What is the percentage of people who are right-handed,left-handed, and ambidextr

Question:

What is the percentage of people who are right-handed,left-handed, and ambidextrous ?

I think 85% of the population is right-handed....not sure,though!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

"For years, it has been widely accepted that 1 in 10 people are left-handed....The most recent study, by Prof. Chris McManus who has conducted widespread research into the genetic causes of handedness, has concluded that 13% of the population are currently left-handed." 1

So, if 13% of the population are left-handed, then it would follow that 87% are right-handed.

Ambidexterity literally means "two rights." The reason this ability was labeled such, I'm guessing, is that right-handedness has traditionally been seen as the "correct" handedness, and therefore, anyone who can use both hands with equal aplomb would be considered to have "two right hands." ("Dexter" is Latin for "right," and "sinister" is Latin for "left." Back in ancient times, being left-handed was considered to be evil, and that the person was possessed by demons.)

Anyway, I couldn't find any hard statistics on ambidexterity. However, most people actually have the ability to use both hands with equal ease, but for different tasks. Example: write with the left hand, but golf right-handed. This is not uncommon. I suspect more natural lefties are ambidextrous because we've (yes I'm a lefty) had to live and adapt to a right-handed world. And make no mistake....this is a very right-handed world. Everything from refrigerators to scissors to the little bits of artwork on the inside of a mug are geared toward right-handers.

HEY! I just found this statistic! "Only two percent of the world's population is truly ambidextrous."
--Science Friday, NPR, hosted by Ira Flatow, 8/8/97

So, either the stats look like this: left-hand = 13%; ambidextrous = 2%; right-hand = 85%

OR

the ambidextrous ones are reflected *within* the 13%/87%, because people are just predominantly left- or right-handed, but some of them possess the ability to use the other hand with equal ease. Does that make sense? In other words, 13% are lefties, but 1% of those 13% can use both hands with the same ease. Same thing for the 87% right-handers.

Anyway, I'm ambidextrous to a degree. I can write with my right hand, but very uncomfortably; it's very difficult and takes intense concentration. However, I can write both forwards and backwards at the same time (two pens...one in each hand), with tremendous ease and no thought whatsoever. I don't even pay attention to my right hand; I just let it "mirror" what my left hand does by simple muscle memory. It's weird.

Anyway, the two links below have a lot of interesting factoids about left-handedness. Have fun researching!