Last year the Capcom Fighters Network did a popularity poll asking SF fans who their favorite character in the series was. The results are in and are very interesting.
The top ten most popular characters are
10. Blanka
9. Ryu
8. Akuma
7. Sagat
6. Chun Li
5. Cody
4. Q
3. Juri
2. Makoto
1. Sakura
Some of these are rather surprising, and others not so much. That said, the placement in the top ten is not what many would expect.
The full results can be seen here. Where did your favourite land?