What Is The Rarest Personality Type in the World?

Oftentimes, such questions pop into people’s heads because of the preconceived notion that being rare equals being unique and thus better than others. Besides, that’s why diamonds are so expensive, right?

While rarity might determine the value of gems, this isn’t quite the case when it comes to people. In truth, every personality type is distinct from others and possesses certain strengths and weaknesses.

Not only that, but no two people of the same personality type are the same—no matter how common or not their personality type is!

With that out of the way, let’s analyze the prevalence of different personality types and find out what the rarest personality type is!

Let’s cut to the chase—the rarest personality type of all is INFJ (Counselor). People with this personality type are thought to make up just 1.5% of the general population.

For comparison, almost 14% of people are thought to identify with the most common personality type, ISFJ (Defender).

On that note, here’s a handy table that’ll give you more insight into the prevalence of different personality types and their distribution among male and female populations:

Personality Type	General Population	Men	Women
INFJ	1.5%	1.2%	1.6%
ENTJ	1.8%	2.7%	0.9%
INTJ	2.1%	3.3%	0.9%
ENFJ	2.5%	1.6%	3.3%
ENTP	3.2%	4.0%	2.4%
INTP	3.3%	4.8%	1.7%
ESTP	4.3%	5.6%	3.0%
INFP	4.4%	4.1%	4.6%
ISTP	5.4%	8.5%	2.3%
ENFP	8.1%	6.4%	9.7%
ESFP	8.5%	6.9%	10.1%
ESTJ	8.7%	11.2%	6.3%
ISFP	8.8%	7.6%	9.9%
ISTJ	11.6%	16.4%	6.9%
ESFJ	12%	7.5%	16.9%
ISFJ	13.8%	8.1%	19.4%

Now, even though the consensus is that INFJ is the rarest personality type, the answer to this question isn’t that straightforward. The percentages above may vary depending on the sample size and other factors, such as whether the survey is national, regional, etc.

In fact, research suggests that people who live in mountainous areas tend to be more introverted than those living in flatlands. As such, results may differ from state to state or country to country.

Discover more about your personality

Although some personality types are distributed differently among men and women, the INFJ personality type is also the rarest personality type among men. Just around 1.2% of men are thought to belong to this type.

While it’s difficult to say why exactly male INFJs are so few and far between, it’s not all that surprising. After all, Counselors are generally rare, and it’s more common for men to identify as thinkers than feelers.

Besides that, the INFJ personality type has many traits that are deemed traditionally feminine, such as sensitivity, empathy, and intuition. While these characteristics are often encouraged in women, men are frequently taught to suppress them, which might partially explain why few men identify as Counselors.

Also, some personality types are more prevalent among women than men. For example, ISFJ (Defender) males are much rarer (8.1%) than their female counterparts (19.4%).

Now, let’s see what are the five rarest personality types among the male population:

INFJ - 1.2%
ENFJ - 1.6%
ENTJ - 2.7%
INTJ - 3.3%
ENTP - 4%

While INFJ is the least common personality type generally and among men, the rarest personality types among women are ENTJ (Commander) and INTJ (Mastermind).

Only 1.8% of women belong to either of these personality types. These two personality types are rare in general, but they’re even less common among women.

Again, while there’s no clear-cut answer as to why female ENTJs and INTJs are rare, it’s safe to say that these types display traits stereotypically associated with men. Logical and analytical, XNTJ personalities are more focused on efficiency and their goals than the emotional side of things, which might be one of the reasons why not many women relate to these types.

Like with male personalities, some personality types may be rather common among males yet fairly uncommon among the female population. Some examples of this include female ISTJs and INTPs, both of which are relatively rare—especially when compared to their male counterparts.

That being said, here are the five rarest personality types among women:

INTJ - 0.9%
ENTJ - 0.9%
INFJ - 1.6%
INTP - 1.7%
ISTP - 2.3%

As you may have noticed, some personality types are less common than others. Whether we look at the male, female, or the general population, the rarest personality types besides INFJ are:

ENTJ (Commander). Commanders are known for their impeccable leadership skills and hunger for success. By nature, they are strategic big-picture thinkers who favor innovation over tradition.
INTJ (Mastermind). Masterminds are analytical, strategic, and individualistic. These independent spirits possess inquisitive minds and display unwavering eagerness to learn new things and improve themselves.
ENFJ (Teacher). Teachers are as charismatic and outgoing as they are responsible and organized. Thanks to this and their innate empathy and persuasiveness, they make great leaders who can inspire positive change.

Interestingly, all of the rarest personality types, including INFJs, share intuitive (N) and judging (J) traits. This means that they tend to think abstractly, focusing on the grand scheme of things rather than the details. Still, their judging trait determines that they like to lead organized lives, which often helps them bring their ideas to reality.

Besides that, they are all either dominant or auxiliary users of the rarest, most mystifying cognitive function of all— introverted intuition (Ni).

This function indicates that these personalities perceive and understand the world by reading between the lines and recognizing patterns, which often helps them predict how events will play out in the future.

Reveal your key personality traits

Now, let’s explore the rarest personality type—INFJ—in greater depth by examining the key traits that form their personality type:

By nature, INFJs are introverted and thus tend to keep to themselves. Since they gain energy from spending time alone, they usually embrace solitude and don’t feel the need to be always around other people.

More often than not, INFJs prefer listening to talking and only share their innermost feelings only with those they wholeheartedly trust. Since they have rich inner worlds and often get lost in them, they can also come off as rather detached and aloof despite being highly empathetic.

Being intuitive, INFJs tend to focus more on abstract ideas than concrete details. This also means that they’re often more concerned with the future and the potential of things rather than the here and now.

Like other intuitive personality types, INFJs enjoy deep conversations, especially of philosophical nature. They’re also interested in figuring out the meaning behind things. As such, they are often drawn to symbolism and use metaphorical expressions to convey their thoughts.

Since INFJs favor feeling over thinking, they tend to make decisions based on what feels right to them and benefits those around them.

It’s not that they aren’t rational—on the contrary, INFJs are often considered the most analytical and logical feelers. They simply possess a great deal of empathy and prioritize feelings over cold, hard facts. Unsurprisingly, INFJs tend to be very thoughtful and compassionate, with many of them identifying as highly sensitive people.

Contrary to popular belief, the judging personality trait doesn’t make someone—in this case, INFJs—judgmental. It simply shows a propensity for planning, organization, and establishing order in the external world.

As such, INFJs tend to be fairly organized and prefer to plan things out to going with the flow. Moreover, they have a strong work ethic and a deep-rooted sense of responsibility. While these can cause them to struggle with perfectionism, it also helps them stay consistent and achieve their goals.

Ultimately, NJ personality types are the least common out there, with the rarest personality type being INFJ.

That said, no personality type is better or worse than others. Although rare personalities are more likely to feel misunderstood, common types aren’t immune to that either.

So, whether you belong to some of the most common or rarest personality types in the world, don’t forget that we are all different and unique regardless of how many people share our personality type!

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