What is the prevalence of giftedness?

While estimates of intellectual giftedness in the general population have ranged from 1 per cent to 20 per cent, a safe estimate is that 10 percent of the population are at least “mildly gifted or talented.”¹

There are currently no national estimates of giftedness in Canada.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in 2011-2012, there were 3.2 million students² enrolled in gifted programs. That same year there were 83 million students³, representing about 3.8 per cent of the population.

This statistic only provides an estimate regarding how many gifted learners are identified and accommodated in the U.S. public education system.

References

1. Bélanger, J., & Gagné, F. (2006). Estimating the size of the gifted/talented population from multiple identification criteria. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 30(2), pp. 131-163

2. Gifted Education in the U.S. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us

3. U.S. Census Bureau (2013). School Enrollment in the United States: 2011 (P20-571). Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/policy/os/onschools_2017e.pdf