1984
1984 is the title of George Orwell's novel about a total surveillance state.
- Even
- Composite
Where 1984 fits
Why 1984 is special
Orwell wrote it in 1948 and the title is usually taken to be those digits reversed, though he never confirmed it. The book supplied more working English than almost any other novel — doublethink, thoughtcrime, Big Brother, Room 101 — which is why the number is read as a description rather than a date.
Same number, different meanings
How 1984 is understood across different contexts — never implying one meaning because of another.
- Mathematics
Orwell wrote it in 1948 and the title is usually taken to be those digits reversed, though he never confirmed it. The book supplied more working English than almost any other novel — doublethink, thoughtcrime, Big Brother, Room 101 — which is why the number is read as a description rather than a date.
- History
Orwell finished the novel in 1948 and the common account is that the title inverts the last two digits. The year itself passed without the events described, which is why the number now denotes a warning rather than a prediction.
- Science
In 1984, DNA fingerprinting was developed at the University of Leicester (Britain).
- Media & popular culture
Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948, and the title is usually explained as those digits reversed — an account he never confirmed. The novel contributed more working English than almost any other: doublethink, thoughtcrime, Big Brother, Room 101. That vocabulary is why the number reads as a condition rather than a year.
1984 is part of
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (14)
- 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 32, 62, 64, 124, 248, 496, 992, 1984
- Prime factorisation
- 2^6 × 31
- Digit sum
- 22
- Digital root
- 4
Representations
- Decimal
- 1984
- Scientific notation
- 1.984 × 10^3
Roman numerals
M C M L X X X I V
MCMLXXXIV uses the subtractive pair IV: one before five — five minus one.
Binary
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 × 1,024 + 1 × 512 + 1 × 256 + 1 × 128 + 1 × 64 + 0 × 32 + 0 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 0 × 1 = 1,984
Octal
3 7 0 0
3 × 512 + 7 × 64 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 1 = 1,984
Hexadecimal
7 c 0
7 × 256 + c × 16 + 0 × 1 = 1,984
Read as powers of two: 1,024 + 512 + 256 + 128 + 64 = 1,984.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
1 lotus, 9 coils of rope, 8 hobbles, 4 strokes
1 × 1,000 + 9 × 100 + 8 × 10 + 4 × 1 = 1,984. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
3 corner wedges + 3 vertical wedges (sixties place), 4 vertical wedges (units place)
33 × 60 + 4 = 1984. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
Related numbers & connections
1984 is a year in the 20th century, in the 1980s.
Two novels whose titles are numbers and whose subject is state control of information. Bradbury's is a temperature and Orwell's a year, and both are now used as shorthand for the conditions they describe.
View 451 →History
Orwell finished the novel in 1948 and the common account is that the title inverts the last two digits. The year itself passed without the events described, which is why the number now denotes a warning rather than a prediction.
DocumentedHistoryGeography: United KingdomPeriod: 1949; set 1984
Science
In 1984, DNA fingerprinting was developed at the University of Leicester (Britain).
DocumentedScienceGeography: BritainPeriod: 1984
Media & popular culture
Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1948, and the title is usually explained as those digits reversed — an account he never confirmed. The novel contributed more working English than almost any other: doublethink, thoughtcrime, Big Brother, Room 101. That vocabulary is why the number reads as a condition rather than a year.
DocumentedMedia & popular culturePeriod: published 1949
Common questions
Is 1984 a prime number?
No, 1984 is not prime.
What are the factors of 1984?
The factors of 1984 are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 31, 32, 62, 64, 124, 248, 496, 992, 1984.
What is 1984 in Roman numerals?
1984 in Roman numerals is MCMLXXXIV. IV is subtractive: one before five — five minus one. Written additively it would be MDCCCCLXXXIIII, which Roman inscriptions used freely — the strict subtractive form is a later convention.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 3 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026