AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR

An 'amateur radio operator' is an individual who, typically, uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the Amateur Radio Service. Most amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio license by a governmental regulatory authority. As a component of his or her license, most amateur radio operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication. There are about three million amateur radio operators worldwide.^[1]
Amateur radio operators are also known as 'radio amateurs' or 'hams'. The term 'ham' as a nickname for amateur radio operators originated in a pejorative usage by operators in commercial and professional radio communities. The word was subsequently welcomed by amateur radio operators, and it stuck. An amateur radio operator who has died is referred to by other amateur radio operators as a "silent key", and the suffix /SK is appended to his or her callsign.

An amateur radio operator

Amateur radio operator running high-speed computer-generated telegraphy during a competition

Amateur radio operator working HF

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Country	Number of amateur radio operators[2]	Year of Report
Japan	1,296,059	1999
USA	722,330	2007[3]
Thailand	141,241	1999
South Korea	141,000	2000
Germany	79,666	2000
Taiwan	68,692	1999
Canada	63,547	2007
Spain	58,700	1999
United Kingdom	58,426	2000
Russia	38,000	1993
Brazil	32,053	1997
Italy	30,000	1993
Indonesia	27,815	1997
France	18,500	1997
Ukraine	17,265	2000
Argentina	16,889	1999
India	10,679	2000
South Africa	6,000	1994
Norway	5,302	2000
Malaysia	2,730	2006
China	800	2000

Contents

Demographics of amateur radio operators

Gender

Age

References

Demographics of amateur radio operators

Few governments maintain detailed demographic statistics of their amateur radio operator populations, aside from recording the total number of licensed operators. The majority of amateur radio operators worldwide reside in Japan, the United States, Thailand, South Korea, and the nations of Europe. Only the governments of Yemen and North Korea currently prohibit their citizens from becoming amateur radio operators. In some countries, acquiring an amateur radio license is difficult because of the bureaucratic processes or fees that place access to a license out of reach for most citizens. Most nations permit foreign nationals to earn an amateur radio license, but very few amateur radio operators are licensed in multiple countries.

Gender

In the vast majority of countries, the population of amateur radio operators is overwhelmingly male. In the United States, approximately 15% of amateur radio operators are women.^[4] In China, only 12% of amateur radio operators are women.^[5] Some amateur radio activities have a more balanced male/female ratio, such as Amateur Radio Direction Finding: 33% of the competitors at the 2004 World ARDF Championship were women.^[6] The Young Ladies Radio League is an international organization of female amateur radio operators.
A male amateur radio operator can be referred to as an OM, an abbreviation used in Morse code telegraphy for "old man", regardless of the operator's age. A female amateur radio operator can be referred to as a YL, from the abbreviation used for "young lady", regardless of the operator's age. XYL was once used by amateur radio operators to refer to an unlicensed woman, usually the wife of a male amateur radio operator; today, the term has come to mean any female spouse of an amateur radio operator, licensed or not. Although these codes are derived from English language abbreviations, their use is common among amateur radio operators worldwide.

Age

In most countries there is no minimum age requirement to earn an amateur radio license and become an amateur radio operator. Although the number of amateur radio operators in many countries increases from year to year, the average age of amateur radio operators is quite high. In some countries, the average age is over 60 years old, with most amateur radio operators earning their license in their 40s or 50s.
Some national radio societies have responded to this by developing programs specifically to encourage youth participation in amateur radio, such as the American Radio Relay League's Amateur Radio Education and Technology Program.^[7] The World Wide Young Contesters organization promotes youth involvement, particularly amongst Europeans, in competitive radio contesting.

References

1. Ham Radio for Dummies, , H Ward, Silver, Wiley Publishing, ,
2. Status Summary of Radio Amateurs & Amateur Stations of the World
3. Hamdata Database] [Presentation of FCC license data
4. A Study of Amateur Radio Gender Demographics Kenneth E Harker
5.
6. 12th World Amateur Radio Direction Finding Championship
7. The ARRL Amateur Radio Education & Technology Program