There’s been a whole lot said in the last week or so about the need for better developed female characters in Star Wars and the Expanded universe. Over at Lightsaber Rattling, Pete Morrison decided to look at EU novels since 2006 and crunch some numbers.

Some figures Pete unearthed:

• Male Character Per Novel Average: 9.9
• Female Character Per Novel Average: 5.13
• Ratio of Male to Female Characters: 1.93 to 1.

It’s important to note that this isn’t a look at the quality of female characters written into these books (which is another topic entirely), just the quantity. However, it seems that even on the strict numbers front, fans asking for more to be done with female characters have a point. Female characters are nearly outnumbered 2-to-1 in the Expanded Universe since 2006.

In addition to breaking these numbers down further by year, Pete has also written a great editorial to go along with this piece. Go to the link above and read through his excellent post.