battle of The Colony including (but not limited to): Margaret "Racetrack" Edmonson, Hamish "Skulls" McCall, 4 other Viper pilots and the crews of 7 Raptors. Uncounted Cylon casualties include Sharon Valerii, John Cavil, Tory Foster, and the entire Number One, Four, and Five model lines.

• Daybreak, Part III
  • 39,406 - Tally shown digitally available version of "Daybreak, Part III". A loss of 110, most likely casualties from the Battle of the Colony.
  • approx. "38,000" - Closing count given by Admiral Adama, a verbal estimate of the number of survivors who survived to make it to the second Earth. Laura Roslin dies on Earth. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace mysteriously vanishes. Samuel Anders pilots the Fleet into Earth's sun.

• 150,000 Years Later
  • 6,760,000,000 - Estimated current population of Earth, descendants of the survivors of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

Per Episode

No.	Episode	Population	ΔPopulation
1.01	33	50,298	0
1.02	Water	47,958	2340
1.03	Bastille Day	47,958	0
1.04	Act of Contrition	47,958	0
1.05	You Can't Go Home Again	47,954	4
1.06	Litmus	Not Available
1.07	Six Degrees of Separation	Not Available
1.08	Flesh and Bone	47,954	0
1.09	Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down	47,905	49
1.10	The Hand of God	47,898	7
1.11	Colonial Day	47,898	0
1.12	Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I	47,897	1
1.13	Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II	47,887	10
2.01	Scattered	47,875	12
2.02	Valley of Darkness	47,874	1
2.03	Fragged	47,862	12
2.04	Resistance	47,861	1
2.05	The Farm	47,857	4
2.06	Home, Part I	47,858	1
2.07	Home, Part II	47,855	3
2.08	Final Cut	47,853	2
2.09	Flight of the Phoenix	47,853	0
2.10	Pegasus	49,605	1752
2.11	Resurrection Ship, Part I	49,604	1
2.12	Resurrection Ship, Part II	49,604	0
2.13	Epiphanies	49,598	6
2.14	Black Market	49,597	1
2.15	Scar	49,593	4
2.16	Sacrifice	49,590	3
2.17	The Captain's Hand	49,584	6
2.18	Downloaded	49,579	5
2.19	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I	49,579	0
2.20	Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II	49,550	29
3.01	Occupation	Not Available
3.02	Precipice	Not Available
3.03	Exodus, Part I	Not Available
3.04	Exodus, Part II	Not Available
3.05	Collaborators	41,435	8115
3.06	Torn	41,422	13
3.07	A Measure of Salvation	41,420	2
3.08	Hero	41,421	1
3.09	Unfinished Business	41,422	1
3.10	The Passage	41,420	2
3.11	The Eye of Jupiter	41,402	18
3.12	Rapture	41,401	1
3.13	Taking a Break From All Your Worries	41,403	2
3.14	The Woman King	41,401	2
3.15	A Day in the Life	41,398	3
3.16	Dirty Hands	41,400	2
3.17	Maelstrom	41,400	0
3.18	The Son Also Rises	41,399	1
3.19	Crossroads, Part I	41,399	0
3.20	Crossroads, Part II	Not Available
4.01	He That Believeth in Me	39,698	1701
4.02	Six of One	39,676	22
4.03	The Ties That Bind	39,676	0
4.04	Escape Velocity	39,675	1
4.05	The Road Less Traveled	39,676	1
4.06	Faith	39,675	1
4.07	Guess What's Coming to Dinner?	39,673	2
4.08	Sine Qua Non	39,674	1
4.09	The Hub	39,673	1
4.10	Revelations	39,665	8
4.11	Sometimes a Great Notion	39,651	14
4.12	A Disquiet Follows My Soul	39,650	1
4.13	The Oath	39,644	6
4.14	Blood on the Scales	39,643	1
4.15	No Exit	39,603	40
4.16	Deadlock	39,556	47
4.17	Someone to Watch Over Me	39,556	0
4.18	Islanded In a Stream of Stars	39,521	35
4.19	Daybreak, Part I	39,516	5
4.20	Daybreak, Part II	Not Available
4.21	Daybreak, Part III	39,406	110

Analysis

• The detonation of a nuclear warhead on Cloud Nine by the Number Six copy, Gina Inviere, is the first time a ship has been destroyed since the destruction of the Olympic Carrier.
• The ships Adriatic and Carina are also destroyed in "The Passage", however with only skeleton crews aboard.

• A deleted scene from "The Passage" with President Roslin broadcasting a message following the loss of the Carina indicated that they had lost four ships in the star cluster, with 46 men and 12 women aboard those ships.

• Since the end of "33", the Fleet's population has been dying off at a fairly steady rate of approximately 2.1 persons per day. At this rate, barring the arrival of more humans such as that seen in "Pegasus", the Fleet would be completely depopulated within a few decades.
• In "The Captain's Hand" (roughly in the region of Day 250-60), Dr. Baltar estimated that (factoring in the arrival of Pegasus), given the survivor count's current rate of decline, never increasing, the human race will simply go extinct in 18 years. If this refers only to excess mortality, it would mean an average rate of roughly 7.5 people a day. It may be that Baltar's estimate considered more factors, such as labor shortages resulting in famine, which would complicate this model, resulting in the death rate exponentially increasing over time.
• First season survivor counts are available from President Roslin's whiteboard aboard Colonial One. Second season survivor counts are included in the opening titles, as well as the presidential whiteboard.
• The loss of 8,115 people between "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" and "Collaborators" is the highest net loss from one opening title count to another.