Jump to content

Wikipedia:Popular pages

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Main page: Wikipedia:Statistics § Page views

Shortcut
For the usage of "popular" in articles, see Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch § Puffery.

The popular pages from December 1, 2007, to the present demonstrates human interests during that period. The views data for Wikipedia's first years (2001–2007) is fragmentary and complete data on mobile views is available only since July 1, 2015. This presently (until the age of advanced electronic archeology) precludes the possibility of all-time ranking with the multiyear perspective being the closest we can get to.

The lists below include desktop views since December 1, 2007, and mobile views since July 1, 2015. For consolation, with this data we are very close to the all time ranking and will ever be closer. Wikipedia logged significantly less views before the count started in December 2007. Wikipedia reached the top 10 of Alexa.com in March 2007,[2] only half a year earlier, and before May 2003 Wikipedia had not even been on this list of 3000 websites.[3] Moreover, as views accumulate over time, the pre-2007 views become ever less significant. Even if known, they would not alter either the ranking, or views counted in hundreds of millions.

Being one of the best indicators of "what the collective world is thinking about," the list of most viewed Wikipedia pages receives wide attention in unassociated institutions and external popular media sources. One scholar in 2007 was puzzled why Wikipedia does not offer a "most viewed" or "most popular" feature on its site that can be easily found, as is the case on some contemporary highly visited sites, such as YouTube, Digg or Del.icio.us.[4]

University of Milan created an engine of the complete yearly ranking of all Wikipedia articles for 2014–2021.[5] In 2013 the BBC published an article discussing most searched Wikipedia articles in 2012 in different languages.[6] Other versions of top-lists for shorter periods are regularly published and discussed by external popular media.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Sources

Most-viewed pages were detected from earlier lists for shorter periods (named in Wikipedia:Statistics#Page views). The number of views for the detected pages were found by such engines as Wikitally (existed until 2017), Multiyear ranking of Wikipedia pages views[13] and Massview.[14] The latter counts views by category since July 1, 2015.

The leading page

The undisputed leader is Wikipedia's Main page, with over 46.8 billion views as of January 2022—more than the rest of the Top-100 list combined, including non-ranked pages. For comparison, "Baby Shark", which leads YouTube for the most views on that site[15] has 14.7 billion views. According to its information page, the Main page was created as Wikipedia marked its first year, on January 26, 2002. Wikipedia:Most popular pages October 2001, however, states that the Main page had existed and led by wide margin already in October 2001. It is not known which pages had led the ranking during Wikipedia's first months, although by the end of the first month (January 31, 2001) the most viewed page was Usenet cabal.[16]

Among the conventional pages with mostly human intentional views (ranked pages below), the United States probably took the lead in the pre-view-count period (2001–2007), as it can be seen in the October 2001 list and featured strongly in all available monthly reports for 2003 and 2004. Having held the first place until January 20, 2021, the U.S. was surpassed by its former president, Donald Trump. The US regained the leadership in August the same year.

First two decades

By Wikipedia's 20th anniversary (in 2021), it had become clear that the most interesting phenomena for humans are... humans, especially contemporaries and especially when they die.

In total, humans represent over a quarter of all Wikipedia articles. As of November 2023 1,915,609 people out of 6,748,287 articles, 28%.[17] As of January 2023, 66 pages of the top-100 list belong to humans. It was not the case from the beginning. In the October 2001 list, for example, we see one human—the co-founder of Wikipedia Larry Sanger. Within two decades, however, a huge human invasion occurred. Humans came seriously and for long.

Correspondingly, the most interesting object in the Universe for humans is the planet of the humans, provided we disregard Star Wars, Darth Vader and the situation comedy called The Big Bang Theory. Half a millennium after Copernicus and a century after Edwin Hubble, the collective interest remains geocentric.

Top-100 list

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

COVID-19 appeared on the all-time list in June 2020; the page did not exist in the beginning of the year. In this respect, COVID-19 is the biggest phenomenon Wikipedia has ever known.

Donald Trump became the first person to reach 200 million views and overall second only after his country. On January 20, 2021, the day he left office, he surpassed the United States for the all-time lead among the ranked pages in what we know as the first change of the leading page. The 2021 storming of the United States Capitol gave him the decisive push. By notable contrast, his predecessor Barack Obama could not reach the U.S. in two terms. Joe Biden debuted on the list on November 12, 2020.

In 2021, Manchester United became the first sports team to enter the list.

In the first trimester of 2022, Vladimir Putin debuted on the list. Among the non-English speaking politicians, he became the first active state leader, the first living political leader, and overall second only to Adolf Hitler. Synchronously, Russia progressed 14 places and Will Smith 12 places.

Rank Page Views in millions
[a] Main Page 46,800
[a] Special:Search 15,000
[a] Special:Random 7,900
[b] - 2,900
[a] Undefined 1,800
[c] United States Senate[18] 350
[a] Special:Watchlist 344
[a] Special:Randompage 314
[d] YouTube 296
[d] Wiki 277
[d] Facebook 277
1 United States 254
2 Donald Trump 243
[c] Wikipedia 228
[b] 404.php 225
[c] xHamster 212
[a] Portal:Current events 208
3 Elizabeth II 198
[d] Google 193
[a] Special:Book 185
[a] Special:CreateAccount 172
4 India 165
5 Barack Obama 161
[a] Search 153
[c] Bible 153
6 Cristiano Ronaldo 151
7 World War II 145
8 United Kingdom 144
9 Michael Jackson 142
[a] Wikipedia:Your first article 137
10 Elon Musk 135
[a] Special:RecentChanges 135
11 Sex 132
[e] Cleopatra 132
12 Lady Gaga 129
12 Adolf Hitler 129
14 Eminem 127
15 Lionel Messi 125
16 Game of Thrones 122
17 World War I 121
18 The Beatles 116
19 Justin Bieber 114
20 Canada 113
20 Freddie Mercury 113
22 Kim Kardashian 111
23 Johnny Depp 109
[a] Creative Commons Attribution 109
24 Steve Jobs 108
24 Dwayne Johnson 108
26 Michael Jordan 107
26 Australia 107
28 List of presidents of the United States 104
29 The Big Bang Theory 103
30 Taylor Swift 102
[a] Search engine[22] 102
31 Stephen Hawking 101
31 List of highest-grossing films 101
33 China 100
[a] Portal:Contents 100
[a] XXXX 96
[c] Malware 96
34 Russia 96
34 New York City 96
34 Japan 96
34 Kanye West 96
38 List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films 95
38 Abraham Lincoln 95
40 LeBron James 94
40 Charles III[23] 94
40 Darth Vader 94
40 Star Wars 94
40 Miley Cyrus 94
40 Germany 94
40 September 11 attacks[24] 94
47 Leonardo DiCaprio 93
48 Kobe Bryant 92
48 Selena Gomez 92
50 Joe Biden 91
50 Tom Cruise 91
50 Rihanna 91
50 Albert Einstein 91
50 Academy Awards 91
55 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 90
55 Harry Potter 90
55 Elvis Presley 90
55 The Walking Dead (TV series) 90
59 Scarlett Johansson 89
59 Lil Wayne 89
59 Tupac Shakur 89
59 Angelina Jolie 89
63 Queen Victoria 88
63 Jeffrey Dahmer 88
65 John F. Kennedy 87
65 COVID-19 pandemic[25] 87
67 Diana, Princess of Wales 86
67 Marilyn Monroe 86
69 Keanu Reeves 85
69 Arnold Schwarzenegger 85
69 How I Met Your Mother 85
69 Chernobyl disaster 85
69 France 85
69 Ariana Grande 85
75 Jennifer Aniston 84
75 Breaking Bad 84
77 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex 83
77 Muhammad Ali 83
77 Will Smith 83
80 Ted Bundy 82
80 Pablo Escobar 82
80 Mila Kunis 82
80 Vietnam War 82
80 Mark Zuckerberg 82
85 Manchester United F.C. 81
85 William Shakespeare 81
87 Titanic[26] 80
87 Tom Brady 80
87 Jay-Z[27] 80
87 Singapore 80
87 Earth 80
87 Bill Gates 80
[a] Wikipedia:Contact us 80
93 Winston Churchill 78
93 Bruce Lee 78
93 Nicki Minaj 78
93 Israel 78
97 Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon 77
97 John Cena 77
97 Charles Manson 77
97 Ryan Reynolds 77
97 Brad Pitt 77
97 Vladimir Putin 77
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Wikipedia special and disambiguation pages and pages with a large percentage of unintentional views are omitted from the ranking.
  2. ^ a b An artifact that somehow gets logged, sometimes after the data source changed.
  3. ^ a b c d e A page that logged a large number of automated views.
  4. ^ a b c d The consistent popularity of pages like Wiki, Google, YouTube, and Facebook is likely due in part to people accidentally typing these site names into the Wikipedia search bar when intending to actually visit the sites themselves.[19]
  5. ^ Samsung Android smartphone voice command suggests to open up the Wikipedia article on Cleopatra. Since this is a popular device, many views are unintentional.[20][21]

