Lifesaving Merit Badge History

Earned through 20203,150,759

Best year197379,617 earned

All-time popularity#8official, as of 2020#8by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1911. Peak year 1973 with 79,617. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19113 earned#7 of 22

191272 earned#6 of 51

1913234 earned#5 of 56

1914359 earned#9 of 58

1915379 earned#11 of 58

1916532 earned#9 of 56

1917792 earned#15 of 58

1918982 earned#10 of 58

19192,297 earned#11 of 59

19201,973 earned#14 of 59

19213,334 earned#14 of 61

19224,611 earned#12 of 61

19234,897 earned#13 of 63

19244,564 earned#15 of 64

19259,500 earned#5 of 64

19268,316 earned#15 of 65

19279,551 earned#14 of 68

19289,413 earned#19 of 88

192911,983 earned#16 of 89

193012,905 earned#15 of 92

193114,344 earned#17 of 96

193215,657 earned#14 of 98

193316,281 earned#15 of 101

193414,595 earned#15 of 101

193514,989 earned#16 of 101

193614,471 earned#13 of 101

193714,672 earned#13 of 102

193817,479 earned#15 of 105

193919,352 earned#15 of 106

194019,213 earned#14 of 106

194118,035 earned#11 of 106

194215,837 earned#13 of 110

194317,205 earned#12 of 112

194421,274 earned#11 of 111

194520,717 earned#13 of 111

194618,487 earned#11 of 111

194717,502 earned#11 of 111

194817,178 earned#11 of 111

194919,171 earned#11 of 111

195019,697 earned#12 of 111

195123,085 earned#11 of 111

195227,484 earned#9 of 120

195324,747 earned#9 of 105

195431,058 earned#11 of 103

195535,137 earned#11 of 100

195637,586 earned#9 of 100

195737,310 earned#10 of 100

195840,441 earned#9 of 101

195943,603 earned#9 of 101

196051,248 earned#9 of 100

196157,731 earned#8 of 101

196258,888 earned#8 of 101

196362,421 earned#8 of 102

196463,716 earned#5 of 107

196564,998 earned#5 of 109

196664,560 earned#5 of 110

196768,439 earned#6 of 112

196869,232 earned#5 of 112

196971,245 earned#5 of 113

197073,331 earned#5 of 113

197169,695 earned#5 of 113

197270,455 earned#5 of 124

197379,617 earned#3 of 122

197452,383 earned#13 of 121

197548,614 earned#15 of 128

197644,995 earned#17 of 130

197750,268 earned#9 of 130

197836,113 earned#15 of 131

197934,395 earned#13 of 132

198023,972 earned#15 of 132

198132,904 earned#18 of 134

1982No data available

1983No data available

1984No data available

1985No data available

1986No data available

1987No data available

1988No data available

1989No data available

1990No data available

1991No data available

1992No data available

199337,828 earned#18 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

199638,445 earned#20 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

200037,326 earned#22 of 128

200132,651 earned#22 of 129

200234,329 earned#23 of 129

200333,161 earned#22 of 130

200431,632 earned#23 of 121

200528,552 earned#24 of 121

200629,119 earned#24 of 121

200727,676 earned#23 of 121

200828,516 earned#22 of 121

200928,483 earned#24 of 122

201027,739 earned#24 of 125

201129,382 earned#21 of 129

201228,228 earned#22 of 132

201325,945 earned#18 of 129

201424,474 earned#25 of 136

201523,983 earned#25 of 138

201622,382 earned#25 of 138

201720,748 earned#25 of 139

201820,952 earned#25 of 139

201919,444 earned#25 of 139

20205,842 earned#58 of 137

2021No data available#29 of 137

2022No data available#28 of 138

2023No data available#27 of 138

2024No data available#29 of 138

2025No data available#30 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#30 of 141" means the badge was number 30 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.

