I think it would be misleading if OP had said ‘substantial proportion’. I read ‘substantial number’ as a comment on the absolute numbers, which is vague (how many is ‘substantial’) but not misleading.
I think it would be misleading if OP had said ‘substantial proportion’. I read ‘substantial number’ as a comment on the absolute numbers, which is vague (how many is ‘substantial’) but not misleading.