The inquiry’s tables
The official numbers
In all, the inquiry says, 2,201 persons were on board when Titanic left Queenstown: 1,316 passengers and 885 crew.1 Of those passengers, the inquiry lists 325 in first class, 285 in second class and 706 in third class, including 109 children.1 The formal investigation records the loss of 1,490 lives.1 The inquiry’s table of numbers saved gives a total of 711 people saved out of 2,201, or 32.30 per cent.1 On that same table, 203 of 325 first-class passengers were saved (62.46 per cent), 118 of 285 in second class (41.40 per cent), and 178 of 706 in third class (25.21 per cent). Of the crew, 212 of 885 were saved.1 The inquiry also records that Carpathia took on board 712 persons, one of whom died shortly afterwards — which is how the official total saved comes to 711.1
The inquiry uses both 712 (people taken on board Carpathia, one of whom died shortly afterwards) and 711 (the official total saved). We use 711 for the official total, and explain the extra person.
Britannica says the exact number killed is unknown, but that it is generally believed that of approximately 2,200 passengers and crew, some 1,500 people perished, and that only about 705 survived.2 Britannica gives first-class passengers the highest survival rate, at about 62 per cent, and says only about 25 per cent of third-class passengers survived.2
Britannica is careful to say that the exact number killed is unknown, and then gives the rounded figures that are generally believed: about 2,200 on board, some 1,500 lost, about 705 saved. The inquiry is more precise, and more official, and it is the set we use when a single figure is needed: 2,201 on board, 1,490 lost, 711 saved. Both belong on the table.
Royal Museums Greenwich also uses rounded losses — approximately 1,500 people, estimated as 815 passengers and 688 crew — which is close to, but not the same as, the inquiry’s 817 passenger deaths and 673 crew deaths. We do not try to make those estimates agree.