Wikipedia:Time Between Edits

English language Wikipedia measured by time between every 10,000,000th edit

This table and chart measures editing on the English Wikipedia in terms of the time it takes for every ten million edits. This page was originally started by Katalaveno at User:Katalaveno/TBE, and notes in the first person are by them.

There are two ways of measuring edits on Wikipedia, one from the magic word {{REVISIONID}} and the other from {{NUMBEROFEDITS}}. This chart uses the former because it is easy to find the date of any edit by revision ID. The current number of edits is 1,251,636,841

Graph 2005–2020

This graph shows the time taken for every ten millionth edit between July 31, 2005, and May 31, 2020. It shows the exponential growth of Wikipedia to 2007 when the gap between 10 million edits dropped to less than 40 days, the slow decline until 2014 when the gap rose again to 73 days, the 2015/16 rally and subsequent steady state at just over 60 days.

Time between edits (incrementing by 10,000,000)

Edit Number (id)	Link to Edit	Date	Days since last milestone (approx.)	Weeks (approx.)	Note
291430	[1]	20:08, 16 January 2001	—	—	^{[note 1]}
1	[2]	10:25, 26 January 2002	—	—	^{[note 2]}
10,000,000	[3]	10:26, 6 February 2005	1483 days	211 weeks
20,000,000	[4]	16:03, 31 July 2005	175 days	25 weeks
30,000,000	[5]	04:23, 3 December 2005	125 days	17 weeks	^{[note 3]}
40,000,000	[6]	07:42, 17 February 2006	76 days	10 weeks
50,000,000	[7]	19:54, 24 April 2006	66 days	9 weeks
60,000,000	[8]	10:22, 22 June 2006	59 days	8 weeks	^{[note 3]}
70,000,000	[9]	08:10, 16 August 2006	55 days	7 weeks
80,000,000	[10]	05:19, 7 October 2006	52 days	7 weeks	^{[note 3]}
90,000,000	[11]	06:17, 25 November 2006	49 days	7 weeks
100,000,000	[12]	11:12, 11 January 2007	47 days	6 weeks
110,000,000	[13]	00:57, 22 February 2007	42 days	6 weeks
120,000,000	[14]	12:11, 3 April 2007	40 days	5 weeks
130,000,000	[15]	22:26, 10 May 2007	37 days	5 weeks
140,000,000	[16]	18:30, 22 June 2007	43 days	6 weeks	^{[note 3]}
150,000,000	[17]	12:37, 8 August 2007	47 days	6 weeks
160,000,000	[18]	08:34, 24 September 2007	47 days	6 weeks
170,000,000	[19]	20:55, 7 November 2007	44 days	6 weeks
180,000,000	[20]	15:32, 24 December 2007	47 days	6 weeks
190,000,000	[21]	14:04, 8 February 2008	46 days	6 weeks
200,000,000	[22]	00:24, 22 March 2008	43 days	6 weeks
210,000,000	[23]	00:42, 4 May 2008	43 days	6 weeks
220,000,000	[24]	21:40, 17 June 2008	44 days	6 weeks
230,000,000	[25]	16:23, 5 August 2008	49 days	7 weeks
240,000,000	[26]	16:04, 21 September 2008	47 days	7 weeks
250,000,000	[27]	09:33, 6 November 2008	46 days	6 weeks
260,000,000	[28]	23:06, 24 December 2008	48 days	7 weeks
270,000,000	[29]	10:07, 11 February 2009	49 days	7 weeks
