diff --git a/R/varExp.R b/R/varExp.R
index bbc6e7ed1b1b47cc1279ea28019efddd8b38c1cd..61c14032626a13400bac1923f8c4e6511adaed32 100644
--- a/R/varExp.R
+++ b/R/varExp.R
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ calculateParamsFromIndParams <- function(N, m, v) {
 #'
 calculateParamsFromCounts <- function(N, n_expo) {
     meanval <- sum(n_expo) / sum(N)
-    c(meanval, meanval * (1 - meanval))
+    c(meanval, sum(N) / (sum(N) - 1) * meanval * (1 - meanval))
 }
 
 ################################################################################