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Wikipedia has revolutionized the way we access information, offering millions of articles across languages, cultures, and topics. Yet, even this vast online encyclopedia has its blind spots. Terra Incognita, a project by Gavin Baily and Sarah Bagshaw at TraceMedia, shines a light on these gaps, mapping the geography of Wikipedia articles in over 50 languages. By visualizing geo-coded entries, the project reveals fascinating biases in content coverage and highlights the unevenness of global representation on the platform.
How Wikipedia Works and What Powers It
Launched in 2001, Wikipedia is the brainchild of Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. It operates as a free, multilingual online encyclopedia, maintained by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. This model relies on volunteers to write and edit content, with financial support coming from user donations and grants.
It costs tens of millions of dollars annually to run Wikipedia, with expenses covering server maintenance, development, and outreach efforts. For the fiscal year 2022–23, the Wikimedia Foundation reported revenue of $165 million, primarily from donations.
Wikipedia By the Numbers
Since its inception, Wikipedia’s growth has been extraordinary. As of 2024, there are over 60 million articles across 300+ languages, with the English-language Wikipedia alone housing over 6.7 million pages. Languages with the most pages include English, Cebuano, and Swedish, but the high article count in Cebuano and Swedish is largely due to automated content creation. Ranking by countries contributing to Wikipedia articles, the United States, Germany, and Japan lead the charge.
Wikipedia’s traffic has also evolved over time. In its early years, the platform gained traction slowly, but by 2020, it was recording over 15 billion page views monthly. Mobile usage has surged, with over half of all visits now coming from smartphones.
As Wikipedia continues to grow, questions remain about its sustainability and evolution. Efforts to diversify contributors, improve article quality, and represent undercovered regions are ongoing. Looking ahead, artificial intelligence may play a more prominent role in curating and verifying content.
For those captivated by the visualization of information, there are also stunning map posters of the world available on Amazon. These posters not only celebrate cartography but also inspire curiosity about the diverse and complex world we live in. You can explore these beautifully designed world maps on Amazon to adorn your walls and spark meaningful discussions.
What insights do you draw from projects like Terra Incognita? Have you noticed biases or gaps in Wikipedia’s coverage? Share your thoughts in the comments below—we’d love to hear from you!
