The whole numbers are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on (the natural numbers and zero). Negative numbers are not considered "whole numbers." All natural numbers are whole numbers, but not all whole numbers are natural numbers since zero is a whole number but not a natural number. Numbers are all around us every day of our lives. Learn about numbers the foundation of developing strong numeracy skills. A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and so forth. It is good to know if one number is the same as, or smaller than, or bigger than, another number. Whole numbers are the easiest numbers to understand and use. Children's facility with counting provides a basis for them to solve simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems with whole numbers. The subset of numbers within integers is whole numbers. These are numbers that we're most used to working with, including zero. We see whole numbers on nutrition labels, or signs on the highway telling us how many miles are to the next exit/city.