![](https://web.archive.org/web/20120427025110im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Size_of_English_Wikipedia_in_August_2010_%28L%29.svg/350px-Size_of_English_Wikipedia_in_August_2010_%28L%29.svg.png)
Wikipedia size & users | |
English articles: | 3,933,561 |
Total wiki pages: | 27,022,711 |
Average revisions: | 19.64 |
Total admins: | 1,487 |
Total users: | 16,688,439 |
UTC time: 01:26 on 2012-Apr-27 |
This Wikipedia:Statistics page measures the size of the English-language edition of Wikipedia; mostly page and article count. There are currently 3,933,561 articles in the English Wikipedia.
Most of the earlier entries were extracted from Wikipedia:Announcements. Later entries are taken from observations of the new software's built-in article count features.
Contents |
Wikipedia growth
Wikipedia's growth approximately follows a Gompertz growth model. This model was created in June 2010, and it is determined by the Gompertz function, , with parameters:
- a = 4378449
- b = −15.42677
- c = −0.384124
- t is the time in years since 1/1/2000 (so 1/1/2010 is t = 10.00).
Some characteristics of this model are:
- a pivot point at which the growth is at its peak. For en.wikipedia.org this might have been in August 2006 with 60,000 new articles per month.
- a maximum to the number of articles of about 4.4 million (as determined by parameter a of the model). It should be noted that there will always be new events and people to describe in the future, which will lead to what is more likely to be a greater maximum than 4.4 million.
This model is related to the quantity (number of articles). The quality might still increase independently.
Graphs of size and growth rate
The two graph images show: in the first graph, the historical and expected total number of articles; in the second graph, the monthly growth rate, slowing since late 2006 (line sloping downward).
Detailed analysis of the data shows that from 2006 to 2009 the article growth rate followed a six-monthly cycle with faster growth in February and August than in May and November. This cycle does not appear in the growth-rate graph here, because the values shown in the graph have been averaged over periods of six months.
Annual growth rate
For the English Wikipedia.
Date | Article count | Increase during preceding year |
% Increase during preceding year |
Average increase per day during preceding year |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002-01-01 | 19,700 | 19,700 | - | 54 |
2003-01-01 | 96,500 | 76,800 | 390% | 210 |
2004-01-01 | 188,800 | 92,300 | 96% | 253 |
2005-01-01 | 438,500 | 249,700 | 132% | 682 |
2006-01-01 | 895,000 | 456,500 | 104% | 1251 |
2007-01-01 | 1,560,000 | 665,000 | 74% | 1822 |
2008-01-01 | 2,153,000 | 593,000 | 38% | 1625 |
2009-01-01 | 2,679,000 | 526,000 | 24% | 1437 |
2010-01-01 | 3,144,000 | 465,000 | 17% | 1274 |
2011-01-01 | 3,518,000 | 374,000 | 12% | 1025 |
2012-01-01 | 3,835,000 | 317,000 | 9% | 868 |
2012-04-27 | 3,933,561 | 98,561[a] | -- | 839[a] |
|
Comparisons with other Wikipedias
Codes: en - English • de - German • fr - French • pl - Polish • ja - Japanese • it - Italian • nl - Dutch • pt - Portuguese • es - Spanish • sv - Swedish
This graph is based on data from http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesArticlesTotal.htm as of June 2, 2007, with recent values for the English Wikipedia taken from the data below. The sum includes all 270+ Wikipedia languages. See the front page at http://www.wikipedia.org for a recent article count for the 10 largest Wikipedias.
The English edition remains the largest Wikipedia, over three times as large as the second largest edition, the German Wikipedia. Many other editions shared the quasi-exponential growth of the English edition, though lagging one to three years behind. As these other Wikipedias have grown, the overall percentage of articles in English has been steadily decreasing, and it fell below 25% in March 2007. The percentage of articles in the ten largest Wikipedias has also been decreasing, although these top ten still account for about 67% of all Wikipedia articles as of June 2007.
Chronology of software versions
- Phase I UseMod Wiki-based software: January 10, 2001 – January 25, 2002
- Phase II PHP-based software: January 25, 2002 – July 20, 2002
- Phase III PHP-based software: July 20, 2002 – present
This data set notes the fact that these figures are drawn from multiple data sources and different estimates (see the key below for details), and presents them as a spreadsheet-ready table for graphing. The original data sets are archived: see the links below. Note also that the figures are sampled at random times of day.
Hard copy size
The following tries to illustrate how big the English-language Wikipedia might be if printed and bound in book form. Each volume is assumed to be 25 cm tall, 5 cm thick, and containing 1,600,000 words or 8,000,000 characters. The size of this illustration is based upon the live article count.