19113#7 of 22

191272#6 of 51

1913234#5 of 56

1914359#9 of 58

1915379#11 of 58

1916532#9 of 56

1917792#15 of 58

1918982#10 of 58

19192,297#11 of 59

19201,973#14 of 59

19213,334#14 of 61

19224,611#12 of 61

19234,897#13 of 63

19244,564#15 of 64

19259,500#5 of 64

19268,316#15 of 65

19279,551#14 of 68

19289,413#19 of 88

192911,983#16 of 89

193012,905#15 of 92

193114,344#17 of 96

193215,657#14 of 98

193316,281#15 of 101

193414,595#15 of 101

193514,989#16 of 101

193614,471#13 of 101

193714,672#13 of 102

193817,479#15 of 105

193919,352#15 of 106

194019,213#14 of 106

194118,035#11 of 106

194215,837#13 of 110

194317,205#12 of 112

194421,274#11 of 111

194520,717#13 of 111

194618,487#11 of 111

194717,502#11 of 111

194817,178#11 of 111

194919,171#11 of 111

195019,697#12 of 111

195123,085#11 of 111

195227,484#9 of 120

195324,747#9 of 105

195431,058#11 of 103

195535,137#11 of 100

195637,586#9 of 100

195737,310#10 of 100

195840,441#9 of 101

195943,603#9 of 101

196051,248#9 of 100

196157,731#8 of 101

196258,888#8 of 101

196362,421#8 of 102

196463,716#5 of 107

196564,998#5 of 109

196664,560#5 of 110

196768,439#6 of 112

196869,232#5 of 112

196971,245#5 of 113

197073,331#5 of 113

197169,695#5 of 113

197270,455#5 of 124

197379,617#3 of 122

197452,383#13 of 121

197548,614#15 of 128

197644,995#17 of 130

197750,268#9 of 130

197836,113#15 of 131

197934,395#13 of 132

198023,972#15 of 132

198132,904#18 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

199337,828#18 of 123

1994—

1995—

199638,445#20 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

200037,326#22 of 128

200132,651#22 of 129

200234,329#23 of 129

200333,161#22 of 130

200431,632#23 of 121

200528,552#24 of 121

200629,119#24 of 121

200727,676#23 of 121

200828,516#22 of 121

200928,483#24 of 122

201027,739#24 of 125

201129,382#21 of 129

201228,228#22 of 132

201325,945#18 of 129

201424,474#25 of 136

201523,983#25 of 138

201622,382#25 of 138

201720,748#25 of 139

201820,952#25 of 139

201919,444#25 of 139

20205,842#58 of 137

2021—#29 of 137

2022—#28 of 138

2023—#27 of 138

2024—#29 of 138

2025—#30 of 141

Grand total through 2020:

This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.

