Wikipedia Turns 25: 1.7 Billion Use Free Encyclopedia

A quarter century ago, two visionaries launched a website that would change how the world accesses knowledge forever.

On January 15, 2001, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger created Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia anyone could edit. The idea seemed radical: let volunteers from around the globe write and update articles, trusting the community to maintain accuracy and quality.

That trust paid off spectacularly. Today, Wikipedia hosts 6.2 million articles in English alone, with content available in 250 languages. The nonprofit platform attracts 1.7 billion unique visitors every month, making it one of the internet's most visited websites.

What makes Wikipedia truly remarkable is its speed and dedication. When major events happen, deaths occur, or sports results come in, volunteers update pages within minutes. This army of unpaid editors works around the clock to keep information current and accurate.

The skeptics were proven wrong early on. In 2005, the prestigious journal Nature compared Wikipedia's science articles to Encyclopedia Britannica and found them nearly equally accurate. By 2006, TIME Magazine called it possibly the best encyclopedia in the world, crediting Wales's vision of open collaboration.

The platform runs entirely on donations, rejecting advertising to remain independent and accessible. That business model has sustained not just Wikipedia, but an entire family of knowledge projects including Wikivoyage, Wiktionary, and Wikibooks.

The Ripple Effect

Wikipedia's influence extends far beyond its own pages. The "wiki" concept inspired countless specialized encyclopedias, from Bulbapedia for Pokemon enthusiasts to Wookiepedia for Star Wars fans. Communities discovered they could organize knowledge about anything when given the right tools.

More importantly, Wikipedia proved that humans want to share knowledge freely. Millions of volunteers have contributed their expertise without payment, motivated purely by the desire to help others learn. In an internet often dominated by commercial interests, Wikipedia stands as a testament to collaboration and generosity.

The platform has democratized access to information for billions, particularly in developing countries where expensive encyclopedias were once impossible to obtain. Students, researchers, and curious minds worldwide can now access comprehensive information instantly, in their own languages.

Celebrating 25 years means celebrating one of humanity's greatest collaborative achievements, built one edit at a time by people who believed knowledge should belong to everyone.