According to L.K.Silverman's research for over two decades, there is a high confidence (over 80%) that:
At least one-third are strongly visual-spatial.
One-fifth are strongly auditory-sequential.
The remainder are a balance of both learning styles.
Of that remainder (who are not strongly visual-spatial nor strongly auditory-sequential):
Another 30% show a slight preference for visual-spatial learning style.
Another 15% show a slight preference for auditory-sequential learning style.
This means that more than 60% of the students in a regular classroom learn best with visual-spatial presentations and the rest learn best with auditory-sequential methods.
Among gifted students, the proportion of visual-spatial learners may be much higher. In one small sample, more than three-fourths of the gifted students preferred visual-spatial methods.
Verbal thought is not of primordial help for people who are specialized in professions requiring instant visualization such as air traffic controllers or detectives, or other professions requiring quick links and spatial awareness such as architects, engineers, and many artistical branches using pictures of the eyes and the ears.