Wikipedia is now 16 years old. People entering university today have never known a world without Wikipedia. It has existed from the time they first started learning to read.

I think that in 100 years, when people look back on this era they’re going to point to Wikipedia as a powerful example of human generosity, inspiration, and collaboration. A large group of people came together out of a passion for knowledge and gave an incredible gift to the world. That is an amazing thing and I am proud to have been part of it.

The fact that information spreads quickly means that truth can spread quickly—and lies can spread quickly. Wikipedia is there when you need factual information, not opinion or advocacy.

You read articles researched by thousands of volunteers. You click the links to check the data sources. You go read the cited news articles. And you verify the actual facts.

Facts still matter,

Jimmy Wales
Half of refugees are school-age

That means 10 million children are away from their homes, their communities, and their traditional education. Read more →
2016 was the hottest year on record

Sixteen of the seventeen warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. Read more →
Wikipedia is updated almost 350 times a minute

Wikipedia is updated constantly—from breaking news stories to ancient history. Read more →
There are more than 1,650 languages spoken in India

Of the ten most-spoken languages in the world, three are Indic. Read more →
Only 17% of Wikipedia’s biographies are about women

We think that number should be much, much higher. Read more →
More than 1 trillion photos were taken in 2016

Since 2010, the amount of photographs captured around the world has tripled. Read more →
Most Wikipedia articles are in languages other than English

Eighty-seven percent to be exact. From Abkhaz to Zulu, along with 281 more. Read more →
One in six people visited another country in 2016

More than 1.2 billion people increased their knowledge and understanding of new cultures by visiting another country. Read more →
‘OK’ is the most widely understood word, globally

According to Wikipedia, OK “denotes approval, acceptance, agreement, assent, or acknowledgment.” Read more →
239 million people used the internet for the first time in 2016

It is estimated that 61% of the world does not have access to the internet. Read more →

large group of people
Wikimania 2016 group photo. Photo by Niccolò Caranti. CC BY-SA 4.0
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