It probably wasn't a majority of the male population, but it was a very sizeable fraction, not just a small elite. Out of a total population of around 300,000

It probably wasn't a majority of the male population, but it was a very sizeable fraction, not just a small elite. Out of a total population of around 300,000 people, about 50,000 were male citizens. This is a far larger level of participation in government than in virtually any other society of the time (aside from the other Greek democracies).