AdminWikipedia, the world’s largest online information resource, marks its 25th anniversary today, celebrating a quarter century of making trustworthy, human-powered knowledge freely accessible to people around the world, including millions of readers in Malaysia. Now among the top ten most visited websites globally, Wikipedia stands out as the only one operated by a nonprofit organisation, the Wikimedia Foundation, underscoring its public-interest mission in an increasingly commercialised digital landscape.
With more than 65 million articles across over 300 languages, Wikipedia has become a daily reference point for Malaysians seeking information on education, health, culture, current affairs and beyond. Students, educators, journalists, healthcare professionals and the wider public routinely turn to the platform for verified information, reflecting its embedded role in Malaysia’s digital society. Crucially, Wikipedia supports access to knowledge in Bahasa Melayu and other languages commonly used in Malaysia, reinforcing its relevance in a multilingual and multicultural nation.
A vital knowledge platform for Malaysia
The Malay-language edition of Wikipedia alone comprises 435,698 articles and attracts around nine million visits from unique devices each month, pointing to strong and sustained local readership. Beyond Bahasa Melayu, Wikipedia is available in languages of Malaysia such as Chinese, Tamil, Iban, Kadazandusun and Bajau Sama, broadening access to information across communities.
Across all languages, Wikipedia records an average of about 94 million monthly views from Malaysia between January 2024 and November 2025, highlighting its broad national reach. This extensive content ecosystem is sustained by an active local community, with an average of 1,276 contributors in Malaysia editing Wikimedia projects each month. More than 400 of these volunteers are dedicated to the Malay Wikipedia, collectively contributing close to 53,000 edits monthly to keep articles current, accurate and reflective of local contexts.
“Wikipedia is a digital wonder of the world, unlike anything else. It has overcome countless challenges and changes in its time, thanks to the people behind it and their unwavering commitment to sharing free, reliable knowledge with the world,” said Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation. “With billions of monthly visits and an ever-growing number of organizations relying on Wikipedia’s free, verified knowledge, this platform has become integral to the architecture of the entire internet.”
As part of the Wikipedia 25 campaign launched today, Malaysians are invited to reflect on how the platform has shaped access to information over the past 25 years, celebrate the volunteers who make it possible, and participate in shaping its future.
Preserving languages and cultural identity
Since its launch in 2001, Wikipedia has grown alongside Malaysia’s digital development, becoming integral to how information is discovered, shared and referenced nationwide. In recent years, Malaysian Wikimedia volunteers have extended their efforts beyond general content creation to the documentation and preservation of indigenous languages online.
Initiatives such as the WikiKata project empower minority communities to record and share endangered languages like Iban, Kadazandusun and others on Wiktionary. This work reflects the human-led efforts behind safeguarding linguistic heritage in the digital age. In October 2024, WikiKata received international recognition, winning the International Green Gown Award 2024 and earning acknowledgement in the RCE Awards for its innovative approach to community engagement and language preservation.
Through these collaborative programmes, Malaysians are contributing to sustaining cultural identity and ensuring indigenous languages maintain a living presence on the internet. “The launch of Kadazandusun Wikipedia is more than a digital milestone, it is a way for our stories, culture and language to live on in a global ecosystem of knowledge,” said Jilorisa John, a contributor and trainer for the Kadazandusun Wikipedia project. “By documenting our language online, we are not only preserving it for future generations, but also celebrating it on the same platform used by millions around the world.”
Wikipedia’s content is created and maintained by nearly 250,000 volunteer editors globally each month, including many who support Malaysia-relevant content. Their collective work of writing, reviewing and fact-checking articles according to strict standards of neutrality and reliability has taken on added significance amid growing concerns over misinformation and the rapid spread of unverified content online.
Looking ahead in the age of AI
To mark its 25th birthday, the Wikimedia Foundation has released a new video docuseries spotlighting the people behind Wikipedia, featuring volunteer editors from around the world whose stories highlight the human foundations of the platform. This emphasis on people over technology is particularly relevant as Wikipedia enters an era shaped by artificial intelligence.
Wikipedia’s content now underpins search engines, voice assistants and generative AI tools worldwide, making it one of the highest-quality datasets used to train large language models. “Wikipedia shows that knowledge is human, and knowledge needs humans. Especially now, in the age of AI, we need the human-powered knowledge of Wikipedia more than ever,” said Selena Deckelmann, Chief Product and Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation.
Founder Jimmy Wales echoed this sentiment as part of the newly launched “25 Years of Wikipedia” digital time capsule. “In 2001, Wikipedia started as a dream to share knowledge with everyone, everywhere. No one, including me, knew if it would succeed,” he said. “Against all odds, Wikipedia has grown to become the backbone of knowledge on the internet today.”
As Wikipedia celebrates its 25th anniversary, its continued evolution — through responsible partnerships, human-first AI strategies and efforts to close knowledge gaps — underscores its enduring relevance. For Malaysia, the platform’s future remains closely tied to the dedication of local volunteers who ensure that free, reliable and culturally relevant knowledge remains accessible to all.
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