NDE

 There is no single total number, because most near-death experiences (NDEs) are never reported. But we can estimate from documented cases + prevalence.

Documented cases (research databases)

• The Division of Perceptual Studies reports that researcher Bruce Greyson alone studied over 1,000 cases in his career.  
• The Near Death Experience Research Foundation database contains thousands of submitted reports (often cited as 5,000+ in research discussions).  
• A systematic review of academic case reports (1980–2022) analyzed 465 individuals across 54 formal studies.  
• One crowdsourced study across 35 countries documented 106 confirmed NDEs out of 1,034 participants.  

So formally documented in research literature = thousands, not millions.

Estimated total worldwide

This is where it gets big:

• About 10–20% of people who come close to death report an NDE.  
• Millions of people survive cardiac arrest, accidents, coma, etc.

So researchers infer:

• Likely millions of NDEs have occurred
• But only thousands are formally recorded
• And only hundreds are medically detailed

Rough hierarchy

• Millions — likely happened
• Tens of thousands — publicly reported (books, interviews, online)
• Thousands — collected in research databases
• Hundreds — medically documented with clinical data

The important takeaway:
NDEs are not rare, but carefully documented ones are rare.

If you’re wondering something deeper (e.g., “are they reliable?”, “are verified ones few?”, “do they prove anything?”), I can break that down too.