Hipparcos observations of double stars, mainly A and F primaries, are modelled in order to check the statistics of double-star solutions in the Hipparcos Catalogue and to set quantitative limits on binary distributions. The number of companions per primary is estimated to 0.25 ± 0.05 for semi-major axes from 1 to 10 AU, and to 0.43 ± 0.20 for the range 10–100 AU. The total multiplicity found is between 0.9 and 1.2.