
The five nested vital article Levels are meant to give direction to the prioritization of improvements of English Wikipedia articles (e.g. which articles to bring to WP:GA and WP:FA status), to provide a measurement of quality of overall English Wikipedia (e.g. what proportion of the most important articles are at GA and FA status), and to serve as a centralized watchlist of English Wikipedia's most important articles. Unlike the list of articles every Wikipedia should have, they are tailored to the English Wikipedia and are actively maintained by the dedicated WikiProject Vital Articles. All users are welcome to participate in the process of addition to or removal from these lists. This page contains links to the 50,000 articles of the Level 5 list. This Level 5 list is discussed at the relevant Level 5 sub talk pages.
Because of its size, Vital articles Level 5 has been split into several sublists. Click any of the Level 5 sublists below, or search Level 5.
As of October 2026, the level 5 Vital Articles list includes 49,820 individual articles. All changes to this list should be proposed on the talk page or the relevant subpage for the proposal. Cewbot provides a more updated count of articles in its edit summaries on subpages.
Counts updated from subpages at 17:00, 1 November 2026 (UTC)
| Sublist | Current | Target | At quota? | Change in effect? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | 14,097 | 14,100 | Yes | N/a |
| Writers and journalists | 1,791 | 1,800 | Yes | N/a |
| Artists, musicians, and composers | 2,112 | 2,100 | Yes | N/a |
| Entertainers, directors, producers, and screenwriters | 1,862 | 1,800 | Too many | Trim |
| Sports figures | 988 | 1,000 | Yes | N/a |
| Scientists, inventors, and mathematicians | 1,293 | 1,300 | Yes | N/a |
| Philosophers, historians, and social scientists | 1,339 | 1,350 | Yes | N/a |
| Religious figures | 491 | 500 | Yes | N/a |
| Politicians and leaders | 2,380 | 2,400 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Military personnel, revolutionaries, and activists | 888 | 900 | Yes | N/a |
| Miscellaneous | 953 | 950 | Yes | N/a |
| History | 3,278 | 3,300 | Yes | N/a |
| Geography | 5,169 | 5,200 | Yes | N/a |
| Basics and technical geography | 148 | 150 | Yes | N/a |
| Physical geography | 1,755 | 1,750 | Yes | N/a |
| Regions and countries | 1,262 | 1,300 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Cities | 2,004 | 2,000 | Yes | N/a |
| Arts | 3,841 | 3,850 | Yes | N/a |
| Audiovisual arts | 1,945 | 1,950 | Yes | N/a |
| Narrative arts | 1,896 | 1,900 | Yes | N/a |
| Everyday life | 2,451 | 2,500 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Everyday life | 1,308 | 1,350 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Sports, games and recreation | 1,143 | 1,150 | Yes | N/a |
| Philosophy and religion | 1,561 | 1,600 | Not enough | N/a |
| Society and social sciences | 4,428 | 4,400 | Yes | N/a |
| Culture | 1,740 | 1,750 | Yes | N/a |
| Social studies | 575 | 550 | Slightly over | N/a |
| Politics and economics | 2,113 | 2,100 | Yes | N/a |
| Biology and health sciences | 5,700 | 5,700 | Yes | N/a |
| Biology, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology | 1,100 | 1,100 | Yes | N/a |
| Animals | 2,451 | 2,450 | Yes | N/a |
| Plants, fungi, and other organisms | 1,001 | 1,000 | Yes | N/a |
| Health, medicine, and disease | 1,148 | 1,150 | Yes | N/a |
| Physical sciences | 4,760 | 4,800 | Yes | N/a |
| Basics and measurement | 299 | 300 | Yes | N/a |
| Astronomy | 899 | 900 | Yes | N/a |
| Chemistry | 1,193 | 1,200 | Yes | N/a |
| Earth science | 1,192 | 1,200 | Yes | N/a |
| Physics | 1,177 | 1,200 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Mathematics | 1,211 | 1,200 | Yes | N/a |
| Technology | 3,287 | 3,350 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Technology: General | 1,036 | 1,050 | Yes | N/a |
| Agriculture, biotechnology and medical technology | 325 | 350 | Slightly under | N/a |
| Computing, electronics and communication technology | 833 | 850 | Yes | N/a |
| Optical, navigation, timekeeping, astronomical and space technology | 292 | 300 | Yes | N/a |
| Transportation | 492 | 500 | Yes | N/a |
| Weapons and other military technology | 309 | 300 | Yes | N/a |
| Total | 49,783 | 50,000 | Yes | N/a |