280,000,000	[30]	08:59, 27 March 2009	44 days	6 weeks
290,000,000	[31]	20:49, 14 May 2009	48 days	7 weeks
300,000,000	[32]	01:14, 3 July 2009	50 days	7 weeks
310,000,000	[33]	12:53, 25 August 2009	53 days	8 weeks
320,000,000	[34]	08:05, 15 October 2009	51 days	7 weeks
330,000,000	[35]	00:00, 6 December 2009	52 days	7 weeks
340,000,000	[36]	17:22, 25 January 2010	50 days	7 weeks	^{[note 3]}
350,000,000	[37]	09:37, 15 March 2010	49 days	7 weeks
360,000,000	[38]	01:05, 4 May 2010	50 days	7 weeks
370,000,000	[39]	19:26, 24 June 2010	51 days	7 weeks
380,000,000	[40]	14:21, 20 August 2010	57 days	8 weeks
390,000,000	[41]	23:43, 10 October 2010	51 days	7 weeks
400,000,000	[42]	17:48, 1 December 2010	52 days	7 weeks
410,000,000	[43]	13:23, 25 January 2011	55 days	8 weeks
420,000,000	[44]	13:26, 21 March 2011	55 days	8 weeks
430,000,000	[45]	02:02, 20 May 2011	60 days	8 weeks
440,000,000	[46]	16:04, 17 July 2011	58 days	8 weeks
450,000,000	[47]	03:49, 12 September 2011	57 days	8 weeks
460,000,000	[48]	13:57, 10 November 2011	59 days	8 weeks
470,000,000	[49]	19:50, 6 January 2012	57 days	8 weeks	^{[note 4]}
480,000,000	[50]	11:43, 3 March 2012	57 days	8 weeks
490,000,000	[51]	15:36, 30 April 2012	58 days	8 weeks
500,000,000	[52]	23:35, 29 June 2012	60 days	9 weeks
510,000,000	[53]	16:50, 30 August 2012	62 days	9 weeks
520,000,000	[54]	15:02, 26 October 2012	57 days	8 weeks
530,000,000	[55]	11:38, 27 December 2012	62 days	9 weeks
540,000,000	[56]	22:21, 23 February 2013	58 days	8 weeks
550,000,000	[57]	09:40, 12 April 2013	48 days	7 weeks	^{[note 5]}
560,000,000	[58]	06:07, 15 June 2013	64 days	9 weeks
570,000,000	[59]	10:41, 24 August 2013	70 days	10 weeks
580,000,000	[60]	08:01, 3 November 2013	71 days	10 weeks
590,000,000	[61]	19:01, 9 January 2014	67 days	10 weeks
600,000,000	[62]	07:24, 17 March 2014	67 days	10 weeks
610,000,000	[63]	18:44, 24 May 2014	68 days	10 weeks
620,000,000	[64]	19:47, 5 August 2014	73 days	10 weeks
630,000,000	[65]	16:36, 17 October 2014	73 days	10 weeks
640,000,000	[66]	22:12, 28 December 2014	72 days	10 weeks
650,000,000	[67]	15:14, 5 March 2015	67 days	10 weeks
660,000,000	[68]	04:47, 30 April 2015	56 days	8 weeks
670,000,000	[69]	03:09, 5 July 2015	66 days	9 weeks
680,000,000	[70]	03:35, 8 September 2015	65 days	9 weeks
690,000,000	[71]	16:59, 10 November 2015	63 days	9 weeks
700,000,000	[72]	18:26, 15 January 2016	66 days	9 weeks
710,000,000	[73]	10:43, 14 March 2016	59 days	8 weeks	^{[note 6]}
720,000,000	[74]	18:26, 13 May 2016	60 days	9 weeks
730,000,000	[75]	2:31, 16 July 2016	64 days	9 weeks
740,000,000	[76]	13:44, 18 September 2016	64 days	9 weeks
750,000,000	[77]	08:13, 17 November 2016	60 days	9 weeks
760,000,000	[78]	10:17, 14 January 2017	58 days	8 weeks
