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Spoilers for The Day of the Doctor:

The Tenth Doctor reports to have counted 2.47 billion children in Gallifrey on the last day of the war.

Now, is there any reference to this number somewhere in the series? Does any episode, perhaps even the classics, make mention of this amount?

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    The Time War story arc was only introduced in the revival series, so the classics shouldn’t have any references to it. I don’t think there have been any prior references to it, but I can’t be sure.
    – alexwlchan
    Nov 25, 2013 at 10:20
  • I feel compelled to post something along the lines of "85% of statistics are made up on the spot". :)
    – Martha
    Nov 25, 2013 at 23:52
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    I guess nobody does recreational maths anymore! (42)
    – Affable Geek
    Nov 27, 2013 at 20:04
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    Maybe it was based on the last official Gallifreyan Public Census.
    – Omegacron
    Feb 5, 2015 at 19:05

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There is no mention anywhere in the revival series as to where this number comes from.

Since the the Doctor was clear and specific with the number, it would have to have been counted from some kind of real data such as Gallifrey census records or the like that were stored in the Tardis or his sonic screwdriver.

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    For that matter, he could have looked up the number after the fact as a way to punish himself.
    – Omegacron
    Dec 29, 2014 at 19:46
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AFAIK, that number came straight out of Moffat's brain for this specific episode. I can't speak to the classic episodes, but in the 2005 series onwards, the Doctor never quanifies Gallifrey's population beyond vague terms like "billions".

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