* The Expanded Universe: Before Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, there was a vast amount of books, comics, and video games that expanded on the Star Wars universe. This "Expanded Universe" (now called "Legends") contained thousands of characters.
* New Canon: Disney's new canon focuses on the movies, TV shows, and approved books and comics. This canon still has a huge number of characters, but it's a lot smaller than the Legends universe.
* Minor Characters: Star Wars has countless minor characters who appear in the background, have a few lines, or might even be unnamed.
* Constantly Expanding: New characters are constantly being introduced in new stories, movies, and shows.
So, what can we say?
* There are hundreds of named characters in the Star Wars canon.
* There are thousands of characters if you include the Legends material.
* The exact number is constantly changing and impossible to pin down.