The data set
Key to the data below:
- approx: this figure is an approximation
- lowerbound indicates that there were at least this many pages
- mpac3.1: main page article count from the Phase III software since May 25, 2003: article namespace, not redirects, containing at least one internal wiki link
- mpacIII: main page article count from the Phase III software up to May 22, 2003: article namespace, comma, not redirect
- mpacII: main page article count from the Phase II software
- spII: stats page article count from the Phase II software
- all: total of all pages of any sort
- commapp: pages which include a comma, a crude way of finding "real" articles
- conscnt: "conservative count" taken by removing the count of various types of non-article from the comma page count
- MF: Malcolm Farmer
- LMS: Larry Sanger
- WA: Wikipedia:Announcements
Now extended and annotated with (somewhat gnomic) source information. Note that sampling times are only recorded to the day given by the user recording the entry, and that there is no clear time-zone information for that day.
Note: The current mpac3.1 article count for the English-language Wikipedia is 3,933,561 articles
2012-04-02, 3912036, mpac3.1 2011-11-01, 3784306, mpac3.1 2011-08-07, 3704299, mpac3.1 2011-06-21, 3663629, mpac3.1 2011-06-18, 3661385, mpac3.1 2011-03-31, 3599159, mpac3.1 2011-02-15, 3559253, mpac3.1 2011-01-24, 3540209, mpac3.1 2011-01-03, 3519837, mpac3.1 2010-12-12, 3499170, mpac3.1 2010-08-15, 3379047, mpac3.1 2010-08-05, 3369561, mpac3.1 2010-05-17, 3292706, mpac3.1 2010-04-23, 3266245, mpac3.1 2009-12-13, 3123353, mpac3.1 2009-11-23, 3102627, mpac3.1 2009-10-15, 3063124, mpac3.1 2009-09-12, 3031291, mpac3.1 2009-08-26, 3013053, mpac3.1 2009-08-17, 3000000, mpac3.1 2009-07-31, 2975970, mpac3.1 2009-07-11, 2943644, mpac3.1 2009-04-17, 2843391, mpac3.1 2009-03-07, 2780320, mpac3.1 2009-02-17, 2746003, mpac3.1 2009-02-01, 2722366, mpac3.1 2009-01-01, 2679785, mpac3.1 2008-12-10, 2652896, mpac3.1 2008-11-21, 2631334, mpac3.1 2008-11-04, 2612599, mpac3.1 2008-10-20, 2591574, mpac3.1 2008-10-02, 2569004, mpac3.1 2008-09-14, 2553609, mpac3.1 2008-08-16, 2510197, mpac3.1 2008-08-11, 2500000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2008-07-30, 2479280, mpac3.1 2008-07-15, 2456599, mpac3.1 2008-07-02, 2436830, mpac3.1 2008-06-21, 2421535, mpac3.1 2008-06-04, 2399617, mpac3.1 2008-05-20, 2379635, mpac3.1 2008-05-13, 2370238, mpac3.1 2008-04-30, 2353068, mpac3.1 2008-04-06, 2320245, mpac3.1 2008-03-21, 2291433, mpac3.1 2008-03-08, 2269796, mpac3.1 2008-02-23, 2246333, mpac3.1 2008-02-07, 2214256, mpac3.1 2008-01-30, 2200000, mpac3.1 2008-01-12, 2170716, mpac3.1 2007-12-16, 2129551, mpac3.1 2007-12-08, 2118053, mpac3.1 2007-11-27, 2104052, mpac3.1 2007-11-15, 2090929, mpac3.1 2007-10-20, 2055408, mpac3.1 2007-10-06, 2037246, mpac3.1 2007-09-09, 2000000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2007-09-05, 1991220, mpac3.1 2007-08-28, 1978895, mpac3.1 2007-08-09, 1941186, mpac3.1 2007-08-01, 1925624, mpac3.1 2007-07-22, 1900000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2007-07-12, 1879826, mpac3.1 2007-06-23, 1847297, mpac3.1 2007-06-10, 1828002, mpac3.1 2007-06-02, 1813007, mpac3.1 2007-05-25, 1800000, mpac3.1 2007-05-16, 1785384, mpac3.1 2007-05-01, 1763270, mpac3.1 2007-04-16, 1740243, mpac3.1 2007-03-22, 1700000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2007-03-07, 1674588, mpac3.1 2007-02-14, 1638583, mpac3.1 2007-02-08, 1626802, mpac3.1 2007-01-24, 1598645, mpac3.1 2006-12-19, 1539908, mpac3.1 2006-11-24, 