770,000,000	[79]	21:12, 12 March 2017	57 days	8 weeks
780,000,000	[80]	10:30, 12 May 2017	61 days	9 weeks
790,000,000	[81]	00:26, 11 July 2017	60 days	9 weeks
800,000,000	[82]	02:58, 11 September 2017	62 days	9 weeks
810,000,000	[83]	20:51, 12 November 2017	63 days	9 weeks
820,000,000	[84]	14:12, 12 January 2018	61 days	9 weeks
830,000,000	[85]	02:57, 12 March 2018	59 days	8 weeks
840,000,000	[86]	03:37, 7 May 2018	56 days	8 weeks
850,000,000	[87]	22:47, 12 July 2018	66 days	10 weeks
860,000,000	[88]	18:57, 17 September 2018	66 days	10 weeks
870,000,000	[89]	19:26, 21 November 2018	65 days	9 weeks
880,000,000	[90]	18:38, 24 January 2019	64 days	9 weeks
890,000,000	[91]	10:40, 29 March 2019	64 days	9 weeks
900,000,000	[92]	20:51, 2 June 2019	64 days	9 weeks
910,000,000	[93]	01:41, 9 August 2019	67 days	10 weeks
920,000,000	[94]	04:34, 7 October 2019	59 days	8 weeks
930,000,000	[95]	11:01, 9 December 2019	63 days	9 weeks
940,000,000	[96]	23:52, 9 February 2020	62 days	9 weeks
950,000,000	[97]	19:38, 9 April 2020	59 days	8 weeks
960,000,000	[98]	17:53, 31 May 2020	52 days	7 weeks	^{[note 7]}
970,000,000	[99]	18:03, 28 July 2020	58 days	8 weeks
980,000,000	[100]	2:07, 24 September 2020	58 days	8 weeks
990,000,000	[101]	6:04, 22 November 2020	59 days	8 weeks
1,000,000,000	[102]	01:03, 13 January 2021	52 days	7 weeks
1,010,000,000	[103]	09:29, 3 March 2021	49 days	7 weeks
1,020,000,000	[104]	17:29, 26 April 2021	54 days	8 weeks
1,030,000,000	[105]	09:08, 23 June 2021	58 days	8 weeks
1,040,000,000	[106]	03:39, 22 August 2021	60 days	9 weeks
1,050,000,000	[107]	06:09, 15 October 2021	54 days	8 weeks
1,060,000,000	[108]	22:33, 12 December 2021	58 days	8 weeks
1,070,000,000	[109]	04:21, 5 February 2022	55 days	8 weeks
1,080,000,000	[110]	20:52, 29 March 2022	52 days	7 weeks
1,090,000,000	[111]	16:04, 26 May 2022	58 days	8 weeks
1,100,000,000	[112]	19:26, 23 July 2022	58 days	8 weeks
1,110,000,000	[113]	02:02, 13 September 2022	52 days	7 weeks
1,120,000,000	[114]	15:13, 4 November 2022	52 days	7 weeks
1,130,000,000	[115]	04:25, 28 December 2022	54 days	8 weeks
1,140,000,000	[116]	23:12, 17 February 2023	52 days	7 weeks
1,150,000,000	[117]	19:54, 15 April 2023	57 days	8 weeks
1,160,000,000	[118]	21:51, 13 June 2023	59 days	8 weeks
1,170,000,000	[119]	17:47 12 August 2023	60 days	9 weeks
1,180,000,000	[120]	21:57, 13 October 2023	62 days	9 weeks
1,190,000,000	[121]	09:04, 15 December 2023	63 days	9 weeks
1,200,000,000	[122]	13:24, 28 January 2024	44 days	6 weeks
1,210,000,000	[123]	4:29, 24 February 2024	27 days	4 weeks
1,220,000,000	[124]	06:55, 21 April 2024	57 days	8 weeks
1,230,000,000	[125]	00:54, 20 June 2024	60 days	9 weeks
1,240,000,000	[126]	23:58, 12 August 2024	53 days	8 weeks
1,250,000,000	[127]	00:09, 8 October 2024	56 days	8 weeks

