2QUESTION 2 OF 3
Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
42,000,000
kangaroos
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
Start with Australia's population, about 26 million people. How many kangaroos are there for every person? Probably more, the outback is a big place. Let's assume 1.5 roos for every person.
- Australian population
- ≈ 26,000,000
- Kangaroos per person
- ≈ 1.5
- 26M × 1.5
- ≈ 39,000,000
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Surveyed commercial-harvest-zone population estimate, NSW/QLD/SA/WA/VIC (Australian Government DCCEEW, 2023)
- ≈ 35,000,000
- Australian Government's broader estimate for the whole country, including non-surveyed areas like the NT
- 40,000,000-50,000,000
- Midpoint used as the answer
- ≈ 42,000,000
Reference cited by Fermi: Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), kangaroo population estimates
How close was your guess?
Your comparison will appear here.
Compare by ratio: divide the larger number by the smaller one. The closer to 1×, the better.