diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py b/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
index de59b5faa546..c611f42b0587 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/__init__.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@
 import distutils.version
 
 __version__  = '1.4.x'
-__version__numpy__ = '1.5' # minimum required numpy version
+__version__numpy__ = '1.6' # minimum required numpy version
 
 try:
     import dateutil