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Colour by Numbers is the second album by the British new wave band Culture Club, released in October 1983. Preceded by the hit single "Karma Chameleon", which reached number one in several countries, the album reached number one in the UK and has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. It has been certified triple platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the US. It was ranked #96 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s and is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2008, a promotional CD of the album was distributed by The Daily Mail newspaper.

The album has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide, and like its predecessor, Kissing to Be Clever, contains several hit singles. "Karma Chameleon", however, was the signature track from the album and was released in many countries, charting at #1 in many of them. "Church of the Poison Mind" reached #2 in the UK, and went top 10 in the USA, Canada, Australia and many European countries. "Miss Me Blind" was released in North America, South America, Japan, and Australia to great success (Top 5 in US and Canada), "It's A Miracle" became a Top 10 or Top 20 hit in several markets. "Victims" was released in Europe and Oceania and was a Top 5 hit in the UK and Australia, but was not released as a single in the US. "Mister Man" was also released as a single in South Africa.

The album was certified triple Platinum in the UK, Diamond in Canada, and 4x Platinum in the United States where it peaked at #2 for six consecutive weeks behind Michael Jackson's Thriller.

In 1989, Colour by Numbers was ranked #96 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In an interview in 1998, the four members of Culture Club agreed that Colour by Numbers was their best work. It was remastered in 2002 and 2003, for the Culture Club box set and for a re-release of the album. In 2005, the album was also released in Japan in a cardboard sleeve, similar to the original vinyl artwork, also featuring the remastered tracks and five bonus songs that were on the 2003 version.

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