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How many Jango Fett clones were produced for the Grand Army of the Republic until the Empire was created? Or maybe a close estimate? If you have the time, these might help you:

  • There are multiple cloning facilities in the Republic (other than those in Tipoca).
  • Protecting the many worlds of the Republic would require a force much greater than we are shown.
  • The Republic's resources are capable of much more.
  • Battling the Separatist armies would require greater numbers than ever suggested.
  • Conquered worlds would require immense numbers of troops to keep security in check.
  • Manning such an immense Navy would require large numbers.
  • Since clones seem to die easily there should have been at least a tenth of the number of battle droids which were used against them.
  • Key worlds would require much more security. Correct me if I am wrong! And thank you!
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  • Lots. Lots and lots. Loads, in fact.
    – Valorum
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:02
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    There's a lot of info about what different sources have said in this post. One of the main points was that in the Attack of the Clones movie they said they had 200,000 "units" ready to be delivered, with 1 million more coming soon, and it also says that the novelization seems to indicate that "unit" refers to a single clone trooper. Chapter 1 of the novel "Shatterpoint" also says they would use clones to train civilian volunteers if not for the fact that "Separatists have managed to keep nearly all 1.2 million of them fully engaged".
    – Hypnosifl
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:16
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    Also, on the comment you made about the need for at least a tenth as many clones as battle droids, in the first episode Ambush Yoda and Dooku were both trying to convince the king of the Toydarians to ally with them, and Dooku said "Our droid armies outnumber the Republic clones 100 to 1" and the king replied "Perhaps. But I have heard that a single Jedi equals 100 battle droids." So according to the king's info, it sounds like Dooku's estimate was roughly accurate.
    – Hypnosifl
    Mar 11, 2016 at 19:25

1 Answer 1

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The exact number is extremely difficult to pin down, even when considering canon sources only.

The original order included 1.2 million units:

Two hundred thousand units are ready, with another million well on the way.

Lama Su, Star Wars: Episode II *Attack of the Clones

Wookieepedia notes that the canon reference Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know indicates a "unit" refers to a single clone (not a group of them). Thus the original order was for 1.2 million clones.

In The Clone Wars, the Senate approved a bill to order an additional 5 million clones. The bill was opposed by Senator Amidala on the grounds that the Republic could not afford to purchase so many clones (especially with a 25% interest rate) and simultaneously provide social services, so it sounds as if the Republic could not afford much more. Therefore it is unlikely that there were many more clones purchased by the Republic.

That means that the Republic purchased about 6.2 million clones that we know of. It's possible that the Republic purchased more at some other time that we're not told about but, again, that's unlikely since the 5 million clone purchase was opposed for such a strain it posed on the Republic's finances.

For the reasons you point out, this number is extremely low. It's extremely low even without the in-universe reasons you mention: for a real-world comparison, World War II military casualties numbered in the tens of millions. Nonetheless, it's the best that can be determined using canon sources.

Legends sources are conflicting as well, but generally they also indicate numbers in the single millions only (unless a clone "unit" can somehow be considered multiple clones despite a canon reference indicating otherwise). For example, the Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic reference claims that there were only 3 million clones. Wookieepedia has a good article discussing the estimates using these various sources.

Unfortunately, no one in charge of Star Wars continuity has attempted to come up with a reasonable figure (which would be much, much higher than the one we have).

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    @Shalindra Absolutely! Great question!
    – Null
    Mar 11, 2016 at 18:50

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