2QUESTION 2 OF 3
Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
122
years
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
The easiest place to start is the UK's population, about 70 million. How many people does it take to keep one pub going? A village of a few hundred can, a city needs far more. Call it 2,000 per pub.
- UK population
- 70,000,000
- One pub per 2,000 people
- ≈ 35,000 pubs
- 35,000 ÷ 365 nights
- ≈ 96 years
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Pubs in the UK, BBPA count for 2025
- 44,656
- One pub a night
- ÷ 365
- 44,656 ÷ 365
- ≈ 122 years
Reference cited by Fermi: British Beer & Pub Association: 44,656 UK pubs in 2025, about 122 years at one a night
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.