After the world was made privy the fact that Wikipedia, the biggest online encyclopedia on the internet has lost 49,000 editors, the organization has now come out with defensive statement that has been designed to ensure the users that, Wikipedia will not shutting down as many reports have speculated.

Wikipedia has on the contrary witnessed a jump in its user base, as for the month of October this year, the website recorded 344 million unique visitors across the globe and the site has been deemed as the fifth most popular website in the world. The English version of Wikipedia website has reportedly suffered the most. The numbers that have been depicted in the various reports were accumulated in a research conducted by Dr. Felipe Ortega, a Spanish researcher who had conducted similar statistical studies in regards to projects organized by Wikipedia.

As per Wikipedia, the research results from Dr. Ortega’s study, does not cover the number of the people who contribute each month and has admitted that, the website’s input performance has degraded somewhat since the two and a half years. Wikipedia English recorded an amazing 54,510 active editors in the year 2007. These only included those individuals who edited at least 5 articles each month. However, with the volunteers turning their backs on the organization, the English version of Wikipedia now stands at 40,000 active editors.

Via Wikimedia &Andrew Lih.