Hi there,

I'm working on building up a couple of introductory courses on Go in my city. These week, while talking about it with a mate at work, I realised I don't know how many pro players are there... I would place a few hundreds on each of the three major countries (i.e. Japan, korea and china). But I'm convinced these numbers are available somewhere on the internet, though I can't find them. Does anyone know these?

On the other hand, is there any estimation of the number of amateur players all over the world? I only found this reference:
A Japanese census on go players performed in 2002 estimates that over 24 million people worldwide play go,[1] most of whom live in Asia (extracted from wikipedia)

However, I'm sure the numbers have risen lately... at least in Europe and USA.

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My blog about Go and Boardgames: Alejo's Tenuki

It's difficult to give reliable numbers of pros because most people probably think first of those who play in tournaments, but the various lists include retired pros and lesson pros and so on. Even among those who play in tournaments quite a few have alternative jobs. Some are go-related (e.g. journalism), others are different and onerous (e.g. lawyers). Each country also has its own different system (e.g. China has a lot of coaches), and so the proportions of each type of pro can vary greatly.

Trying to allow for all that, I think passable total figures are as follows:

Japan 530
China 540
Korea 250
Taiwan 70

I'd estimate 60% of these play at least occasionally in national tournaments, but fewer than 20% have ever had years when they could claim to have made a living entirely out of tournament go. The number who make a living out of only tournament go year after year is quite possibly below 5%.

For amateurs, I think the 24 million figure is based on people who list go as a hobby and/or play in clubs (including schools), but only a small proportion would count it as a main hobby or be passionate enough to, for example, read a forum like L19.

Much more significant than numbers, I feel, when you are trying to convey the status of go is its place in each of the main go countries. There the game is almost universally recognised and is generally associated with cleverness. However, not everyone sees it as a respectable activity, especially when it is associated with gambling. In this it is very like chess in the west. One major difference to chess is that go has been played devotedly by a rather high proportion of the likes of emperors, prime ministers and company chairmen, which has meant that sponsorship has been easier and more sustained than for chess.

Thank you very much. I'd estimated Japan's and China's pros to be around 500 each and, out of mere luck, I was quite close to reality. Unaware of Korea's and Taiwan's numbers, I can sum it up around 1390 pro players.

Listing Go as a main hobby would divide the amateur estimation by thousands... and I don't think that having Go as a minor hobby should exclude from listing. During a few years, I haven't played games even monthly, so I can't call it a major hobby, but I'd like to be included in the list anyway.

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My blog about Go and Boardgames: Alejo's Tenuki