diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 16cfeabfa7e..8f52d915005 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ channels](https://nixos.org/nix/manual/#sec-channels).
 Nixpkgs is among the most active projects on GitHub. While thousands
 of open issues and pull requests might seem a lot at first, it helps
 consider it in the context of the scope of the project. Nixpkgs
-describes how to build over 40,000 pieces of software and implements a
+describes how to build tens of thousands of pieces of software and implements a
 Linux distribution. The [GitHub Insights](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pulse)
 page gives a sense of the project activity.