Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. Most left-handed people exhibit some degree of ambidexterity. Left-handedness is relatively uncommon; 90 to 93 percent of the adult population is right-handed.

In 1998, a study suggested that approximately 7 to 10 percent of the adult population was left-handed, and that left-handedness is more common in males than females. Left-handedness, in comparison to the general population, also appears to occur more frequently in both identical and fraternal twins, and several groups of individuals with neurological disorders (such as people with epilepsy, Down Syndrome, autism, mental retardation and dyslexia). Statistically, the identical twin of a left-handed person has a 76 percent chance of being left-handed, identifying the cause(s) as partly genetic and partly environmental.

In Britain, a study in the 1970s found that around 11 percent of men and women aged 15–24 were left-handed, compared to just 3 percent in the 55-64 age category. The study suggests that 'cultural pressures' for right-hand use were prevalent in the industrial societies in the 18th and 19th centuries (with the advancement of mass literacy), and that those pressures were only significantly relaxed in the 'later decades' of the 20th century. The study also refers to tests on medieval skeletons that show evidence of hand-usage similar to today's, which suggests that hand-prejudice was not always part of UK society.

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