To populate a new planet, how large a seed population is needed?

Question

How many people?

Answer 1

Billions.. no exact number.

But now almost the entire earth is inhabited and its almost 6.8 Billion of us. and growing. so about seven billion would be a good estimate

Answer 2

Well TECHNICALLY we're all related.

Answer 3

A man and a woman. Once you put one person on a planet it has a population of one.

Answer 4

I like morningf..'s answer.  You can improve your genetic chances by sending supplies of sperm and eggs which can be implanted.  This will greatly enhance your populations genetic variability.  

Having said this, attempting to colonize any planet in our solar system is pointless, and attempting to colonize the planet of a distant star is impossible.  I'll qualify that a bit.  Millions of slow and very small probe with exceedingly capable nanotechnology could be sent on a slow trip to the stars. They could have genetic information on their computers.  Upon arrival on a suitable planet, the information could be modified for local conditions and individuals could be constructed after suitable site preparation had been accomplished.   I have no idea whether such technology is possible, but it is perhaps the only way to colonize the galaxy.  

Answer 5

It's a 'fuzzy' number, but somewhere in the hundreds

would be necessary to give a good chance that there would

be enough genetic diversity that the population didn't degenerate

through inbreeding.

Answer 6

While it is physically possible to start with only 2 people, for safe genetics  you need at least 2000 people.  With careful selection of unrelated people, you *might*  get by with only 200 or 300, but it's risky.

Answer 7

If you can pick a good diverse group of people the consensus is generally around 500. With only 10, you'd have a bunch people like the ones on Pitcairn in a few generations.

Answer 8

Read the Bible  - TWO is all that is needed.

If you are OK with incest and an almost complete lack of genetic variability.  But the Bible is OK with it since all animal life since the flood is descended from two individuals per species - except humans.  In that case - only eight.  

Answer 9

Since we have about 7 billion people on our planet, maybe we can use 1 billion of us to start populating a new planet.  

Answer 10

I think around 250,000 people

Answer 11

According to the creation theory (as least the literal Biblical version of it) we started with just two.  Obviously in that case you'd have to be open to incest.  A larger population would be considered healthier and more politically corrent, but wouldn't technically be necessary from a strickly biological point of view.  If you want to preserve our culture and technology and so on, you'd want at least one doctor, one scientist, one teacher...