Universe

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Earth 80
2 Sun 40
3 Moon 39
[a] Skathi (moon) 38
4 Black hole 37
4 Mars 37
6 Solar System 36
7 Pluto 31
8 Big Bang 30
9 Milky Way 26
10 Saturn 23
11 Kepler's Supernova 20
12 Universe 19
13 Dark matter 18
14 Galaxy 16
15 Jupiter 15
16 Venus 14
17 Supernovae 13
18 Andromeda Galaxy 12
19 Mercury (planet) 10
20 Neptune 9.5
21 Uranus 9.2
22 Solar eclipse 7.6
23 Lunar eclipse 7.2
24 Dark energy 7.0
24 Halley's Comet 7.0
26 Event horizon 6.5
27 Titan (moon) 6.2
28 Eclipse 5.7
28 Sirius 5.7
30 Winter solstice 5.4
30 Ceres (dwarf planet) 5.4
30 Alpha Centauri 5.4
Note
  1. ^ The high popularity of this moon in 2021–22 remains a mystery. Skathi is 8 km in diameter orbiting Saturn along dozens of other moons.

Earth

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Ranked here are Earth's non-organic phenomena.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Mount Everest 46
2 Bermuda Triangle 44
3 Africa 40
4 Hurricane Katrina 36
5 North America 34
6 Earthquake 32
7 Climate change 31
7 Continent 31
9 Antarctica 30
9 Asia 30
11 Tsunami 28
12 Volcano 26
13 South America 23
14 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami 22
15 Grand Canyon 19
15 Canary Islands 19
17 Himalayas 17
17 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami 17
17 Yellowstone National Park 17
17 Americas 17
21 Nile 16
21 Crimea 16
21 Mississippi 16
24 Ocean 15
24 Pacific Ocean 15
24 Balkans 15
24 Lightning 15
28 Ice Age 14
28 Atlantic Ocean 14
30 Amazon River 13
30 Ganges 13
30 Palau 13
30 Long Island 13

Life

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2022)

While the interest to Universe is strongly geocentric, the interest to living being is less anthropocentric. Three species are more popular than human, two more share the fifth place with us and animal does better too.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Cat 61
2 Dog 50
3 Animal 38
3 Lion 38
5 Coronavirus 37
5 Tiger 37
5 Human 37
8 Dinosaur 29
9 Elephant 27
10 Virus 26
11 Horse 25
12 Photosynthesis 23
13 Evolution 22
13 Apple 22
13 Bird 22
16 Mammal 21
16 Potato 21
16 Polar bear 21
19 Shark 20
19 Snake 20
19 Spider 20
19 Rabbit 20
19 Platypus 20
19 Dolphin 20
25 Tyrannosaurus 19
25 Cougar 19
25 Jaguar 19
25 Chicken 19
25 Maize 19
30 Cattle 18
30 Dodo 18
30 Turmeric 18
30 Tomato 18
30 Cheetah 18
30 Giraffe 18
30 Bear 18
30 Raccoon 18
30 Octopus 18

Civilization

Wars

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Rank Page Views in millions
1 World War II 145
2 World War I 121
3 Vietnam War 82
4 American Civil War 71
[a] Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 54
[b] 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine 50
[c] Cold War 49
[a] Attack on Pearl Harbor 46
5 Korean War 45
6 Russo-Ukrainian War 34
7 American Revolutionary War 33
8 Syrian civil war 31
[a] Normandy landings 30
9 Gulf War 30
10 Iraq War 29
11 Crusades 24
12 Falklands War 23
[a] Battle of Stalingrad 23
13 War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 22
[a] Battle of the Bulge 19
[a] Battle of Midway 19
[d] Battle of Waterloo 19
[e] World War III 18
14 Six-Day War 18
[c] Israeli–Palestinian conflict 18
14 Crimean War 18
[a] Battle of Dunkirk 17
16 Spanish Civil War 17
17 War of 1812 15
[c] The Troubles 14
18 French and Indian War 14
18 Napoleonic Wars 14
18 Yom Kippur War 14
21 Mexican–American War 13
21 Bosnian War 13
21 Kargil War 13
[a] Battle of Britain 13
[f] 2003 invasion of Iraq 13
24 Indian Rebellion of 1857 12
24 Iran–Iraq War 12
[a] Dunkirk evacuation 12
26 Boxer Rebellion 11
26 Winter War 11
28 Second Boer War 10
28 Kosovo War 10
[g] Trojan War 10
[a] Battle for France 9.5
30 Soviet-Afghan War 9.5
30 Hundred Years' War 9.5
Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Part of World War II.
  2. ^ Part of Russo-Ukrainian War (ranked 6)
  3. ^ a b c Not war in main definitions.
  4. ^ Part of Napoleonic Wars (ranked 18th).
  5. ^ This potential war has not happened.
  6. ^ Part of Iraq War (ranked 10)
  7. ^ Historicity is doubtful.

Empires and hegemonies

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Ancient Egypt and History of Japan are on the list because originally Egypt and Japan were empires established by King Narmer[28] and the Yamato Dynasty[29] respectively. Sumer[30] and Sparta[31] are on the list as hegemonies. Sparta was the hegemon of the Peloponnesian League: see Spartan hegemony.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Soviet Union 63
2 Ottoman Empire‎ 49
3 Roman Empire‎ 43
4 Nazi Germany 41
5 British Empire 32
6 Byzantine Empire 28
7 Ancient Egypt 25
8 Mughal Empire 24
8 Sparta 23
10 Russian Empire 18
10 German Empire 17
12 Qing dynasty 16
13 Holy Roman Empire‎[a] 15
13 Austria-Hungary 15
15 Inca Empire 13
15 Empire of Japan 13
17 Ming dynasty 11
18 Mongol Empire 11
19 Han dynasty 9.4
20 Maurya Empire‎ 9.2
21 Spanish Empire 9.0
22 Tang dynasty 8.8
23 Sumer 8.6
23 History of Japan 8.6
25 Achaemenid Empire 8.4
26 Gupta Empire 7.4
26 Delhi Sultanate 7.4
28 Umayyad Caliphate[a] 6.7
29 Assyria‎ 6.4
30 Abbasid Caliphate 6.1
Notes
  1. ^ a b Views before July 2015 lost.

Present countries

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

The list includes current member states of the United Nations.

