The clearest passenger answers
- The final British inquiry counted 1,316 passengers aboard Titanic after Queenstown: 325 first class, 285 second class and 706 third class.
- The same report recorded 499 passenger survivors and 817 passenger deaths, for an overall passenger survival rate of 37.94 percent.
- First-class passenger survival was 62.46 percent, second class 41.40 percent and third class 25.21 percent in the British inquiry table.
- The U.S. Senate report used 1,324 passengers, so 1,316 and 1,324 are both genuine contemporary figures from different investigations.
- This site’s searchable modern passenger directory contains 1,317 records, or 1,316 when the disputed Marius Petersen entry is excluded.
- The British inquiry counted 109 children among the passengers: 6 first class, 24 second class and 79 third class.
Titanic passengers by class: aboard, survived and died
Passenger class was one of the strongest statistical differences in the disaster. These figures all come from the same British inquiry table.
| Passenger class | Aboard | Survived | Died | Survival rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First class | 325 | 203 | 122 | 62.46% |
| Second class | 285 | 118 | 167 | 41.40% |
| Third class | 706 | 178 | 528 | 25.21% |
| All passengers | 1,316 | 499 | 817 | 37.94% |
These are British inquiry figures. Modern name-by-name rolls can differ slightly because disputed and specially classified records are handled differently.
Titanic passenger numbers at a glance
These class totals come from the final British Wreck Commissioner’s report, so they can be compared without mixing different source lists.
Passengers in the British final report
The official report total after Titanic left Queenstown on April 11, 1912.
First class
The smallest passenger class by headcount in the British report.
Second class
The report’s second-class total, including the eight musicians in its passenger list.
Third class
The largest passenger group aboard Titanic.
Passenger survivors
The British inquiry recorded a passenger survival rate of 37.94 percent.
Passenger deaths
The difference between the 1,316 passengers aboard and 499 passengers saved.
The U.S. Senate report used 1,324 passengers instead. The two investigations did not work from perfectly identical passenger lists.
Why do sources give different Titanic passenger totals?
The difference is usually caused by the source list and classification method, not by one simple arithmetic mistake.
| Source or dataset | Passenger total | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| British Wreck Commissioner’s final report | 1,316 | 325 first class, 285 second class and 706 third class. This page uses that internally consistent table for class survival comparisons. |
| U.S. Senate final report | 1,324 | 329 first class, 285 second class and 710 third class. The same report used 899 crew, producing the familiar 2,223 total aboard. |
| TitanicSurvivors.com modern passenger directory | 1,317 | A name-by-name research roll used for searching. It contains one disputed passenger record. |
| Modern roll without Marius Petersen | 1,316 | The same directory with the disputed Petersen record excluded. |
Use one source consistently when calculating percentages. Mixing the British class totals with American survivor figures creates statistics that never appeared in either inquiry.
How many children were passengers on Titanic?
The final British report counted 109 passenger children and showed how unevenly they were distributed among the three classes.
| Class | Children aboard | Survival detail |
|---|---|---|
| First class | 6 | All 6 survived. |
| Second class | 24 | All 24 survived. |
| Third class | 79 | 27 survived and 52 died. |
| All passenger children | 109 | 57 survived and 52 died. |
The modern searchable roll uses its inherited child flag and currently contains 116 passenger records marked as children, another reason modern database counts should be labelled separately from inquiry totals.
How many passengers were on the Titanic?
The strongest single historical answer is 1,316 passengers. That is the total in the final British Wreck Commissioner’s report for Titanic after she left Queenstown on April 11, 1912. The report counted 325 first-class passengers, 285 second-class passengers and 706 third-class passengers.
The U.S. Senate investigation used 1,324 passengers instead: 329 first class, 285 second class and 710 third class. That American total is the source of the widely repeated figure of 2,223 people aboard when it is combined with the Senate report’s 899 crew members.
Neither number should be presented without its source. Titanic records were assembled quickly after a chaotic international disaster, and later researchers have continued to compare tickets, passenger lists, immigration records, cancellations and disputed identities. A modern database can therefore sit close to the inquiry totals without matching either one exactly.
How many first-class passengers were on Titanic?
The British inquiry counted 325 first-class passengers. Of those, 203 survived and 122 died, giving first class the highest passenger survival rate at 62.46 percent.
The class included wealthy families, industrialists, financiers, professionals, servants travelling with employers and some of the best-known names connected with Titanic. John Jacob Astor IV, Benjamin Guggenheim, Isidor and Ida Straus, Margaret Brown and J. Bruce Ismay all travelled first class, although their outcomes were very different.
First class had easier physical access to the upper decks than much of the ship, but class alone did not determine survival. Gender, family decisions, timing, officer instructions and which side of the Boat Deck a passenger reached also mattered.
How many second-class passengers were on Titanic?
The British inquiry counted 285 second-class passengers. It recorded 118 survivors and 167 deaths, a survival rate of 41.40 percent.
Second class included teachers, clergy, professionals, families and tourists. Titanic’s second-class accommodation compared well with first-class facilities on many smaller ships of the period. The inquiry also placed the eight contracted musicians in its second-class passenger list rather than in the 885-person crew total.
That treatment of the musicians is a good example of why historical totals depend on classification. People who clearly worked aboard the ship are not always counted in the category a modern reader would expect.
