Hidden population of Algols

We present results of Monte Carlo simulation aiming at the estimate of the frequency of semi-detached Algol-type binaries among the stars observed as single ones. When account is made for various detection biases (mostly due to inclination of orbits), the fraction of Algols among Galactic disk stars appears to be 0.1--0.2\%. However, this number should be regarded as a lower limit only, since there are still unaccounted selection effects and other types of photometrically unresolved binaries. Hidden binarity appears to be an important phenomenon that should be taken into account when considering stellar statistics and construction of fundamental relations between stellar parameters.