In 2022, Ukraine debuted on the list, due to that year's invasion, while Russia surpassed Germany and Japan.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 United States 254
2 India 165
3 United Kingdom 144
4 Canada 113
5 Australia 107
6 China 100
7 Russia 98
8 Japan 96
9 Germany 94
10 France 85
11 Singapore 80
12 Israel 78
13 Pakistan 68
13 Philippines 68
15 Brazil 67
16 Italy 66
16 Netherlands[a] 66
16 New Zealand[a] 66
19 Ukraine 64
19 Spain 64
19 Turkey 64
22 South Africa 62
23 Mexico 61
24 Indonesia 60
25 Switzerland 58
26 North Korea 56
27 Sweden 55
28 Iran 54
29 United Arab Emirates 52
30 Egypt 51
31 Poland 51
32-189 158 countries 50–6.6
190 Federated States of Micronesia 6.5
191 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6.3
192 Eswatini 6.1
193 São Tomé and Príncipe 5.9
194 Republic of the Congo 4.9
Note
  1. ^ a b Netherlands and New Zealand are here because few people search instead for UN member states of the Realm of New Zealand and Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Cities

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Rank Page Continent Views in millions
1 New York City North America 96
2 Singapore Asia 80
3 London Europe 76
4 Hong Kong Asia 62
5 Los Angeles North America 53
6 Dubai Asia 51
7 Washington, D.C. North America 47
8 Paris Europe 44
8 Chicago North America 44
[a] Angelsberg Europe 44
10 Mumbai Asia 38
11 San Francisco North America 37
12 Rome Europe 33
12 Monaco Europe 33
12 Toronto North America 33
15 Tokyo Asia 32
16 Philadelphia North America 31
17 Machu Picchu South America 30
18 Jerusalem Asia 28
18 Amsterdam Europe 28
18 Boston North America 28
21 Barcelona Europe 27
21 Seattle North America 27
21 Istanbul Europe/Asia 27
21 Berlin Europe 27
25 Vatican Europe 26
25 Vancouver North America 26
27 Shanghai Asia 25
27 Pompeii Europe 25
29 Venice Europe 24
29 Atlanta North America 24
29 Montreal North America 24
29 Moscow Europe 24
Note
  1. ^ Angelsberg is a Luxembourg town of some 300 people. Somehow, it logged 37.0 million views in two months in 2015. That year it was second only to the Main page in the number of views.[32]

Buildings and structures

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

On July 6, 2022, the Georgia Guidestones rose 23 places in the list (rank 33) after its enigmatic explosion.[33] Dismantled the same day, the Guidestones remain here.

On September 8, the same year, Balmoral Castle debuted on the list (rank 81). The Queen's death in the Castle almost doubled its all time views.

Rank* Page Date of completion [a] Views in millions
1 Taj Mahal 1653 53
2 Burj Khalifa 2009 44
3 Statue of Liberty 1886 40
4 Great Wall of China c. 212 BC 39
5 Eiffel Tower 1889 37
6 Berlin Wall 1960s 33
7 Machu Picchu 15th century 30
8 Stonehenge 3rd millennium BC 29
9 Mount Rushmore National Memorial 1939 28
9 Colosseum 80 28
9 Auschwitz concentration camp 1942 28
12 Great Pyramid of Giza c. 2560 BC 26
13 One World Trade Center 2014 24
14 Empire State Building 1931 23
15 White House 1800 22
15 Petra[b] 5th century BC 22
17 Large Hadron Collider 2008 21
17 Hagia Sophia 537 21
19 Golden Gate Bridge 1937 18
19 Panama Canal 1914 18
21 Angkor Wat 12th century 17
21 Big Ben 1859 17
21 Guantanamo Bay detention camp 2002 17
21 Buckingham Palace 1850 17
25 Christ the Redeemer (statue) 1931 16
25 Kaaba Before 610 16
27 New York Stock Exchange 1903 15
27 Parthenon 5th century BC 15
29 Pantheon, Rome c. 126 14
29 Disneyland 1955 14
29 Colossus of Rhodes 280 BC 14
29 ADX Florence 1994 14
33 Notre-Dame de Paris 1345 13
33 Wembley Stadium 2007 13
33 World Trade Center (1973–2001) 1973 13
33 Westminster Abbey 960 13
33 Windsor Castle 11th century 13
33 Georgia Guidestones 1980 13
39 Statue of Unity 2018 12
39 Suez Canal 1869 12
39 Walt Disney World 1971 12
39 Channel Tunnel 1994 12
39 Forbidden City 1420 12
39 Willis Tower 1973 12
45 Timbuktu[b] 5th century BC 11
45 Taipei 101 2004 11
45 Arc de Triomphe 1836 11
45 Lighthouse of Alexandria c. 246 BC 11
49 Mohenjo-daro[b] 3rd millennium BC 10
49 John F. Kennedy International Airport 1948 10
49 Temple of Artemis c. 540 BC 10
49 Library of Alexandria 3rd century BC 10
49 Brooklyn Bridge 1883 10
49 Code of Hammurabi c. 1754 BC 10
55 Leaning Tower of Pisa 1372 9.6
56 Statue of Zeus at Olympia 5th century BC 9.2
56 Acropolis of Athens 5th century BC 9.2
58 New York City Subway 1904 9.0
59 Dome of the Rock 692 8.9
60 Great Sphinx of Giza 2532 BC 8.8
61 Palace of Versailles 1678 8.7
62 Wall Street 19th century 8.4
63 Antilia (building) 2010 8.3
64 David (Michelangelo) 1504 8.2
64 Church of the Holy Sepulchre 335 8.2
66 7 World Trade Center 2006 8.1
66 Al-Aqsa Mosque 705 8.1
68 Göbekli Tepe[b] 10th millennium BC 7.9
69 Moai 14th century 7.8
70 Chichen Itza[b] 7th century 7.5
71 Epcot 1982 7.4
71 Petronas Towers 1996 7.4
73 Hoover Dam 1936 7.2
74 Terracotta Army 3rd century BC 7.0
74 Tower of London 1078 7.0
76 Red Fort 1648 6.9
76 Delhi Metro 2002 6.9
78 Jeddah Tower On hold 6.8
78 Louvre 1793 6.8
78 St. Peter's Basilica 1626 6.8
81 Balmoral Castle 1856 6.7
81 British Museum 1753 6.7
81 Brandenburg Gate 1791 6.7
84 Neuschwanstein Castle 1886 6.6
85 Indira Gandhi International Airport 1940s 6.5
86 Hadrian's Wall 128 6.4
87 Erie Canal 1825 6.3
87 Persepolis[b] 6th century BC 6.3
87 United States Capitol 1800 6.3
90 Washington Monument 1888 6.2
90 Gateway of India 1924 6.2
92 Qutb Minar ~ 1220 5.9
92 Alhambra 13th century 5.9
92 India Gate 1921 5.9
92 London Underground 1863 5.9
96 Three Gorges Dam 2003 5.8
96 Heathrow Airport 1946 5.8
96 United States Military Academy 1802 5.8
96 MetLife Stadium 2010 5.8
100 Rikers Island prison 1932 5.7
100 Mausoleum at Halicarnassus 351 BC 5.7
100 Führerbunker 1944 5.7
100 Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary 1934 5.7
100 Borobudur 9th century 5.7
100 Hampi 1500 5.7
100 Konark Sun Temple 13th century 5.7
Notes
  1. ^ All BC dates are marked. The rest of dates are AD.
  2. ^ a b c d e f A city or former city known mostly for its architecture.

