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Is 43 a prime number?

43 is a prime number. Here is how to check it, one division at a time.

The answer

Yes. 43 is a prime number: its only factors are 1 and 43.

How to check that 43 is prime

Try dividing 43 by the prime numbers, starting with 2. You only need primes: if 4 went into 43, then 2 would too.

  1. 43 ÷ 2 = 21 remainder 1, so 2 is not a factor.
  2. 43 ÷ 3 = 14 remainder 1, so 3 is not a factor.
  3. 43 ÷ 5 = 8 remainder 3, so 5 is not a factor.

Stop at 7: 7 × 7 = 49, which is more than 43. Any factor bigger than that would need a partner smaller than 7, and you have already tried those. So 43 is prime.

Where 43 comes among the primes

43 is the 14th prime number. The prime just before it is 41.

There are 25 prime numbers up to 100: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89 and 97.

Around 43

  • 43 is not in any times table from 2 to 12. The answers either side of it are 42 (6 × 7 and 7 × 6) and 44 (4 × 11 and 11 × 4).
  • The nearest square number is 49 (7 × 7), 6 above it.
  • Primes 4 apart are called cousin primes, and 43 has one cousin: 47.

43 at a glance

In words
forty-three
In Roman numerals
XLIII
Odd or even
Odd: it ends in 3
Its factors add up to
44, or 1 without 43 itself, which makes 43 a deficient number

Related pages

More numbers

Questions parents ask

Is 43 one of a pair of twin primes?

Yes. Twin primes are two primes 2 apart, and 43 pairs with 41.

What is the next prime number after 43?

47, which is 4 more than 43. Every number in between has a factor other than 1 and itself.

What is 43 × 43?

43 × 43 = 1849. The square of a prime has exactly three factors: 1, 43 and 1849.

Number facts are the base of 11+ maths

Factors, multiples, primes and square numbers come up all over 11+ maths, from simplifying fractions to ratio. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.