How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Dunbar's Circles of Intimacy

Explanations > Groups > Dunbar's Circles of Intimacy

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Professor Robin Dunbar

The number of friends you can have

Circle 1: 5 people: Intimate

These are our most close acquaintances. They are people who we trust deeply and to whom we are most likely to share our darkest secrets. They are likely to include relatives and a few long-term very good friends. They are our main support group to who we turn to first when we are distressed or in difficulty.

We spend around 40% of our time with these people.

In the military, the smallest group is a fireteam, which is typically up to four people. Soldiers are known to fight more for their fireteam than any other grouping, and are often fiercely protective of one another, even in battle.

Circle 2: 15 people: Good friends

These are people who are your very good friends. These are the people you invite to dinner and who you see on the weekend. You go to each others' parties and barbecues. They are always there for you and will always help out when you are in need, whether it is moving house or

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We spend about 20% of our time with these people.

You can have a detailed conversation with up to about 15 people, beyond which it turns into a 'roomful' where conversation breaks up into sub-groups. This is perhaps one reason why 12 people on a jury is a reasonable number - beyond this region and they would be unlikely to ever reach a consensus.

In the army, a squad consists of 8-14 people.

Circle 3: 50 people: Friends

These are

In the army, a platoon is about 49-50 people, which are then divided into squads, sections and patrols.

Circle 4: 150 people: Acquaintances

These are, historically everyone in your village or tribe. Anyone else is an outsider. They are the people you live around and who you know at some level. You recognize most of them, even if you do not know all of their names (but you will know someone who knows them). In such a group, pretty much everyone obeys the social rules as it is difficult to hide.

Companies which get to around this size tend to break into fairly autonomous groups, for example splitting into divisions which work on different products and in different ways. In towns, neighbourhood groups max out around this sort of number.

In the army, a company is about 100 to 250 soldiers.

Beyond 150: The modern world

Facebook friend groups tend to top out and around 200 people or so. After this, the conversation just becomes noise.

In military terms, battalions can range between 500 and 800 people, and regiments up to 2000, though the army does divide these into groups, as above.

See also