1500000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2006-11-08, 1473418, mpac3.1 2006-10-21, 1444717, mpac3.1 2006-10-05, 1418517, mpac3.1 2006-09-22, 1396727, mpac3.1 2006-08-26, 1344771, mpac3.1 2006-08-15, 1317963, mpac3.1 2006-08-06, 1300000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2006-07-04, 1234741, mpac3.1 2006-06-19, 1200000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2006-06-05, 1173156, mpac3.1 2006-05-12, 1129680, mpac3.1 2006-04-27, 1100000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2006-03-24, 1040919, mpac3.1 2006-03-17, 1027914, mpac3.1 2006-03-01, 1000000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2006-02-27, 995933, mpac3.1 2006-02-14, 971518, mpac3.1 2006-01-30, 945642, mpac3.1 2006-01-16, 921824, mpac3.1 2006-01-03, 897700, mpac3.1 2005-12-20, 874359, mpac3.1 2005-12-05, 851295, mpac3.1 2005-11-11, 815460, mpac3.1 2005-10-27, 791967, mpac3.1 2005-09-12, 726894, mpac3.1 (another long gap since last manual update) 2005-08-25, 700000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2005-06-19, 600000, mpac3.1 (inserted retroactively from data in WA) 2005-04-29, 544514, mpac3.1 (more than one month without data...) 2005-03-18, 500296, mpac3.1 (after another more minor server glitch and recovery) 2005-03-13, 496881, mpac3.1 2005-03-01, 486042, mpac3.1 (after server crash and DB recovery) 2005-02-10, 471659, mpac3.1 2005-01-27, 458779, mpac3.1 2005-01-01, 438533, mpac3.1 2004-12-04, 414023, mpac3.1 2004-11-18, 398159, mpac3.1 2004-11-16, 396408, mpac3.1 2004-11-08, 389614, mpac3.1 2004-11-01, 384336, mpac3.1 2004-09-01, 337911, mpac3.1 2004-08-25, 333015, mpac3.1 2004-08-23, 331191, mpac3.1 2004-08-13, 324551, mpac3.1 2004-08-07, 320532, mpac3.1 2004-07-25, 312524, mpac3.1 2004-07-10, 302333, mpac3.1 2004-05-13, 264854, mpac3.1 2004-05-07, 261964, mpac3.1 2004-04-28, 255596, mpac3.1 2004-02-27, 215140, mpac3.1 2004-02-15, 206665, mpac3.1 2004-02-07, 202410, mpac3.1 2004-02-01, 199738, mpac3.1 2004-01-28, 198011, mpac3.1 2004-01-22, 196070, mpac3.1 2003-12-31, 188538, mpac3.1 2003-12-23, 186539, mpac3.1 2003-12-16, 184273, mpac3.1 2003-12-08, 180008, mpac3.1 2003-12-03, 178093, mpac3.1, after database rebuild and recalculation of count 2003-11-25, 176091, mpac3.1 2003-11-21, 174904, mpac3.1 2003-11-19, 174376, mpac3.1 2003-11-12, 172387, mpac3.1 2003-10-30, 168762, mpac3.1 2003-10-14, 164565, mpac3.1 2003-10-04, 162636, mpac3.1 2003-09-27, 160361, mpac3.1 2003-09-12, 156047, mpac3.1 2003-09-09, 155316, mpac3.1 2003-09-04, 154061, mpac3.1 2003-08-31, 153047, mpac3.1 2003-08-15, 148859, mpac3.1 2003-07-27, 144467, mpac3.1 2003-07-15, 141607, mpac3.1 2003-07-07, 139896, mpac3.1 2003-07-04, 139031, mpac3.1 2003-07-01, 136737, mpac3.1 2003-06-27, 135963, mpac3.1 2003-06-25, 135504, mpac3.1 2003-06-22, 134869, mpac3.1 2003-06-19, 134256, mpac3.1 2003-06-16, 133411, mpac3.1 2003-06-11, 132267, mpac3.1 2003-06-09, 131900, mpac3.1 2003-06-06, 131249, mpac3.1 2003-06-04, 130797, mpac3.1 2003-05-31, 129884, mpac3.1 2003-05-28, 129240, mpac3.1 2003-05-25, 128475, mpac3.1 (correction of broken counter, new algorithm) 2003-05-22, 120704, mpacIII (installation of new webserver on 05-14 fixed the count at 120704) 2003-05-12, 120173, mpacIII 2003-04-29, 117658, mpacIII 2003-04-23, 116408, mpacIII 2003-04-22, 116259, mpacIII 2003-04-21, 116066, mpacIII 2003-04-20, 115879, mpacIII 2003-04-18, 115361, mpacIII 2003-04-15, 114861, mpacIII 2003-04-12, 114469, mpacIII 2003-04-11, 114274, mpacIII 2003-04-01, 112564, mpacIII 2003-03-28, 112035, mpacIII 2003-03-15, 109933, mpacIII 2003-03-07, 108593, mpacIII 2003-03-05, 108298, mpacIII 2003-02-27, 107243, mpacIII 2003-02-26, 107027, mpacIII 2003-02-24, 106700, mpacIII 2003-01-22, 100321, mpacIII 2003-01-12, 98475, mpacIII 2003-01-08, 97913, mpacIII 2003-01-04, 97137, mpacIII 2003-01-02, 96664, mpacIII 2002-12-26, 95735, mpacIII 2002-12-23, 95452, mpacIII 2002-12-16, 94497, mpacIII (so; is the counter fixed now?) 2002-12-13, 93834, mpacIII 2002-12-10, 93301, mpacIII, Corrected counter drift 2002-12-10, 100046, mpacIII, RAMBOT causing Error in counter. 