Gallup poll: 57 percent say UFOs are real

When: 1978
Sources: 2 public sources

George Gallup, founder of the Gallup poll Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A 1978 Gallup survey found 57 percent of Americans who had heard of UFOs thought they were something real rather than imagination, the highest result Gallup recorded with that wording. Gallup later noted that 'real' did not necessarily mean alien craft.

Sources

OfficialLarger Minority in U.S. Says Some UFOs Are Alien Spacecraft (opens in a new tab)Gallup / 2021-08-20
OtherOnly One-Third of Public Deny Existence of UFOs, Extraterrestrial Life (The Gallup Poll release, 12 March 1987) (opens in a new tab)The Gallup Poll (text copy hosted by textfiles.com) / 1987-03-12

How sources are chosen and tiered

Where it fits

Earlier in Close encountersSturrock survey of American Astronomical Society membersMay 1977 Later in Close encountersNight guard Pier Fortunato Zanfretta reports encounter near Torriglia6 Dec 1978

See it on the timeline More in Close encounters