# Drake Equation for Love Calculator

URL: https://speedycalculator.com/calculators/everyday-life/drake-equation-love/
Last updated: 2026-10-25

> The Drake equation for love calculator estimates how many potential partners live in your city using Peter Backus's tongue-in-cheek version of the Drake equation – population, gender, age range, relationship status, education, attraction and compatibility.

## Inputs

- Population of your city
- Share of preferred gender (%)
- Share in your preferred age range (%)
- Share who are single (%)
- Share with the education you want (%)
- Share you find attractive (%)
- Share who would find you attractive (%)
- Share you would get on with (%)

## Results

- Potential partners
- Chance a random person is a match
- One in

## Formula

```
Potential partners = population × gender share × age-range share × single share × education share × attractive share × mutual-attraction share × compatibility share
```

## Explanation

In 2010 economist Peter Backus adapted the Drake equation – used to estimate the number of alien civilisations – to estimate why he didn't have a girlfriend. He found only 26 women in London who might be suitable. The result is a playful way to see how each preference narrows the field.

### How to use the Drake Equation for Love Calculator

- **Population of your city**
- **Share of preferred gender**
- **Share in your preferred age range**
- **Share who are single**
- **Share with the education you want**
- **Share you find attractive**
- **Share who would find you attractive**
- **Share you would get on with**

Results update as you type, and every field accepts the units shown in its menu.

### How it works

Enter your city's population and the share of people who match each criterion. Defaults roughly follow Backus's original assumptions.

### Tips

- Results are estimates meant for planning and fun – adjust the inputs to match your situation.
- Everything runs in your browser, so you can try as many variations as you like.
- Share the result link with friends so everyone sees the same numbers.
- For safety-related hobbies (hammocks, balloons, tents), follow the manufacturer's limits.

### Common mistakes to avoid

- Using default values when you know your own figures.
- Treating rough rules of thumb as exact.
- Forgetting to add breaks, travel or setup time.

### Inputs explained

FieldWhat to enterPopulation of your cityA numberShare of preferred genderIn %Share in your preferred age rangeIn %Share who are singleIn %Share with the education you wantIn %Share you find attractiveIn %Share who would find you attractiveIn %Share you would get on withIn %

### What each result means

- **Potential partners** = [Population of your city]×[Share of preferred gender]÷100×[Share in your preferred age range]÷100×[Share who are single]÷100×[Share with the education you want]÷100×[Share you find attractive]÷100×[Share who would find you attractive]÷100×[Share you would get on with]÷100
- **Chance a random person is a match** = [Potential partners]÷[Population of your city]×100
- **One in** = [Population of your city]÷max([Potential partners], 1e-9)

### Example values

How the main result changes when **Population of your city** changes and everything else stays at the example values above:

Population of your cityPotential partners500,0001.9750,0002.81,000,0003.81,250,0004.71,500,0005.62,000,0007.5

## Worked example

Inputs — Population of your city: 1,000,000; Share of preferred gender: 50 %; Share in your preferred age range: 20 %; Share who are single: 50 %; Share with the education you want: 30 %; Share you find attractive: 5 %; Share who would find you attractive: 5 %; Share you would get on with: 10 %.

Results — **Potential partners = 3.8**; Chance a random person is a match = 0.00038 %; One in = 266,667.

## FAQ

**Is this a real scientific formula?**
No – it's a light-hearted adaptation of the Drake equation by economist Peter Backus.

**How many matches did Backus find?**
26 potential girlfriends among London's 4 million women in 2010.

**How can I improve my odds?**
Loosen one or two criteria – each one multiplies the result.


## Sources

- [Backus, P. (2010) – Why I don't have a girlfriend: an application of the Drake equation to love in the UK](https://www.astrobio.net/)