2002-12-04, 94165, mpacIII 2002-12-01, 93880, mpacIII 2002-11-27, 93263, mpacIII 2002-11-25, 92777, mpacIII, ~775 bot generated articles added. 2002-11-22, 91580, mpacIII, some recent performance problems 2002-11-18, 90905, mpacIII, article counter is back, after being switched off 2002-11-09, 90266, mpacIII 2002-11-07, 90003, mpacIII 2002-11-06, 89375, mpacIII 2002-11-01, 88597, mpacIII 2002-10-30, 88292, mpacIII 2002-10-27, 87285, mpacIII 2002-10-26, 87206, mpacIII 2002-10-25, 87037, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-24, 80887, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-23, 76958, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-22, 74005, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-21, 66738, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-20, 66372, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-19, 61128, mpacIII, rambot in operation 2002-10-17, 54339, mpacIII 2002-10-14, 53174, mpacIII 2002-10-11, 52571, mpacIII 2002-10-10, 52435, mpacIII 2002-10-08, 52092, mpacIII 2002-10-04, 50953, mpacIII 2002-10-03, 50804, mpacIII 2002-09-30, 49724, mpacIII 2002-09-27, 47448, mpacIII 2002-09-26, 47152, mpacIII 2002-09-25, 46133, mpacIII 2002-09-24, 45707, mpacIII 2002-09-23, 45462, mpacIII 2002-09-22, 45159, mpacIII 2002-09-21, 44920, mpacIII 2002-09-17, 43962, mpacIII 2002-09-16, 43762, mpacIII 2002-09-10, 42268, mpacIII 2002-09-09, 42021, mpacIII 2002-09-07, 41559, mpacIII 2002-09-05, 41141, mpacIII 2002-09-04, 40934, mpacIII 2002-09-03, 40718, mpacIII 2002-08-31, 40093, mpacIII 2002-08-22, 38780, mpacIII 2002-08-14, 37508, mpacIII 2002-08-12, 37259, mpacIII, upgraded to phase III software after major performance problems 2002-05-17, 33333, spII approx (WA) 2002-04-16, 32000, spII approx (WA) 2002-03-28, 30000, spII approx (WA) 2002-02-04, 23000, mpacII approx (WA) 2002-01-09, 20000, estimate approx (LMS WA) 2001-12-14, 19000, conscnt approx 2001-12-07, 18000, conscnt approx 2001-11-06, 16000, conscnt lowerbound 2001-10-25, 15053, conscnt (LMS WA) 2001-10-19, 14000, commacnt lowerbound 2001-10-04, 13182, conscnt (MF WA) 2001-09-19, 12502, conscnt (LMS) 2001-09-09, 11208, conscnt (MF) 2001-09-07, 10000, conscnt lowerbound 2001-08-22, 9043, conscnt 2001-08-07, 8000, conscnt 2001-07-27, 7243, conscnt 2001-07-26, 6947, conscnt 2001-07-08, 6000, conscnt lowerbound 2001-05-20, 4985, commapp 2001-05-10, 3969, commapp 2001-04-27, 3281, commapp 2001-03-30, 2221, commapp 2001-03-24, 1910, commapp 2001-03-07, 1323, commapp 2001-02-12, 1000, all lowerbound 2001-02-08, 900, all lowerbound 2001-01-31, 617, all 2001-01-25, 270, all 2001-01-10, 0, all
These pages hold the earlier source data in its original ad-hoc tabular format:
See also
- Wikipedia:Abundance and redundancy
- Wikipedia:Awareness statistics
- Wikipedia:Non-English Wikipedias
- Wikipedia:Size comparisons
- Wikipedia:Statistics
- User:Emijrp/All human knowledge
External links
- Wikipedia Statistics, auto-generated from database dumps, but badly out of date as regards the English and French Wikipedias
- Wikipedia milestones
- Wikimedia projects edit counter