People

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Donald Trump was not in this list in January 2016; however, a year later (upon his inauguration as president), he became the most popular among people. Four years later (upon his second impeachment), his page became the most popular overall.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Donald Trump 243
2 Elizabeth II 198
3 Barack Obama 163
4 Cristiano Ronaldo 151
5 Michael Jackson 141
6 Elon Musk 135
7 Lady Gaga 129
7 Adolf Hitler 129
9 Eminem 127
10 Lionel Messi 125
11 Justin Bieber 114
12 Freddie Mercury 113
13 Kim Kardashian 111
14 Johnny Depp 109
15 Steve Jobs 108
15 Dwayne Johnson 108
17 Michael Jordan 107
18 Taylor Swift 102
19 Stephen Hawking 101
20 Kanye West 96
21 Abraham Lincoln 95
22 LeBron James 94
22 Charles III[23] 88
22 Miley Cyrus 94
25 Leonardo DiCaprio 93
26 Selena Gomez 92
26 Kobe Bryant 92
28 Joe Biden 91
28 Tom Cruise 91
28 Albert Einstein 91
28 Rihanna 91
32 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 90
32 Elvis Presley 90
34 Lil Wayne 89
34 Scarlett Johansson 89
34 Tupac Shakur 89
34 Angelina Jolie 89
38 Queen Victoria 88
38 Jeffrey Dahmer 88
40 John F. Kennedy 87
41 Diana, Princess of Wales 86
41 Marilyn Monroe 86
43 Keanu Reeves 85
43 Ariana Grande 85
43 Arnold Schwarzenegger 85
46 Jennifer Aniston 84
47 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex 83
47 Muhammad Ali 83
47 Will Smith 83
50 Mark Zuckerberg 82
50 Ted Bundy 82
50 Pablo Escobar 82
50 Mila Kunis 82
54 William Shakespeare 81
55 Tom Brady 80
55 Jay-Z[34] 80
55 Bill Gates 80
58 Winston Churchill 78
58 Nicki Minaj 78
58 Bruce Lee 78
61 Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon 77
61 Ryan Reynolds 77
61 Brad Pitt 77
61 John Cena 77
61 Charles Manson 77
61 Vladimir Putin 77
67 Clint Eastwood 76
67 Madonna 76
69 Jennifer Lopez 75
69 Katy Perry 75
71 George VI 74
71 Heath Ledger 74
71 Britney Spears 74
74 Sylvester Stallone 73
74 Adele[35] 73
74 Prince (musician) 73
74 David Bowie 73
78 Ronald Reagan 72
79 Kamala Harris 71
79 George W. Bush 71
79 Jennifer Lawrence 71
79 Mahatma Gandhi 71
83 Emma Watson 69
84 Robin Williams 68
84 Mark Wahlberg 68
86 Henry VIII 67
86 Beyoncé 67
86 John Lennon 67
86 Nelson Mandela 67
90 Demi Lovato 66
90 Megan Fox 66
90 Roger Federer 66
93 Tom Hardy 65
93 Leonardo da Vinci 65
95 Tom Hanks 64
95 George Washington 64
95 Franklin D. Roosevelt 64
95 Mike Tyson 64
95 Lali Espósito 64
100 Bob Marley 63
100 Bill Clinton 63
100 The Undertaker 63
100 Mariah Carey 63
100 Kristen Stewart 63
100 Natalie Portman 63
100 Snoop Dogg 63

Singers

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

The list is primarily made of modern-day pop and rap stars with several legends mixed in. Among the names here are Prince and David Bowie who saw many of their page views in 2016 after their deaths.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Michael Jackson 141
2 Lady Gaga 129
3 Eminem 127
4 Justin Bieber 114
5 Freddie Mercury 113
6 Taylor Swift 102
7 Kanye West 96
8 Miley Cyrus 94
9 Selena Gomez 92
10 Rihanna 91
11 Elvis Presley 90
12 Lil Wayne 89
12 Tupac Shakur 89
14 Ariana Grande 85
15 Jay-Z[27] 80
16 Nicki Minaj 78
17 Madonna 76
18 Katy Perry 75
18 Jennifer Lopez 75
20 Britney Spears 74
21 Adele[35] 73
21 David Bowie 73
23 Prince 72
24 Beyoncé 67
24 John Lennon 67
26 Demi Lovato 66
27 Lali Espósito 64
28 Bob Marley 63
28 Mariah Carey 63
28 Snoop Dogg 63

Actors

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

This list omits actors who are singers in order not to repeat half of the previous table.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Kim Kardashian 111
2 Johnny Depp 109
3 Dwayne Johnson 108
4 Leonardo DiCaprio 93
5 Tom Cruise 91
6 Angelina Jolie 89
6 Scarlett Johansson 89
8 Marilyn Monroe 86
9 Keanu Reeves 85
9 Arnold Schwarzenegger 85
11 Jennifer Aniston 84
12 Meghan Markle 83
12 Will Smith 83
14 Mila Kunis 82
15 Bruce Lee 78
16 Brad Pitt 77
16 Ryan Reynolds 77
18 Clint Eastwood 76
19 Heath Ledger 74
20 Sylvester Stallone 73
21 Jennifer Lawrence 71
22 Emma Watson 69
23 Mark Wahlberg 68
23 Robin Williams 68
25 Megan Fox 66
26 Tom Hardy 65
27 Tom Hanks 64
28 Kristen Stewart 63
28 Natalie Portman 63
28 The Undertaker 63

Athletes

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Some professional athletes—Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne Johnson—are classified among actors (above), since their popularity is mostly due to their filmographic performance.

The popularity of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi is more impressive considering the English bias. Both are from non English-speaking countries and Messi never played in the Premier League.

Rank Page Sport Views in millions
1 Cristiano Ronaldo Association football 151
2 Lionel Messi Association football 125
3 Michael Jordan Basketball 107
4 LeBron James Basketball 94
5 Kobe Bryant Basketball 92
6 Muhammad Ali Boxing 83
7 Tom Brady American football 80
[a] John Cena Pro wrestling 77
8 Roger Federer Tennis 66
9 Mike Tyson Boxing 64
[a] The Undertaker Pro wrestling 63
10 O. J. Simpson American football 60
11 Shaquille O'Neal Basketball 58
12 Conor McGregor Mixed martial arts 54
12 Rafael Nadal Tennis 54
14 Serena Williams Tennis 51
14 David Beckham Association football 51
16 Neymar Association football 50
17 Brock Lesnar Pro wrestling and MMA 49
17 Zlatan Ibrahimovic Association football 49
19 Novak Djokovic Tennis 48
20 Stephen Curry Basketball 47
20 Tiger Woods Golf 47
22 Manny Pacquiao Boxing 42
22 Michael Phelps Swimming 42
22 Virat Kohli Cricket 42
[a] Triple H Pro wrestling 41
25 Caitlyn Jenner Decathlon 41
26 Usain Bolt Sprint 40
26 Peyton Manning American football 40
26 Sachin Tendulkar Cricket 40
29 Ronda Rousey Judo, MMA and pro wrestling 38
30 Michael Oher American football 37
30 Wayne Rooney Association football 37
30 Ronaldinho Association football 37
30 Ronaldo Association football 37
Note
  1. ^ a b c Non-competitive sport.

Political leaders

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Along the rise of Donald Trump, credit for the 2017 performance must be given to Vladimir Putin--he overtook Sarah Palin for the 23rd place. Palin dropped from the list the following year, mainly due to the mighty advance of the British royal family.

Putin himself approached relegation by the fall of 2021. Desperate for views, he launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 and left the experts puzzled why did he invade. The results proved to be better than expected. Having logged about 16 million views in the first month of the war, he secured his place on this list for years and reached the general top-100 list above.

Trump's successor, Joe Biden, debuted on the list in October 2020. By the end of the month, he shared the 22nd place with Stalin. In three more days he reached Margaret Thatcher on the 21st rank. The next day, the day of election, Biden added 1.8 million views and equaled another British lady, Elizabeth I, in the top-20. The next day, November 5, he joined his predecessor, FDR, on the 19th place. The day Biden was confirmed President, November 7, he logged 3 million views and the next day 4 million and rose to the 9th place.

Nevertheless, those days Biden was not the most popular. He was outviewed by Kamala Harris. Having logged 3.5 million views on November 7 and 6.5 million the next day, she decisively entered the list (at the expense of Che Guevara) to become the second (after Alexander Hamilton) American on the list who had not served as President. The third became Martin Luther King in March 2022 but did not hold on the list until the end of the year.

The largest gains in 2021 were seen surrounding the British royal family, peaking around the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Even larger gains were seen the next year, peaking around the death of Elizabeth II on September 8th. The Queen saw over 20 million pageviews in the seven days following her death. Earlier in 2022, she had passed Barack Obama for the second place. The September-2022 surge of the royal family caused relegation of Osama bin Laden.

