Understanding Wikimedia audiences in the United Kingdom to achieve knowledge equity
Methodology
- 15 minute online survey
- Fieldwork dates: 17th-23th June 2022
- Sampled to be representative of the UK online population on age, gender
- Age 18+
- 500 respondents representative of the UK Population on age and gender
- 1000 Boost interviews amongst Ethnic Minorities
Key Insights
- Overall, Wikipedia enjoys good awareness and usage
- Wikipedia has a youth issue in Japan
- The Black community, especially Black women, are disengaged
- LGBTQ community feel less represented, especially those who are non-white
- Overall women are generally positive, but have low usage and feel less represented
- Gen Z are less likely to be engaged vs. older groups

Usage and Awareness
- Younger audiences, and men, less aware of Wikipedia
- British women use Wikipedia less, with lower usage also among Black British
- Brits overall want more cooking content, with specific topic areas desired per community
- Young people more likely to not use because it doesn’t represent them, LGBTQ want different experience


Perception and Representation
- Black/ mixed ethnicity men feel more represented in UK media vs. Wikipedia
- British people generally feel there are right amount of articles for each community
- Black men and women least trusting that Wikipedia articles are fair & representative
- LGBTQ non-white community has more negative perceptions of Wikipedia, older people more positive


Editing
- Strong interest in editing, especially among younger people – Wikipedia should be leveraging this interest
- Interest driven by a passion for writing and sharing of knowledge
- A lack of skill and time the greatest barriers to editing on Wikipedia


Help us unlock the world’s knowledge.
As a nonprofit, Wikipedia and our related free knowledge projects are powered primarily through donations.
Donate now
Contact us
Follow

Wikimedia Foundation calls for protection and fair treatment of Wikipedia as UK Online Safety Bill becomes law
The Wikimedia Foundation is calling on the UK government and independent regulator to ensure the implementation of the Online Safety Bill does not harm Wikipedia, and other projects that the public relies on to create and access free, reliable knowledge.

Wikimania 2023 in Singapore centers on diversity, collaboration, and the future of free knowledge
In its eighteenth edition, Wikimania, the flagship annual conference that celebrates Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia and the volunteers who make them possible, is set to take place in Singapore.
Photo credits

Illustrated by Adien Gunarta and Naila Rahmah

uk-profiles

UK_knowledge_equity-01

UK_knowledge_equity-02

UK_knowledge_equity-06

UK_knowledge_equity-03

UK_knowledge_equity-05

UK_knowledge_equity-04