The short answer
In the most widely cited data, the top 3 rarest Myers-Briggs personality types are:
- INFJ: about 1.5% of the population
- ENTJ: about 1.8%
- INTJ: about 2.1%
These figures come from a US national representative sample published with the MBTI manual. Other samples give slightly different numbers, and some newer data puts ENTJ ahead of INFJ as the very rarest. Either way, the same three types almost always appear at the top of the list.
Rarest personality types table
Here are the rarest types, from rarest to more common, using the same US sample. Percentages are approximate.
| Rank | Type | Approx. share of population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | INFJ | 1.5% |
| 2 | ENTJ | 1.8% |
| 3 | INTJ | 2.1% |
| 4 | ENFJ | 2.5% |
| 5 | ENTP | 3.2% |
| 6 | INTP | 3.3% |
| 7 | ESTP | 4.3% |
| 8 | INFP | 4.4% |
The remaining eight types are more common, with the most common types each making up more than 10% of the population.
1. INFJ
INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging) is often called the Advocate or Counselor. INFJs are typically described as insightful, idealistic and private, with a strong focus on understanding people and acting on their values. In the US sample, INFJ was the rarest type overall at about 1.5%. Our INFJ personality type guide covers the type in depth.
2. ENTJ
ENTJ (Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging), the Commander, is usually described as decisive, strategic and driven to lead. It came in at about 1.8% overall, and is especially rare among women. Our ENTJ guide covers ENTJ population figures and famous ENTJ characters.
3. INTJ
INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging), the Architect or Mastermind, is typically described as independent, strategic and focused on long-term goals. It came in at about 2.1%. See our full INTJ personality type explainer.
ENTJ and INTJ both belong to the analyst (NT) personality types, which as a group are among the least common in the Myers-Briggs system.
The rarest types by gender
The overall ranking hides large differences between men and women. In the same US sample, approximate figures were:
| Rarest among women | Rarest among men | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | INTJ (about 0.8%) | INFJ (about 1.3%) |
| 2 | ENTJ (about 0.9%) | ENFJ (about 1.6%) |
| 3 | INFJ / INTP (under 2%) | ENTJ (about 2.7%) |
So if you’re a woman who tests as INTJ, you’re in one of the smallest groups in the data. We look at that experience in our guide to the INTJ woman. Thinking-preference types (T) are generally less common among women, and Feeling-preference types (F) less common among men, in most MBTI samples.
Why are these types rare?
There’s no single agreed explanation, but a few patterns stand out:
- Intuition is less common than Sensing. In most samples, roughly a quarter to a third of people prefer Intuition (N). All three of the rarest types are intuitive.
- Combinations multiply rarity. INFJ, ENTJ and INTJ all pair Intuition with Judging, a combination that’s less common than Sensing with Judging.
- Gender patterns. Because T types skew male and F types skew female in most samples, types that are rare in one gender pull down the overall total.
None of this says anything about whether a type is better or worse. It just reflects how preferences are distributed in the samples studied.
Why different sources give different answers
You may see claims that INTJ, ENTJ, INFJ or even ENFJ is the rarest type. That’s usually because:
- Different data sets. National samples, workplace samples and test-site user data all produce different distributions.
- Different tests. The official MBTI and free tests like 16Personalities use different questions. 16Personalities also adds an Assertive/Turbulent suffix that isn’t part of the MBTI.
- Self-selected test takers. People who seek out free personality tests online tend to include more intuitive types, so website statistics often show NT and NF types as more common than national samples do.
- Small differences. The rarest few types are only fractions of a percent apart, so small changes in a sample can reorder them.
What is the most common personality type?
In the same US sample, the most common types were ISFJ (about 14%), ESFJ (about 12%) and ISTJ (about 12%). Among women, ISFJ and ESFJ were most common; among men, ISTJ was most common.
Does being rare mean anything?
Not in terms of value or ability. Rarity simply describes how often a set of preferences shows up in a sample. That said, many people with rare types say they’ve felt “different” or misunderstood, often because fewer people around them share their way of thinking. Knowing that the feeling has a statistical basis can be reassuring.
It’s also worth remembering that a four-letter type isn’t fixed or perfectly measured. If you’re close to the midpoint on a scale, you might come out as a different, more common type on another day.