Projecting the trend of the first two decades of Wikipedia (2001–2021) for two more decades, this list would be limited to US Presidents, the British royal family and Hitler.

Rank Page Country Views in millions
1 Donald Trump United States 243
2 Elizabeth II United Kingdom 198
3 Barack Obama United States 163
4 Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany 129
5 Abraham Lincoln United States 95
6 Charles III[23] United Kingdom 94
7 Joe Biden United States 91
8 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh United Kingdom 90
9 Queen Victoria United Kingdom 88
10 John F. Kennedy United States 87
11 Diana, Princess of Wales United Kingdom 86
12 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex United Kingdom 83
13 Winston Churchill United Kingdom 78
14 Vladimir Putin Russia 77
14 Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon United Kingdom 77
16 George VI United Kingdom 74
17 Ronald Reagan United States 72
18 Kamala Harris United States 71
18 Mahatma Gandhi India 71
18 George W. Bush United States 71
21 Henry VIII of England United Kingdom 67
21 Nelson Mandela South Africa 67
23 Franklin D. Roosevelt United States 64
23 George Washington United States 64
25 Bill Clinton United States 63
26 Joseph Stalin Soviet Union 60
27 Elizabeth I United Kingdom 58
28 George H. W. Bush United States 57
29 Alexander Hamilton United States 56
29 Edward VIII United Kingdom 56
29 Margaret Thatcher United Kingdom 56

Pre-modern people

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

This category includes people born before AD 1400 (with the exception of Joan of Arc, born in 1412) who cannot compete with contemporaries figures, like Barack Obama and Michael Jackson.

Originally, the chapter "Political leaders" (above) was titled "Modern political leaders." By 2022, the top-30 modern leaders opened gap over their predecessors and "Modern" was dropped from the title.

The general top-30 list of people (above, now extended to top-100) included 23 living people as of January 2020. This is a feature of the "nascent" Wikipedia. In the course of generations, such top-lists will contain only people who have died,[citation needed] for view-count continues posthumously.

As of November 2023 Wikipedia counts 1,915,609 people.[17] Of them, 1,075,990 are living,[36] or 56% i.e. the living outnumber the dead. 213,943 more were living in the Wikipedia period,[37] raising the percentage of this period's people to 67 (two-thirds). 341,079 more were living in the century preceding Wikipedia (1901–2000),[38] raising the percentage of the contemporaries to 85. That is, people who lived at some time from the beginning of history until 1900 – 98% of history - constitute only 15%.

As of 2021, people born since 1960 AD log as many views as people born before, and the year of parity rises every year.[39]

Rank Page Time Views in millions
1 Jesus 4 BC − 30/33 AD 59
2 Alexander the Great 356 – 323 BC 55
3 Muhammad 570 – 623 AD 51
4 Julius Caesar 100 – 44 BC 49
5 Genghis Khan 1162 – 1227 AD 44
6 Gautama Buddha 6th – 4th centuries BC 37
7 Aristotle 384 – 322 BC 34
8 Plato 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC 30
8 King Arthur[a] 5th – 6th centuries AD 30
10 Joan of Arc 1412 – 1431 AD 29
11 Socrates 470/469 – 399 BC 28
12 Spartacus 111 – 71 BC 27
13 Charlemagne 742/748 – 814 AD 26
13 Tutankhamun c. 1341 – c. 1323 BC 26
13 Ragnar Lodbrok[a] 9th century AD 26
13 Augustus 63 BC – AD 14 26
17 William Wallace 1270 – 1305 AD 24
17 Moses[b] 14th – 13th centuries BC 24
19 Nero 37 AD – 68 AD 23
19 Marco Polo 1254 – 1324 AD 23
21 Alfred the Great c. 848-899 AD 22
21 Caligula 12 AD – 41 AD 22
23 Robin Hood[a] 12th – 14th centuries AD 21
24 Cleopatra[c] 69 – 30 BC 20
25 Henry V of England 1386 – 1422 AD 19
25 Hannibal 247 – 183/181 BC 19
25 Abraham[b] 19th – 17th centuries BC 19
28 David 1010 - 970 BC 18
28 Confucius 551 – 479 BC 18
28 Marcus Aurelius 121 - 180 AD 18
28 William the Conqueror 11th century AD 18
28 Ashoka 304 – 222 BC 18
Notes
  1. ^ a b c Historicity is dubious.
  2. ^ a b Historicity is unconfirmed by extra-Biblical sources.
  3. ^ The number of intentional mobile views for 2020-2022 is unknown (see "Top-100," note f above). Basing on the previous years, probably 9 million and all time total 29 million.

3rd-millennium people

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Of people born in the 3rd millennium (which is defined here as starting in 2000), the first to receive a personal page in Wikipedia was Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (born October 25, 2001). Her page was created on August 4, 2003. She was followed by two other princesses later that year: Lady Louise Windsor of Wessex obtained her page on November 26, 2003, at the age of 18 days; the page of Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, was created on December 9, 2003.

Lady Louise Windsor, probably, gained the all-time leadership the following year (2004), as her page was much more viewed during the years we have data (December 2007–present). By the end of 2016, she was 4th in the multiyear list. Lady Louise Windsor was, probably, overcome in 2010 by Willow Smith—the undisputed leader of the 2010s. The page of Willow Smith was created on April 23, 2005 (year and a half after Lady Louise Windsor's). During 2008–2009 the two had similar number of views, while in 2010 Willow Smith counted an extraordinary number of 3,100,000 views.[13] By August 31, 2016, she had total 12 million views, nearly three times more than the closest contender, Jackie Evancho.

In July 2019, Willow Smith was synchronously surpassed by two people, Billie Eilish and Millie Bobby Brown, after leading over 100 months. Billie Eilish was the first to surpass Smith. On 7/24/2019 Millie Bobby Brown passed Billie Eilish in page views, and held the lead until 7/26/2019. She regained the title on 7/29/2019 and held it until 7/31/2019, and Billie EIlish has held it ever since.[40][41]

The undisputed leader of the year 2019 was Billie Eilish. She began the year on the 22nd place and gained the all-time lead in July. For 2019, she was the most viewed among living people of all ages and her page was 10th in the general ranking.[42]

In the 2010s, the hereditary princes were gradually overtaken by the "princes" of music and movies.

The first sportsperson to make this list was artistic gymnast Laurie Hernandez. She entered the list in August 2016, peaked at the 19th rank by the end of the year and dropped from the list in June 2018. She was followed and surpassed by LaMelo Ball in December 2017. LaMelo was joined and surpassed by his colleague, Zion Williamson, in 2019. Williamson peaked at the 14th rank in March 2021, then the highest for a millennial athlete. The forth athlete and the first footballer on the list became Erling Haaland in 2020, followed by his teammate Jadon Sancho the same year. By the end of 2021, Haaland surpassed Williamson for the most viewed millennial athlete and by the fall of 2022 reached rank 4, the highest ever for the millennial athlete. In September 2021 Emma Raducanu became the first tennis player on the list.

In November 2022, Jenna Ortega debuted on the list and already by the fall of the year reached rank 8.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Billie Eilish 52
2 Millie Bobby Brown 38
3 Willow Smith 24
4 Erling Haaland 18
5 Maddie Ziegler 17
5 Greta Thunberg 17
5 Jojo Siwa 17
8 Jenna Ortega 16
9 Prince George of Cambridge 15
10 Lil Pump 14
10 Bhad Bhabie 14
10 Noah Cyrus 14
13 Finn Wolfhard 13
13 Olivia Rodrigo 13
13 Gaten Matarazzo 13
16 Charli D'Amelio 11
[a] Barron Trump 11
17 Isabela Merced 10
17 Princess Charlotte of Cambridge 10
19 Lady Louise Windsor 10
20 LaMelo Ball 10
20 Zion Williamson 10
22 Jacob Tremblay 9.5
23 Emma Raducanu 9.3
24 Jadon Sancho 9.1
25 Mackenzie Foy 8.7
26 Mckenna Grace 8.6
27 Jackie Evancho 8.3
28 James, Viscount Severn 8.1
29 Yara Shahidi 8.0
Note
  1. ^ Not personal page.

