Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/Records

Since January 2013, the Wikipedia:Top 25 Report is a list that presents the 25 most viewed articles on the English Wikipedia for a given week, derived from the WP:5000, an automated report of the most viewed 5000 Wikipedia pages. For more information, see here.

This page includes these various records for the Top 25 Report:

  • An all-time Top 25 list, cumulating the 25 highest page view instances in a single week by an article in the history of the Report. Ranking during the week of the report is irrelevant on this list, although most of the Top 25 did rank #1 in their respective week.
  • A listing of all articles with multiple appearances at the #1 spot on the Top 25 Report, in order of most appearances to least (2), and then in order from oldest to newest in regards to an article's first appearance at the #1 spot.
  • Listings of articles with the highest and lowest page views at the #1 spot in a single year.
  • The record progression for the highest page views for a #1 article on the Top 25 Report, as well as the lowest.

The article for American basketball player Kobe Bryant holds the record for most pageviews in a week with over 22.8 million views during the January 26–February 1, 2020 period. Kobe Bryant and Elizabeth II are the only articles to break the 20 million pageview threshold in a single 7-day period, both during the weeks on their deaths (albeit Bryant died on Sunday and Elizabeth on Thursday, and thus the latter didn't make 20 million during the Sunday-Saturday period covered by the Report).

Only twelve articles have surpassed 10 million pageviews in a weekly Report, with English singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie first accomplishing this feat with over 11.7 million pageviews during January 10–16, 2016. There are 14 total instances of an article surpassing 10 million pageviews in a weekly Report, however, as the articles for former U.S. president Donald Trump and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer have both surpassed the benchmark during two separate weeks. The Jeffrey Dahmer article is the only article to do so in consecutive weeks.

With over 9.1 million pageviews from November 3–9, 2013, the article for Indian mental calculator and writer Shakuntala Devi became the first article to surpass the 5 million pageviews threshold in a single week. The Donald Trump article holds the Report records for most weeks with 5 million+ pageviews (6) and most weekly #1 appearances (15), and is also the only article to achieve Weekly #1 appearances and 5 million+ pageviews in consecutive weeks on multiple occasions.

The article for the COVID-19 pandemic holds the record for most consecutive Weekly #1 appearances (8). The COVID-19 pandemic and Jeffrey Dahmer articles hold the joint record for most consecutive weeks with 5 million+ pageviews (4).