Editing Wikipedia (section)

=== English Wikipedia editor numbers ===
[[File:Editors English Wikipedia History.png|thumb|Number of editors on the English Wikipedia over time.]]

On March 1, 2014, ''[[The Economist]]'', in an article titled "The Future of Wikipedia", cited a trend analysis concerning data published by the Wikimedia Foundation stating that "[t]he number of editors for the English-language version has fallen by a third in seven years."<ref name="economist1">{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21597959-popular-online-encyclopedia-must-work-out-what-next-wikipeaks |title = The future of Wikipedia: WikiPeaks? |newspaper = The Economist |date = March 1, 2014 |access-date = March 11, 2014}}</ref> The attrition rate for active editors in English Wikipedia was cited by ''The Economist'' as substantially in contrast to statistics for Wikipedia in other languages (non-English Wikipedia). ''The Economist'' reported that the number of contributors with an average of five or more edits per month was relatively constant since 2008 for Wikipedia in other languages at approximately 42,000 editors within narrow seasonal variances of about 2,000 editors up or down. The number of active editors in English Wikipedia, by sharp comparison, was cited as peaking in 2007 at approximately 50,000 and dropping to 30,000 by the start of 2014.

In contrast, the trend analysis published in ''The Economist'' presents Wikipedia in other languages (non-English Wikipedia) as successful in retaining their active editors on a renewable and sustained basis, with their numbers remaining relatively constant at approximately 42,000.<ref name="economist1" /> No comment was made concerning which of the differentiated edit policy standards from Wikipedia in other languages (non-English Wikipedia) would provide a possible alternative to English Wikipedia for effectively ameliorating substantial editor attrition rates on the English-language Wikipedia.<ref>Andrew Lih. ''Wikipedia''. Alternative edit policies at Wikipedia in other languages.</ref>