Historical most-viewed 3rd-millennium persons

The following table lists the five persons to become Wikipedia's most-viewed millennial person, from August 4, 2003, to the present.

  Current record (⁂)
  Former record (*)
Progression of the most-viewed millennial persons on Wikipedia
Person Views [a] Page creation date Month achieved Months held
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant 1 Aug 4, 2003 August 4, 2003 4–16 [b]
Lady Louise Windsor 100,000–200,000 [b] Nov 26, 2003 2004 [b] 70–84 [b]
Willow Smith 4,000,000–5,000,000 [b] Apr 23, 2005 October – December 2010 [b] 103–105 [b]
Millie Bobby Brown 17,300,000 Jul 22, 2016 July 2019 1 [c]
Billie Eilish 17,300,000 Apr 15, 2017 July 2019 42
As of 14 November 2024
Notes
  1. ^ The approximate number of views each person had when she became Wikipedia’s most-viewed millennial.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Probable estimation.
  3. ^ Millie Bobby Brown held the leadership for 4 days in July 2019.[40][41]

Entertainment

Sport teams

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

The list is overwhelmingly dominated by association football teams. Notable among American sports teams is the Golden State Warriors, whose page views came heavily from 2016 to 2019.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Manchester United F.C. 81
2 FC Barcelona 61
3 Chelsea F.C. 59
4 Real Madrid C.F. 57
5 Arsenal F.C. 55
6 Liverpool F.C. 54
7 Manchester City F.C. 42
8 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 35
8 Brazil national football team 35
10 England national football team 34
11 Juventus F.C. 33
12 A.C. Milan 32
13 FC Bayern Munich 30
14 Paris Saint-Germain F.C. 29
14 Germany national football team 29
14 Argentina national football team 29
17 New England Patriots 28
18 Los Angeles Lakers 27
19 France national football team 26
20 Spain national football team 25
21 Golden State Warriors 24
22 Borussia Dortmund 23
23 Italy national football team 21
24 Leicester F.C. 20
24 Newcastle United F.C. 20
24 West Ham United F.C. 20
24 Inter Milan 20
24 Rangers F.C. 20
29 New York Yankees 19
29 Green Bay Packers 19
29 Aston Villa F.C. 19

Films and TV series

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

TV series clearly has the upper hand to film, for the most part.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Game of Thrones[43] 122
2 The Big Bang Theory[44] 103
3 Star Wars 94
4 The Walking Dead 90
5 How I Met Your Mother 85
6 Breaking Bad 84
7 Grey's Anatomy 74
8 Glee 72
9 Doctor Who 71
10 Harry Potter 62
10 Friends 62
12 Avatar 61
13 The Avengers 60
14 Naruto 59
14 Avengers: Endgame 59
16 Lost 56
17 Family Guy 55
18 Dexter 54
19 Titanic 53
19 House 53
21 Avengers: Infinity War 52
21 Stranger Things 52
21 The Vampire Diaries 52
24 American Horror Story 51
24 X-Men: Evolution 51
26 The Simpsons 50
26 The Dark Knight Rises 50
28 Sherlock 49
28 Sons of Anarchy 49
28 Modern Family 49
28 NCIS 49

Music bands

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

Rank Page Views in millions
1 The Beatles 116
2 One Direction 63
2 BTS 63
4 Queen 56
5 Pink Floyd 51
6 Metallica 50
7 Linkin Park 47
8 Exo 45
8 Led Zeppelin 45
10 Red Hot Chili Peppers 44
11 AC/DC 42
12 The Rolling Stones 39
13 Coldplay 37
14 Fleetwood Mac 35
14 Daft Punk 35
14 Slipknot 35
17 Nirvana 34
18 ABBA 33
18 Spice Girls 33
18 Jonas Brothers 33
18 Green Day 33
18 Guns N' Roses 33
23 Bee Gees 32
24 Foo Fighters 31
24 Iron Maiden 31
24 Gorillaz 31
24 Backstreet Boys 31
28 Kiss 30
29 Girls' Generation 29
29 N.W.A 29

Albums

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

Rank Page Artist Views in millions
1 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band[45] Beatles 18
2 The Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd 17
3 Thriller[46] Michael Jackson 16
4 Recovery[47] Eminem 15
4 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West 15
4 Abbey Road Beatles 15
4 The Beatles Beatles 15
8 XXXX (album) You Say Party 14
8 The Wall Pink Floyd 14
10 21 Adele 13
11 Nevermind Nirvana 12
11 Let It Be (album) Beatles 12
13 The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem 11
13 Watch the Throne Jay-Z & Kanye West 11
15 Led Zeppelin IV Led Zeppelin 10
16 808s & Heartbreak Kanye West 9.5
17 1989 Taylor Swift 9.4
18 Rubber Soul Beatles 9.3
19 Red Taylor Swift 9.2
20 Fearless Taylor Swift 9.0
20 Metallica Metallica 9.0
22 The Slim Shady LP Eminem 8.8
22 Graduation Kanye West 8.8
24 The Eminem Show Eminem 8.7
25 Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd 8.5
25 Teenage Dream Katy Perry 8.5
25 Good Kid, M.A.A.D City Kendrick Lamar 8.5
28 Bad Michael Jackson 8.4
28 Yeezus Kanye West 8.4
30 25 (Adele album) Adele 8.3
30 Hybrid Theory Linkin Park 8.3

Singles

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

Rank Page Artist Views in millions
1 Gangnam Style PSY 22
2 Bohemian Rhapsody Queen 18
3 Hallelujah Leonard Cohen 14
4 We Are the World USA for Africa 13
5 Amazing Grace various artists 10
6 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Julie Andrews & Dick Van Dyke 9.6
6 Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin 9.6
8 Hotel California Eagles 9.3
10 American Pie Don McLean 9.2
9 Despacito Luis Fonsi 9.1
11 Hey Jude Beatles 8.4
12 The Sound of Silence Simon & Garfunkel 7.8
13 Stan Eminem 7.5
14 We Didn't Start the Fire Billy Joel 7.3
15 Billie Jean Michael Jackson 7.1
15 I Will Always Love You Whitney Houston 7.1
17 Blurred Lines Robin Thicke 6.7
17 Hurt Nine Inch Nails 6.7
17 Hello Adele 6.7
20 Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley 6.5
21 In the Air Tonight Phil Collins 6.2
22 The House of the Rising Sun The Animals 5.9
23 Beat It Michael Jackson 5.8
23 Baby Justin Bieber 5.8
25 All I Want for Christmas Is You Mariah Carey 5.7
26 Killing Me Softly with His Song Roberta Flack 5.6
27 Blinded by the Light Manfred Mann's Earth Band 5.5
27 Old Town Road Lil Nas X 5.5
27 Layla Eric Clapton 5.5
30 Africa Toto 5.4

Video games

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Minecraft 46
2 Grand Theft Auto V 34
3 Grand Theft Auto IV 25
4 Sword Art Online 21
5 Roblox 19
5 Code Geass 19
7 League of Legends 17
8 Cyberpunk 2077 15
8 Red Dead Redemption 2 15
10 The Last of Us 14
11 Pokémon Go 13
12 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12
12 Death Stranding 12
12 The Last of Us Part II 12
15 High School DxD 11
15 God of War (2018 video game) 11
17 Horizon Zero Dawn 10
17 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 10
19 Fallout 4 9.5
19 Until Dawn 9.5
21 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard 9.3
22 Red Dead Redemption 9.1
23 Batman: Arkham Knight 8.9
24 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 8.6
25 World of Warcraft 8.5
26 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 8.4
27 Among Us 8.3
27 Persona 5 8.3
29 Final Fantasy XV 8.1
29 No Man's Sky 8.1
29 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain 8.1

