Camel counter: count your camels
Looking for a camel counter? You’ve found the fun one. This counter doesn’t tally herds in the desert - it counts how many camels you are worth: upload a photo, answer a few playful questions, and an AI does the counting.
And because counting camels turns out to be a surprisingly rich subject, the real numbers are below too: who actually counts the world’s camels, the famous 17-camels riddle, and whether counting camels can put you to sleep.
Count my camels →How this camel counter counts
Under the hood it is the same engine as our camel calculator - the name is the only thing that changes. An AI vision model studies your photo and counts camels for your looks, your personal style and your clothing, and a short questionnaire adds the camels a photo cannot see: humour, cooking, fitness, tidiness and more.
The result is an itemised, animated tally, so you can watch every camel being added to your count. It is free, it is instant, it works as a quiz, a test or an installable app, and nothing you upload is stored.
Who counts the world’s camels for real
Counting camels is a real job. FAO-based livestock statistics put the world’s camel herd at roughly 40 million animals, and the ranking surprises people: Chad now tops the table with about 10.7 million camels, ahead of Somalia with around 7.5 million, the country cited as number one for decades. Counting nomadic herds that roam across borders is so hard that even the experts disagree.
Saudi Arabia keeps count too, with about 1.8 million camels and some 80,000 owners, and tens of thousands of animals are entered into the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival each year. Modern counters increasingly get help from technology: researchers have trained AI models to detect and count livestock in satellite and drone imagery, and engineers have tested AI that spots camels near Saudi highways.
Australia counts its camels from the air
The world’s biggest wild-camel count happens in Australia, home of the only large feral camel population. By 2008 it was feared that up to a million feral camels were roaming the outback, with herds growing by roughly 8 to 10 percent a year. The official counting method is the aerial survey: light aircraft fly measured transects over the desert while observers tally every camel they see.
Those counts drove the A$19 million Australian Feral Camel Management Project, which removed around 160,000 camels between 2009 and 2013 and left a best estimate of about 300,000. Counting camels accurately, it turns out, can be worth millions.
The most famous camel count: the 17-camels riddle
The best-known camel count in history is a puzzle. A father leaves 17 camels to his three sons: half to the eldest, a third to the middle son and a ninth to the youngest. Since 17 divides by none of those, a passing wise man lends his own camel. Of the 18, the sons take 9, 6 and 2 - exactly 17 - and the wise man rides his own camel home.
The trick: one half plus one third plus one ninth adds up to only 17/18, so the eighteenth camel creates the slack that makes the count come out. The tale is traditionally pinned on figures from Ali ibn Abi Talib to Birbal, though historians can trace it back only to 18th-century Iran, and negotiation experts still use the "18th camel" as a metaphor for the idea that unlocks a stuck dispute.
Can counting camels put you to sleep?
Swapping sheep for camels at bedtime sounds promising, but the counting itself is the weak link. In a University of Oxford study, insomniacs who counted sheep took slightly longer than usual to fall asleep, while those who pictured a calm, relaxing scene dropped off about 20 minutes sooner.
So if camels are going to help you sleep, do not count them - picture them: a slow caravan crossing the dunes at dusk beats arithmetic. Save the counting for the fun kind, one screen further down.
Frequently asked questions
What is a camel counter?
It is the playful tool also known as the camel calculator: an AI counts how many camels you are worth from a photo and a few questions. Free, instant and just for fun.
Can it count camels in a picture of camels?
No, this counter appraises people. Real herds are counted with aerial surveys and, increasingly, AI models trained on satellite and drone imagery.
How many camels are there in the world?
Roughly 40 million by FAO-based statistics. Chad leads with about 10.7 million, ahead of Somalia with around 7.5 million, and Australia has the largest feral population at around 300,000.
How does the 17-camels riddle work?
Half, a third and a ninth add up to only 17/18. Lending an 18th camel lets the sons take 9, 6 and 2 camels, exactly 17, and the lender takes his camel back.
Does counting camels help you fall asleep?
Probably not. An Oxford study found counting sheep ineffective, while picturing a relaxing scene helped people fall asleep about 20 minutes sooner. Picture the camels instead.
Is the camel counter free?
Yes - free, no sign-up, and nothing you upload is stored.