How many third-class passengers were on Titanic?
The British inquiry counted 706 third-class passengers, making third class the largest passenger group. Only 178 survived and 528 died, a survival rate of 25.21 percent.
Many third-class passengers were emigrants travelling as families or in small community groups toward new lives in the United States and Canada. They occupied cabins and public rooms lower in the ship, and reaching the Boat Deck could involve longer and less familiar routes than it did for many first-class passengers.
The low survival rate cannot be reduced to one cause. Gender, family grouping, language, route complexity, information, gates used for immigration control, crew directions and the timing of lifeboat loading all formed part of the outcome. The site’s separate third-class and locked-below guides examine that evidence in more detail.
How many Titanic passengers survived?
The British inquiry recorded 499 passenger survivors out of 1,316, or 37.94 percent. First class accounted for 203 survivors, second class 118 and third class 178.
Survival varied even more sharply when class and gender are considered together. The British report recorded 140 of 144 first-class adult women surviving, compared with 57 of 175 first-class adult men. In third class, 76 of 165 adult women survived and 75 of 462 adult men survived.
Those statistics describe groups, not individual decisions. The dedicated survival-rate page compares women, men, children, passenger classes and crew using one consistent inquiry dataset.
How many Titanic passengers died?
Using the same British inquiry table, 817 passengers died: 122 first class, 167 second class and 528 third class. Third class therefore suffered both the largest number of passenger deaths and the lowest class survival rate.
Modern name-by-name victim rolls can land on nearby totals because researchers make different calls about disputed passengers and classification. This site’s passenger directory currently contains 817 victim records, including the disputed Marius Petersen entry, alongside 500 modern survivor records.
For official class comparisons, this page stays with the British 1,316 / 499 / 817 table. For searching individual names, it uses the modern passenger directory and labels that dataset separately.
How many children were passengers on Titanic?
The final British report counted 109 passenger children: 6 in first class, 24 in second class and 79 in third class. All 30 first- and second-class children survived. In third class, 27 of 79 children survived and 52 died.
The modern searchable roll on this site contains 116 passenger records marked as children because it follows a later inherited dataset and age flags rather than recreating the British inquiry’s table. The two figures answer different data questions and are kept separate.
The children guides follow individual families and show how sharply class affected outcomes among the youngest people aboard.
How the modern passenger list fits the historical totals
TitanicSurvivors.com currently has 1,317 searchable passenger records: 324 first class, 284 second class and 709 third class. One record, Marius Petersen, is marked doubtful because specialist research disputes whether he was actually aboard for the final Atlantic leg. Excluding him leaves 1,316 modern passenger records.
Matching the British total of 1,316 after that exclusion does not mean the two lists are identical person for person or class for class. The modern directory has different class totals and incorporates later research decisions. It is best treated as a searchable research roll, while the inquiry tables are best used for historical statistics.
Visitors looking for a specific person can search the complete passenger list. Visitors comparing everyone aboard, including crew, can use the People Aboard Titanic hub.
Passenger totals and primary records
The main totals on this page use the 1912 inquiry reports. The modern directory is identified separately whenever its figures are shown.
- British inquiry report: crew and passengers Primary source for the final 1,316 passenger total, class totals and 109 passenger children.
- British inquiry report: numbers saved Primary source for 499 passenger survivors and class, gender and child survival rates.
- U.S. Senate final report: Titanic Primary source for the American 1,324-passenger and 2,223-total figures.
- The National Archives: life aboard Titanic Archival passenger-list material and historical context.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: passengers and crew Modern specialist name research used as a comparison point for disputed records.
- TitanicSurvivors.com passenger list The site’s searchable modern passenger directory.
Continue exploring Titanic passengers
Frequently asked questions
How many passengers were on the Titanic?
The final British inquiry counted 1,316 passengers: 325 first class, 285 second class and 706 third class. The U.S. Senate report used 1,324 passengers.
Why do some sources say 1,316 passengers and others 1,324?
The British and American investigations used slightly different passenger lists and classifications. Both figures come from contemporary official reports.
How many first-class passengers were on Titanic?
The final British inquiry counted 325 first-class passengers. Of those, 203 survived and 122 died.
How many second-class passengers were on Titanic?
The British inquiry counted 285 second-class passengers. It recorded 118 survivors and 167 deaths.
How many third-class passengers were on Titanic?
The British inquiry counted 706 third-class passengers. It recorded 178 survivors and 528 deaths.
How many Titanic passengers survived?
The British inquiry recorded 499 passenger survivors out of 1,316, a survival rate of 37.94 percent.
How many Titanic passengers died?
Using the same British inquiry table, 817 passengers died.
Which passenger class had the highest survival rate?
First class had the highest passenger survival rate in the British inquiry table at 62.46 percent.
Which passenger class had the most deaths?
Third class had 528 passenger deaths in the British inquiry table, more than first and second class combined.
How many children were on Titanic?
The final British report counted 109 passenger children: 6 first class, 24 second class and 79 third class.
Why does the searchable passenger list contain 1,317 records?
The modern directory includes one disputed passenger, Marius Petersen. Excluding that record leaves 1,316.
Where can I search the complete Titanic passenger list?
Use the complete passenger list to search 1,317 modern records by name, class, outcome, gender, age, embarkation and biography.