Books and book series

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

Naruto is classified as a TV series (above) as it is more popular as an anime, and there is no separate page for the manga. Books with film/TV adaptations are listed below, as many of the links below are franchise pages. Note that A Song of Ice and Fire's popularity is considerably outstripped by that of its TV adaptation Game of Thrones.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Harry Potter 90
2 A Song of Ice and Fire 56
3 Fifty Shades of Grey 52
4 The Hunger Games 51
5 The Great Gatsby 38
5 Nineteen Eighty-Four 38
7 The Lord of the Rings 37
8 A Game of Thrones 29
8 Kama Sutra 29
8 The Handmaid's Tale 29
8 To Kill a Mockingbird 29
12 Magna Carta 27
12 Les Misérables 27
14 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 26
14 Pride and Prejudice 26
14 The Winds of Winter 26
17 Watchmen 25
17 Inferno 25
19 The Catcher in the Rye 24
20 Lolita 23
20 Dune 23
20 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 23
23 Animal Farm 22
23 Frankenstein 22
23 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 22
23 Brave New World 22
27 Don Quixote 21
27 The Hobbit 21
27 The Picture of Dorian Gray 21
30 Bible[48] 20
30 Dracula 20
30 It 20

Science books

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Included in this category is any book basing on observation and presenting thesis.

The five leading books are all about warfare, struggle and power. The next is a relatively benign work telling how to influence people short of killing them. Then is the struggle for survival in which only the fittest survives. And the following is the world where life is nasty, brutish and short.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Mein Kampf 21
2 The Art of War 13
3 The Prince 8.9
4 The Communist Manifesto 8.2
5 The 48 Laws of Power 7.5
6 How to Win Friends and Influence People 7.3
7 On the Origin of Species 6.5
8 Leviathan[49] 6.0
9 The Wealth of Nations 5.9
10 Rich Dad Poor Dad 5.4
11 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 5.3
12 Design Patterns 5.1
13 Getting Things Done 5.0
14 Outliers 4.9
14 A Brief History of Time 4.9
14 The Bell Curve 4.9
17 Guns, Germs, and Steel 4.5
18 The Big Short 4.4
19 Gray's Anatomy 4.2
19 Silent Spring 4.2
21 Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind 4.0
22 Freakonomics 3.9
23 Blue Ocean Strategy 3.8
24 The Tipping Point 3.6
25 Journey to the Center of the Earth 3.5
25 Das Kapital 3.5
27 Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus 3.4
28 Think and Grow Rich 3.3
29 Guerrilla marketing 3.2
29 The World Is Flat 3.2
29 Who Moved My Cheese? 3.2
29 Foundations of Geopolitics 3.2
29 Clash of Civilizations 3.2

Pre-modern books and texts

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023).

This list includes books and texts composed before 1500 AD.

It has been widely argued that Bible is the all time best seller, followed by Quran.[50] The perspective below however reveals an ancient text more popular among wikipedia readers.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Kama Sutra 29
2 Magna Carta 27
3 Inferno (Dante) 25
4 Bible[a] 20
5 Quran 19
5 Odyssey 19
7 Beowulf 18
7 Rosetta Stone 18
7 Mahabharata 18
10 Divine Comedy 16
10 Iliad 16
12 Ramayana 14
13 The Art of War 13
13 Epic of Gilgamesh 13
15 Vedas 12
15 The Canterbury Tales 12
17 One Thousand and One Nights 11
18 Talmud 10
18 Code of Hammurabi 10
[b] Book of Revelation 8.4
20 Oedipus the King 7.6
21 I Ching 7.5
22 Aeneid 6.7
22 Rigveda 6.7
24 Voynich manuscript[c] 6.4
25 Book of the Dead 6.3
26 Domesday Book 6.2
[b] Book of Job 6.1
[b] Book of Kells 6.0
27 Tao Te Ching 5.9
28 Upanishads 5.7
[b] Book of Genesis[c] 5.2
29 Cupid and Psyche 4.7
[b] Acts of the Apostles 4.1
30 The Decameron 4.0

New World

The New World used to have its representative, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar (2.6 million views). But the world did not end on December 20, 2012, and within several years the disappointing calendar dropped from the list.

Notes
  1. ^ Since 2019, Bible has logged large number of automated desktop views. The over 95% disparity between desktop and mobile views is, in the opinion of experts,[51] a clear indication of "non-human views" (divine views in the case?). For this reason, the number of views here excludes the desktop views for 2019–2021. Basing on the Bible traffic before the "divine intervention," (7 to 10 correlation between desktop and mobile respectively views) the correct number of views for Bible is probably 22 million.
  2. ^ a b c d e Part or version of Bible
  3. ^ a b Views before 2015 lost.

Legendary Creatures

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Ranked here is any creature, either non-human or possessing super-human powers, included in Category:Legendary creatures.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Darth Vader 93
2 Batman 58
3 Spider-Man 44
4 Deadpool 40
5 Iron Man 35
6 Captain America 34
7 Harley Quinn 28
8 Santa Claus 27
9 God 25
10 Vampire 24
10 Cthulhu 24
10 Prometheus 24
10 Apollo 24
10 Thanos 24
10 Krishna 24
10 Mickey Mouse 24
17 Jessica Jones 22
17 Frankenstein 22
17 Doctor Strange 22
17 Satan 22
21 Mario 21
22 Thor 20
22 Dragon 20
22 Flying Spaghetti Monster 20
22 Godzilla 20
26 Lord Voldemort 19
26 Chupacabra 19
26 Albus Dumbledore 19
29 Luke Cage 18
30 Isis 17
30 Doppelgänger 17
30 Carol Danvers 17
30 Wonder Woman 17

Events

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Ranked here is any event on any scale from the Big Bang until the ultimate fate of the Universe. The list exceeds the standard of 30 pages to include all events more popular than the world creation.

Rank Page Views in millions
1 World War II 145
2 World War I 121
3 September 11 attacks 94
4 COVID-19 pandemic 87
4 Chernobyl disaster 85
6 Vietnam War 82
7 Titanic 80
8 American Civil War 71
9 2018 FIFA World Cup 66
10 2022 FIFA World Cup 55
11 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 54
12 Russian invasion of Ukraine 50
12 Cold War 49
14 Black Death 48
15 The Holocaust 47
16 Attack on Pearl Harbor 46
17 Korean War 45
18 2020 United States presidential election 44
18 2014 FIFA World Cup 44
20 Columbine High School massacre 41
21 French Revolution 39
22 Great Depression 38
23 2020 Summer Olympics 36
24 2010 FIFA World Cup 35
25 Industrial Revolution 34
25 2016 Summer Olympics 34
25 Hurricane Katrina 34
28 American Revolutionary War 33
29 2016 United States presidential election 32
30 UEFA Euro 2020 31
30 Syrian civil war 31
32 2012 Summer Olympics 30
32 Normandy landings 30
32 Gulf War 30
35 Iraq War 29
35 Spanish flu 29
35 Big Bang 29

Lists

(December 1, 2007 – January 1, 2023)

Rank Page Views in millions
1 Presidents of the United States 104
2 Highest-grossing films 101
3 Marvel Cinematic Universe films 95
4 Game of Thrones episodes 61
5 Super Bowl champions 60
6 Countries by GDP (nominal) 59
7 United States cities by population 57
8 The Big Bang Theory episodes 54
9 UFC events 51
9 Doctor Who serials 51
11 Highest-grossing Indian films 47
12 How I Met Your Mother episodes 46
12 Running Man episodes 45
14 Family Guy episodes 44
14 South Park episodes 44
14 The Walking Dead episodes 44
17 Top Gear episodes 40
17 Glee episodes 40
19 Countries by GDP (PPP) per capita 39
20 Arrow episodes 38
21 TCP and UDP port numbers 37
22 James Bond films 36
23 HTTP status codes 35
23 Steven Universe episodes 35
25 Walt Disney Pictures films 34
26 States and territories of the United States 33
27 Suits episodes 32
28 NBA champions 30
28 Pornographic actresses by decade 30
30 Best-selling music artists 29

Categories

(July 1, 2015 – January 1, 2023)

Counting views by category is a mission impossible with the present tools. TreeViews – tool (which previously did not work) works As of 2024. The account Wikitop – for top 30 most popular articles by categories is suspended. Multiyear ranking of Wikipedia pages views[13] counts only few selected categories of small number of pages. Practically the only helpful tool for categories is Massview[14] and it also has many limitations. It lacks data before July 2015 and does not work for any category exceeding 20,000 pages, or for any period exceeding a year for categories of over 5000 pages.