Projections

Around January 2007, the time between every 10,000,000th edit was about six weeks. It hovered around that mark for about two years, and then began to increase; by August/October 2014 it had nearly reached 10 and a half weeks. Subsequently editing has picked up again with eight and a half to nine weeks being the norm for 2015 and 2016 - the second fastest in over a decade.

The current value for {{NUMBEROFEDITS}} is 1,251,636,841. The most recent oldid can be found by checking the most recent edits in the change log. As of January 13, 2021^[update], the most recent oldid was around 1,000,000,000. There have been roughly 200,000 per day recently, so we seem likely to reach edit number 2,000,000,000 in late 2034.

FAQ

How did this start? I was interested in getting an idea of the overall edit growth on Wikipedia in the last few years. One way I thought to do it was to take a look the time between every 10,000,000th edit. On March 22, 2008, I noticed in the URL of the diffs I was seeing that the oldid value had just passed 200,000,000. So, that gave me 20 data points to start with.
I have had queries as to why time is not 'on the x-axis' in this graph. The reason is that I am using, as regular intervals, blocks of 10,000,000 Wikipedia edits, not time. I am specifically examining the number of days (which will vary) between each block of ten million edits. Therefore, in this case, time is dependent upon the number of edits made, so time (measured in days) is the dependent variable and edits (measured in blocks of 10,000,000 edits) is the independent variable.
Why is there a Table 1 but no other tables? There used to be a Table 2 but I removed it.
Why is {{REVISIONID}} over a hundred million less than whilst {{NUMBEROFEDITS}} is 1,251,636,841? I would prefer to use {{NUMBEROFEDITS}} Keep in mind that the oldid value I am using is the same as the value contained in the magic word {{REVISIONID}} and not the magic word {{NUMBEROFEDITS}}. I would prefer to use {{NUMBEROFEDITS}} as that includes all edits, both existing and deleted. However, there seems to be no way to backtrack that value in time. If I am wrong about that, I would appreciate knowing a method.

Notes

^ The earliest known edit to Wikipedia is dated January 16, 2001. This is almost a year before the edit with oldid=1 which is January 26, 2002. Since the oldids of these older edits are included within the block of the first 10,000,000 edits, the earliest date on record is used for the calculation of the number of days between the first edit and the 10,000,000th edit logged in the database.
^ This appears to be the "first" edit in the database; it may have an oldid=1 but the earliest edit date found in the database is this edit dated January 16, 2001 at 4:08pm. Curious wiki historians can read WP:Wikipedia's oldest articles which contains some interesting information about the earliest "surviving" edits.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e This edit is missing, presumably deleted, the next was used
^ Due to the Sopa blackout of 18/19 January 2012 there were only 142 edits in 24 hours. 471995871 and 471996013 were the edits immediately before and after the blackout.
^ In 2012/13 Wikipedia migrated its intrawiki links from a many to many system to a hub and spoke system centred on Wikidata. Removing the old Wikilinks involved a significant editing spike in early 2013. Subsequently the change will have lost tens of millions of edits, mostly minor bot edits.
^ Removing {{Persondata}} in 2016 involved significant activity, since up to 1.5 million biographies were affected.
^ This unusually high level of editing coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in much of the world, most relevantly, much of the English speaking world. Aside from the spike involved in the move of interwiki links to Wikidata, this was the highest editing level since late 2010.

[1] The earliest known edit to Wikipedia is dated January 16, 2001. This is almost a year before the edit with oldid=1 which is January 26, 2002. Since the oldids of these older edits are included within the block of the first 10,000,000 edits, the earliest date on record is used for the calculation of the number of days between the first edit and the 10,000,000th edit logged in the database.

[2] This appears to be the "first" edit in the database; it may have an oldid=1 but the earliest edit date found in the database is this edit dated January 16, 2001 at 4:08pm. Curious wiki historians can read WP:Wikipedia's oldest articles which contains some interesting information about the earliest "surviving" edits.

[missing-3] This edit is missing, presumably deleted, the next was used

[4] Due to the Sopa blackout of 18/19 January 2012 there were only 142 edits in 24 hours. 471995871 and 471996013 were the edits immediately before and after the blackout.

[5] In 2012/13 Wikipedia migrated its intrawiki links from a many to many system to a hub and spoke system centred on Wikidata. Removing the old Wikilinks involved a significant editing spike in early 2013. Subsequently the change will have lost tens of millions of edits, mostly minor bot edits.

[6] Removing {{Persondata}} in 2016 involved significant activity, since up to 1.5 million biographies were affected.

[7] This unusually high level of editing coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in much of the world, most relevantly, much of the English speaking world. Aside from the spike involved in the move of interwiki links to Wikidata, this was the highest editing level since late 2010.

[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[note 5]

[note 6]

[note 7]

Graph 2005–2020

Time between edits (incrementing by 10,000,000)

Projections

FAQ

See also

Notes