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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
Three major sub-populations of Galactic supersoft X-ray sources may exist: semi-detached binaries with main sequence or subgiant donors, and symbiotic binaries (~550, ~460, and ~600 objects, respectively). Each group contains both permanent and transient sources. The intrinsic and interstellar absorptions reduce the number of observable sources to ~25. We derive the distributions of the sources over orbital periods, masses of the components, and ‘on’-times. The rate at which white dwarfs in Galactic binaries reach MCh is ~ 3 10−5 yr−1. The rate of He-shell detonations which may lead to supernovae may be up to 3 10−4 yr−1.