April 15, 1912
The scale of the disaster
In the early hours of the morning, the RMS Titanic disappeared beneath the North Atlantic. The toll was staggering.
Survival Rate
Only 1 in 3 made it out alive
Each dot represents 1 in 100 passengers. Yellow means survived.
38%
survived
each ● = 1 in 100 passengers
Of the estimated 2,224 people on board, only around 38% survived. The rest were lost to the freezing waters of the North Atlantic.
But that number was far from evenly distributed. Survival depended heavily on who you were, where you slept, and who you were with.
Factor 01 — Gender
Women were four times more likely to survive
The "women and children first" protocol had a dramatic effect. The numbers speak for themselves.
74%
Female
74 in 100 survived
19%
Male
19 in 100 survived
A woman's chance of survival was 74%. A man's was just 19%.
Factor 02 — Passenger Class
Your ticket determined your fate
First-class passengers had better access to lifeboats, deck space, and information. The difference was life and death.
A 3rd-class passenger was 2.6× less likely to survive than someone in 1st class.
Factor 03 — Port of Embarkation
Where you boarded shaped your odds
Cherbourg passengers fared best — partly because more first-class travellers boarded there.
Factor 04 — Family Size
Travelling alone was dangerous. So was a large group.
Small families — 1 to 3 relatives — had the highest survival rate. Solitary passengers and large groups both fared worse.
Small family (1–3 relatives)58%
Large family (4+ relatives)16%
Having someone with you helped — but too many people made coordinating survival nearly impossible.
