"1 in 3 people" vs. "1 of 3 people" vs. "1 out of 3" people (2025)

Thanks for your reply. I'll take a sentence pattern that I often see in statistical reports:

1 in 7 people have extramarital affairs.

Is it just as correct to use "1 out of 7 people" or "1 of 7 people" in the same context? Thank you.

You would use "1 of 3" in a context such as:

We know that one of three people was guilty.

Jo1234 said:

"1 in 3" and "1 out of 3" = more general - it can mean any three people, and is usually used for statistics.
"1 of 3 people" = a specific three people.

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In refernce to a specific 3, then (at least in AE) we would use an article: "one of the three people"

"One in three drivers report not wearing their seatbelt." (meaning: 33% of drivers overall)

"4 out of 5 dentists recommend our mouthwash!" (same meaning as above, the wording just draws attention to the numbers.)

"The paramedic was told that one of the three climbers was badly hurt." (a specific three climbers)

Sikaranista said:

In refernce to a specific 3, then (at least in AE) we would use an article: "one of the three people"

(snip)

"The paramedic was told that one of the three climbers was badly hurt." (a specific three climbers)

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In your example sentence, yes. But there are exceptions: "He was one of three people interviewed for the job." I don't think you need "the" here (though you could say it).

Cat Glass said:

1 in 7 people have extramarital affairs

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I know it's an awfully old thread, but I feel that CatGlass's example sentence should read
1 in 7 people has extramarital affairs
and I'm surprised that no one remarked that in their responses.

I'd like to marginally add that in my view many more than just 1 in 7 people have such affairs..

bearded said:

but I feel that CatGlass's example sentence should read
1 in 7 people has extramarital affairs

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Aren't these native English speakers a contrary bunch? You might feel that, but that seems really odd to me. I suppose I regard "1 in 7 people" as a mass noun that has plural grammar.

bearded said:

I know it's an awfully old thread, but I feel that CatGlass's example sentence should read
1 in 7 people has extramarital affairs
and I'm surprised that no one remarked that in their responses.

I'd like to marginally add that in my view many more than just 1 in 7 people have such affairs..

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No, "1 in [number]" and "1 out of [number]" take plural verbs

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cross-posted and agreeing with Andy

If there are seven people in our sample, then one in seven = one person, so a singular verb is needed.

However, many social scientists will feel that a sample of seven is just a tiny bit inadequate. In fact, few scientists will work with samples below 100. At that point, one in seven = 14 people and if course they take a plural verb.

Just to add:

We could use a singular verb if we changed the subject:
One in seven people have ...
One person in seven has ...

bearded said:

I know it's an awfully old thread, but I feel that CatGlass's example sentence should read
1 in 7 people has extramarital affairs

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.. except that this refers to a percentage (14.28%) and does not refer to a group of only seven people. If you're talking about Italy, pop. 5.9 million, for example, it refers to roughly 9.8 million fornicators.
(This should not be construed as picking on Italians, which are chosen as an example solely because of the location of the OP.)
Corrected to fix missing "not."