# What % of humans can swim?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-humans-can-swim/768493>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 14, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-humans-can-swim/768493 "2016-10-14T06:01:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![JWT\_Kottekoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@JWT\_Kottekoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JWT_Kottekoe)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-humans-can-swim/768493/21 "2016-10-16T00:47:04Z")

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> [@Doughbag](#):
>
> We humans have a natural buoyancy. That is in a swimsuit and not dressed in jeans, shirt, jacked and shoes.

Actually, clothing contributes to bouyancy, especially at first when trapped air enhances it. A [study verifies this](http://www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/occupational-safety/float-first-final-report-2010.pdf) with a winter outfit (including shoes) being better than a summer outfit, which in turn is better than a swimsuit.

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-humans-can-swim/768493/22 "2016-10-16T02:04:24Z")

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That’s a very interesting study. Apart from the issue of clothing buoyancy, I notice that only about 25% of adult males were able to float motionlessly in a swimming pool with their airway clear of the water, although most of the adult females could. This seems inconsistent with several assertions upthread that humans are natural swimmers. If you can’t even float without drowning, you need to be trained to swim.

–Mark

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**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-of-humans-can-swim/768493/23 "2016-10-16T15:19:39Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> But human adults, which is what the OP asked about, do not swim instinctively, for the reasons mentioned.
> 
> Swimming in humans is a learned skill. That’s why countries with no access to open water, or pools, have lower percentages of people who can swim.
> 
> Regards,  
> Shodan

Short, sweet and to the point.

BTW you must have noticed it too, how we keep going over and over on this subject of why more people don’t swim, thread after thread, year after year?

[Seinfeld]What’s up with that?[/Seinfeld]

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