With unarmed eye we can see that the largest category is Content, followed by Articles, followed by Main topic classifications. And this is how far we can see. Calculating a top-30 list with the available tools would require a collective effort of several generations of Wikipedians.

Excluding subcategories and counting pages only, the top-30 list gives Living people and 29 maintenance categories beginning with Articles with short description (4,624,447 pages, most of the Wikipedia). Excluding maintenance categories, the top-30 list presents films, shows, entertainers, American people of various descents and one oddity: Spoken articles.

Rank Page Number of pages Views in millions
[a] Living people[b] 1,047,291 125,964
[c] Main Page 19 36,828
1 American male film actors 11,768 21,252
2 American male television actors 9752 19,488
3 American film actresses 8854 17,610
4 American television actresses 7504 17,192
5 21st-century American male actors 5341 17,158
6 21st-century American actresses 5435 16,263
7 20th-century American male actors 9042 16,233
8 2010s English-language films 12,085 12,856
9 English-language television shows 17,251  12,938
10 20th-century American actresses 7145 12,407
11 American people of Irish descent 3276 11,121
12 American people of English descent 3004 10,811
13 American male voice actors 3108 10,616
14 2010s American films 8089 9829
15 American people of German descent 3122 9010
16 21st-century American singers 5612 8658
17 Grammy Award winners 2834 8661
18 American voice actresses 1643 7256
19 20th-century American singers 5089 5842
20 Spoken articles[d] 1664 5681
21 American people of Scottish descent 1315 5489
22 2000s English-language films 10,003 5382
23 21st-century American Jews 7623 5425
24 American child actresses 1584 5271
25 21st-century African-American men 9251 5241
26 American people of Italian descent 3033 4920
27 21st-century American comedians 2041 4875
28 American stage actresses 3528 4849
29 2000s American films 7181 4635
30 American male stage actors 3413 4631
Notes
  1. ^ Category intentionally kept non-diffusing
  2. ^ Estimation. The Massview tool[14] counts only 20,000 first pages. 20,000 pages are used here to establish the average and the average is multiplied by the total number of pages.
  3. ^ Maintenance category
  4. ^ Deduction of 332 million views illegally logged by the United States Senate in February - March 2020.

See also

References

  1. ^ Wolff-Mann, Ethan (October 23, 2014). "The 25 Most Popular Articles On Wikipedia In August". Thrillist.
  2. ^ "Wikipedia.org is more popular than... - Meta". meta.wikimedia.org.
  3. ^ Wikipedia:Milestones 2003 entry for May 22
  4. ^ Spoerri, Anselm (April 2, 2007). "What is popular on Wikipedia and why?". First Monday. doi:10.5210/fm.v12i4.1765 – via firstmonday.org.
  5. ^ The engine allows to chart pages by categories and rank pages by views, links, or combination of both ("harmonic centrality"). "The Open Wikipedia Ranking," http://wikirank.di.unimi.it/faq.html
  6. ^ "Wikipedia's most searched articles of the year revealed". BBC News. December 28, 2012.
  7. ^ Gao, George (January 14, 2016). "Most visited Wikipedia articles by language in 2015".
  8. ^ Sonnad, Nikhil (January 7, 2015). "The top-viewed Wikipedia page for every day of 2014". Quartz.
  9. ^ "The Most Popular Pages on Wikipedia in 2012: Facebook, One Direction and … Cul De Sacs?".
  10. ^ Quain, John (March 25, 2015). "What I learned from Wikipedia's most popular articles of 2012". Fox News.
  11. ^ Price, Gary (December 31, 2013). "The Top 100 Most Viewed Articles on Wikipedia During 2013". Library Journal infoDOCKET.
  12. ^ "Wikipedia's most-viewed articles in 2012 were..." CNET.
  13. ^ a b c "Wikipedia Views: results". wikipediaviews.org.
  14. ^ a b c "Massviews Analysis". pageviews.wmcloud.org.
  15. ^ List of most viewed YouTube videos,
  16. ^ "All-time" in this case means 16 days. stats.wikimedia.org: ZeitGeist.
  17. ^ a b http://wikirank-2023.di.unimi.it/?search=&type=harmonic&pageSize=10
  18. ^ The Senate exploded on February 8, 2020, with 17 million views and the following two months averaged 5 million views per day, totaling 333 million views in this period, over 99% of them mobile views.
  19. ^ Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-02-04/Special report
  20. ^ Silvera, Ian. "Wikipedia's Cleopatra mystery, AI and the future of truth on the internet". www.news-future.com.
  21. ^ Rauwerda, Annie (March 3, 2022). "Why is Cleopatra constantly trending on Wikipedia?". Input.
  22. ^ With redirect views Wsearch.php.
  23. ^ a b c Including redirect views from Charles, Prince of Wales.
  24. ^ Including redirect views of September 11, 2001 attacks.
  25. ^ The page was renamed twice and each time began new count. Here the lost views are included. The original title was Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak and then 2019-20 Coronavirus pandemic.
  26. ^ Including redirect views from RMS Titanic
  27. ^ a b Including redirect views from JAY-Z
  28. ^ Toby Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, London: Routledge, 1999, p 68.
  29. ^ Kenneth Henshall, A History of Japan: From the Stone Age to Christianity, London: Palgrave, 2012, pp 15-16, 22.
  30. ^ The political pattern of Sumer was hegemony shifting from city to city and called the King of Kish. Amelie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East circa 3000 - 330 BC, London & New York: Routledge, 1995, vol I, pp 30-31, 42.
  31. ^ S, Alen (July 30, 2015). "Spartan hegemony (404-371 B.C) after the Peloponnesian War".
  32. ^ User:West.andrew.g/2015 Popular pages
  33. ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia (July 6, 2022). "Explosion Destroys Mysterious Monument in Georgia, Authorities Say". The New York Times.
  34. ^ Including redirect views from JAY-Z.
  35. ^ a b Including redirect views from Adele (singer)
  36. ^ "Category:Living people". November 21, 2023 – via Wikipedia.
  37. ^ "Category:21st-century deaths". November 21, 2023 – via Wikipedia.
  38. ^ "Category:20th-century deaths". February 24, 2021 – via Wikipedia.
  39. ^ Wikipedia categories for people born by period (year/decade/century/millennium) counted by the massview tool, https://pageviews.toolforge.org/massviews/
  40. ^ a b "Billie Eilish Pageviews Analysis". WMF Labs.
  41. ^ a b "Millie Bobby Brown Pageviews Analysis". WMF Labs.
  42. ^ "User:West.andrew.g/2019 Popular pages". November 8, 2023 – via Wikipedia.
  43. ^ Overcame The Big Bang Theory in August 2017 and led the List ever since.
  44. ^ Led the List from from October 2016 until August 2017.the
  45. ^ In 2019 overcame Thriller and Recovery and led the list ever since
  46. ^ Led the list twice, until 2014 and in 2016-2019
  47. ^ Led the list in 2014-2016
  48. ^ See "Pre-modern books," note a below.
  49. ^ Including redirect views from Leviathan (Hobbes)
  50. ^ "guinnessworldrecords""Best selling book of non-fiction". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  51. ^ Wikipedia:Top 25 Report; User:Igordebraga; User:Kingsif.
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Popular_pages&oldid=1249866959"