African Science and Tech ‘Missing’ from Wikipedia

[NAIROBI, SciDev.Net] Despite Africa’s growing digital footprint, the continent’s science and technology remains underrepresented on Wikipedia, one of the world’s most visited sources of information.

While Africa accounts for around 10 per cent of Wikipedia articles, less than one per cent cover science and technology, Anusha Alikhan, chief communications officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, told SciDev.Net.

“Only two per cent of Wikipedia editors are from Africa, which complicates the issue, given that the platform receives 50 billion contributions monthly and is read by 15 billion people globally,” said Alikhan.

We must become contributors, otherwise the next generation will find us absent from the digital archive of human history.

Eugene Agbor Egbe, Cameroonian engineer, Wikipedia editor

Between January and June 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa generated 178 million monthly page views on Wikipedia, but this consumption has not translated into African-led content creation, she added.

Why it matters

Wikipedia has become a global reference point, widely used by students and journalists and increasingly by artificial intelligence (AI) systems training on its vast datasets.

For African science, being absent from this repository risks invisibility in emerging technologies such as AI.

Cameroonian engineer and long-time Wikipedia editor Eugene Agbor Egbe told SciDev.Net: “If our data and contributions are missing, Africa will not only be invisible but also dependent on narratives shaped elsewhere.”

The roots of Africa’s underrepresentation lie deep in the continent’s research systems, says Job Mwaura, research associate in cultural anthropology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany.

“Western knowledge has dominated Africa through foreign-owned journals that do not favour knowledge from the continent,” he said.

Mwaura believes the failure of many governments and universities to fund research adequately has weakened African voices in global knowledge.

“South Africa is one of the few countries that consistently supports research,” he added.

He says the lack of investment, coupled with earlier scepticism about Wikipedia’s credibility, has discouraged African scientists from contributing.

1,000 engineers trained

Egbe, who was recently named Technology Contributor of the Year 2025 by Wikipedia, has been working to change that. He has trained more than 1,000 engineers from five African countries to contribute articles highlighting African innovators and scientific breakthroughs.

“I have trained people to write about unsung heroes, groundbreaking research, and innovative projects in Africa’s science and technology sector,” he said.

Egbe argues that Africa’s contribution to Wikipedia is not just about representation, but survival in the AI age.

“The rise of artificial intelligence depends on large datasets. If Africa is absent, then AI will replicate those absences and Africa will be left behind,” he explained.

Africa’s diversity offers an opportunity to democratise knowledge through local languages.

Wikipedia already hosts 18 African-language editions, with Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Somali, and Zulu among the largest.

Alikhan says African researchers could harness these editions to reach local communities.

Wikipedia’s Kiwix software allows offline access in areas without reliable internet, expanding reach to rural communities.

“Contrary to what many people think, Wikipedia is a secondary source that references primary materials,” Alikhan said.

“Scientists should use it to make their work accessible to both local readers and global audiences.”

Wikipedia’s credibility

Wikipedia’s credibility has often been questioned, especially by academics concerned about the quality of open-source editing.

“Earlier attempts to portray Wikipedia as lacking credibility affected its image, hence leading to low contributions,” acknowledged Mwaura.

But he believes the trend has shifted. “Communities and even renowned scientists are now contributing credible, referenced material,” he said. “The platform has become part of the global knowledge infrastructure.”

For Egbe, the need for other African scientists to contribute to the platform is urgent.

“Africa cannot afford to sit back and consume knowledge created elsewhere,” he said.

“We must become contributors, otherwise the next generation will find us absent from the digital archive of human history.”

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

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