Lifesaving: workbook data

Printings (110)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	HC	Notes
c	1919		1B-1					Address of President Woodrow Wilson to the National Council on page ii, followed by and introduction on pages iii and iv. Pages v, vi, vii, viii and ix present information for Applications, Local Authorities, The Examination, Court of Honor Procedure, Presentation of Awards, and Special Scout Awards. Page x list the merit badge requirements
x	1919		1B-1					hb 20th edition reference
	1920	not made
	1921	not made
c	1922		2
x	1923		2
	1924	not made
	1925		3A
c	1925		3A					with pasted in requirements
x	1926		3A
x	1927		3A
	1928	not made
x	1929		3B
x	1929	August	3B
	1930	January	3B
x	1930	July	3B	blank		1930
c	1931	July	3B
x	1932	February	3B		1M
x	1932	November	3B		2M
	1933	not made
x	1934	April	3B		1M
x	1934	November	3B		1M
x	1935	April	3B		1M
x	1935	November	3B		2M
x	1936	November	3B		4M
	1936	November	3B		4M			with pasted 1937 requirements
x	1936	November	3B		4M			with pasted 1938 requirements
	1937	not made
c	1938	January	3B
	1938	December	3C		1M
x	1938	December	3D		1M
x	1939	April	3C		3M
x	1939	April	3D		3M
x	1940	April	3C		4M
x	1940	April	3D		4M
x	1940	April	4		4M
x	1941	July	4		3M
x	1942	March	4		4M
x	1943	June	4		3M		HCA
x	1944	March	4		8M
x	1944	March	5A		8M	1944
x	1945	January	5B		7M	1944
x	1945	September	5B		6M	1944
x	1946	April	5B		10M	1944	HCF
	1947	May	5B			1944
x	1947	October	5B		10M	1944
	1948	not made
x	1949	May	5B		8M	1944
x	1950	June	5B		7M	1944
x	1951	April	5B		7M	1944
x	1951	September	5B		10M	1944	HCI
x	1952	December	6A		10M	1944
x	1953	October	6A		4M	1944
x	1954	February	6A		15M	1944
x	1955	January	6A		15M	1944	HCJV1
x	1955	October	6A		20M	1944	HCJV1
x	1956	August	6A		20M	1944
x	1957	April	6A		25M	1944
x	1958	May	6A		25M	1944
x	1959	May	6A		25M	1944
x	1960	May	6A		23M	1944
x	1961	February	6A		30M	1944	HCJV2
x	1962	January	6A		30M	1944	HCJ
x	1962	December	6A		35M	1944	HCJV2, HCP
	1963	not made
x	1964	May	6A		40M	1944
x	1965	September	6B		40M	1965	HCK
x	1966	May	7A		45M	1965	HCL
x	1967	April	7A		45M	1965	HCL
x	1968	February	7A		50M	1965	HCL
x	1969	January	7A		55M	1965
x	1970	January	7B		55M	1965	HCL
x	1971	March	7B		50M	1965
x	1972	March	7B		50M	1965	HCSV1
	1973	not made
x	1974	January	8A		40M	1965
x	1974	April	8A		20M	1965	HCT
x	1975	January	8A		20M	1965
x	1975	April	8A		20M	1965
x	1976	February	8B		20M	1965
x	1976	May	8B		12M	1965
x	1977	May	8B		20M	1965
x	1978	May	8B		20M	1965
x	1979	April	8B		6M
x	1980	May	9A		20M	1980
	1981	not made
x	1982	March	9A		15M	1980
x	1983	March	9A		20M	1980
x	1984	March	9A		20M	1980
x	1985	February	9A		20M	1980	HCU
x	1986	March	9A		20M	1980
x	1986	November	9A		20M	1980
	1987	not made
x	1988	January	9B		20M	1980
x	1988	August	9B		20M	1980
x	1989	May	9B		25M	1980
	1990	not made
x	1991	February	9B		25M	1980
x	1992	August	9B		18M
x	1993	October	9C-1		18M	1993
x	1994	October	9C-2		18M	1993
x	1995	April	9C-2		25M	1993
x	1996	November	9C-2		20M
c	1997		9C-2
x	1998		9C-2					front shows only ©1993-revised 1997-back of book date states mb list current thru january 1, 1998
	1999	not made
x	2000		9
x	2001		9D-1			2001		-
x	2002		9D-1			2001
x	2003		9D-1			2001
x	2004		9D-1			2001
x	2005		9D-1			2001
x	2006		9D-1			2001
x	2007		9D-2			2001		flat finish cover
x	2007		9D-2					glossy finish cover
x	2008		10A
x	2009		10B
x	2010		10C
	2011	not made
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C
	2014	not made
	2015	not made
x	2016		10C
x	2017		10C
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D
	2020	not made
	2021	not made
	2022	not made
x	2023		10D
	2024	not made
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	3	7	22
1912	72	6	51
1913	234	5	56
1914	359	9	58
1915	379	11	58
1916	532	9	56
1917	792	15	58
1918	982	10	58
1919	2,297	11	59
1920	1,973	14	59
1921	3,334	14	61
1922	4,611	12	61
1923	4,897	13	63
1924	4,564	15	64
1925	9,500	5	64
1926	8,316	15	65
1927	9,551	14	68
1928	9,413	19	88
1929	11,983	16	89
1930	12,905	15	92
1931	14,344	17	96
1932	15,657	14	98
1933	16,281	15	101
1934	14,595	15	101
1935	14,989	16	101
1936	14,471	13	101
1937	14,672	13	102
1938	17,479	15	105
1939	19,352	15	106
1940	19,213	14	106
1941	18,035	11	106
1942	15,837	13	110
1943	17,205	12	112
1944	21,274	11	111
1945	20,717	13	111
1946	18,487	11	111
1947	17,502	11	111
1948	17,178	11	111
1949	19,171	11	111
1950	19,697	12	111
1951	23,085	11	111
1952	27,484	9	120
1953	24,747	9	105
1954	31,058	11	103
1955	35,137	11	100
1956	37,586	9	100
1957	37,310	10	100
1958	40,441	9	101
1959	43,603	9	101
1960	51,248	9	100
1961	57,731	8	101
1962	58,888	8	101
1963	62,421	8	102
1964	63,716	5	107
1965	64,998	5	109
1966	64,560	5	110
1967	68,439	6	112
1968	69,232	5	112
1969	71,245	5	113
1970	73,331	5	113
1971	69,695	5	113
1972	70,455	5	124
1973	79,617	3	122
1974	52,383	13	121
1975	48,614	15	128
1976	44,995	17	130
1977	50,268	9	130
1978	36,113	15	131
1979	34,395	13	132
1980	23,972	15	132
1981	32,904	18	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	37,828	18	123
1994
1995
1996	38,445	20	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	37,326	22	128
2001	32,651	22	129
2002	34,329	23	129
2003	33,161	22	130
2004	31,632	23	121
2005	28,552	24	121
2006	29,119	24	121
2007	27,676	23	121
2008	28,516	22	121
2009	28,483	24	122
2010	27,739	24	125
2011	29,382	21	129
2012	28,228	22	132
2013	25,945	18	129
2014	24,474	25	136
2015	23,983	25	138
2016	22,382	25	138
2017	20,748	25	139
2018	20,952	25	139
2019	19,444	25	139
2020	5,842	58	137
2021		29	137
2022		28	138
2023		27	138
2024		29	138
2025		30	141