Wikipedia was launched as the English Wikipedia on 15 Jenụwarị 2001, as a complement to Nupedia, an expert-written and now defunct encyclopedia. The project is now operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization created by Jimmy Wales who is the co-founder of Wikipedia. Wikipedia has over six million articles in 250 languages, including more than 1.6 million in the English edition. It has steadily risen in popularity since its inception. and currently ranks among the eleven most-visited websites worldwide.