All articles starting with W
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World Peace Is None of Your Business
World Peace Is None of Your Business is Morrissey's tenth studio album, released 15 July 2014 on Harvest/Capitol, produced by Joe Chiccarelli in France; praised (Metacritic 70) but pulled from distributors after a label clash.
World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour (WPT): international televised poker tournament series founded in 2002 by Steven Lipscomb; pioneered hole card cameras on the Travel Channel; flagship WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas; over $1.35 billion awarded.
World Polo Championship
FIP World Polo Championship, the Federation of International Polo's premier national-team polo tournament since 1987, played in a 10 to 14 goal handicap format; Argentina has five titles and Spain is the 2022 champion.
World population
World population: total number of living humans, 8.2 billion in 2024 (UN WPP 2024; Census Bureau 8.09 billion in 2025). Growth peaked at 2.3% in 1963; UN projects a mid-2080s peak near 10.3 billion, Census Bureau 10.6 billion in 2093.
World population milestones
World population milestones are the estimated dates when human population crossed successive billion marks, from 1 billion in 1804 to 8 billion in November 2022.
World Population Prospects
World Population Prospects (WPP) is the UN Population Division's official population estimates and projections series, 28 editions since 1951, covering 237 countries, 1950-2100; the 2024 revision projects a mid-2080s peak at 10.3 billion.
World Press Freedom Index
World Press Freedom Index, published since 2002 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranks 180 countries on a 0–100 score built from five equal indicators: political, legal, economic, sociocultural context, and safety.
World Professional Darts Championship
The World Professional Darts Championship is the richest annual darts title, organized by the PDC and held in London since 1994 after a split from the BDO.
World Puzzle Championship
The World Puzzle Championship is an annual international competition of language- and culture-neutral logic puzzles, held every year since 1992 under the World Puzzle Federation.
World Rabies Day
World Rabies Day, 28 September, annual observance founded by GARC in 2007 and recognized by WHO, honoring Louis Pasteur; raises awareness of rabies prevention and the Zero by 30 elimination goal.
World Radiocommunication Conference
The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), also known from its WRC-93 predecessor as the WARC system, is the ITU's treaty conference revising the Radio Regulations for spectrum and satellite orbits, held every three to four years; WRC-23 met in Dubai and WRC-27 will meet in Shanghai.
World Rally Car
World Rally Car is the WRC's rally car formula, introduced in 1997 to replace Group A and free manufacturers from mass-producing road-going versions of their racers.
World Rally Championship
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), the FIA's premier rally series since 1973, promoted by WRC Promoter GmbH. Rally1 top class since 2022, hybrid dropped 2025, WRC27 regulations from 2027; 13 rounds in 2026, 15 in 2027.
World Rally Championship manufacturer results
The World Rally Championship manufacturer results record how factory teams have competed for the FIA manufacturers' world title from 1973 to the present, with 13 marques winning.
World Rally Championship records
World Rally Championship records: statistical bests of the FIA WRC. Loeb holds 9 consecutive titles (2004-12), 80 wins, 939 stage wins; Ogier matched 9 titles in 2025; Lancia and Toyota lead manufacturers with 10 titles each.
World Rally Championship seasons 1982–1986 (Group B era)
The World Rally Championship seasons from 1982 to 1986 cover the Group B era, when spectacular cars produced over 500 bhp before fatal crashes brought a ban.
World Rally Championship seasons 1987–1996 (Group A era)
The World Rally Championship seasons 1987–1996 were the Group A era, when production-based cars competed after Group B was banned, with Lancia's Delta HF Integrale dominant.
World Rally Championship seasons 2001–2013
The World Rally Championship seasons 2001–2013 span the close 2001 title race won by Richard Burns with a single rally win, Citroën's 2003 manufacturers' title, and Loeb's 2011 drivers' championship.
World Rally-Raid Championship
World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), FIA-FIM cross-country rally-raid world championship launched in 2022, promoted by A.S.O. Five rounds including the Dakar; Al Attiyah, Baumel, and Toyota won the first 2022 titles.
World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships 2026
FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Chess Championships 2026, fourth edition, Hong Kong, Queen Elizabeth Stadium, 16–22 June 2026; six-board team rapid (15+10 Swiss) and blitz (3+2 pools plus knockout); Dragon Chilling won both titles.
World Rapid Chess Championship
FIDE's annual world championship of rapid chess, 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move, Swiss format, held each December with the World Blitz. Magnus Carlsen holds six titles; Abdusattorov won 2021, Anand 2017.
World record progression 100 metres freestyle
World record progression 100 metres freestyle: ratified fastest long-course times for the Olympic 100 m freestyle, from the 1896 Athens Games to Pan Zhanle's 46.40 at Paris 2024, including the 2008-2009 polyurethane supersuit era and the subsequent suit ban.
World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
World record progression 1500 metres freestyle: ratified long-course records in the event. Men's record 14:26.79 by Johannes Liebmann (2026); women's record 15:20.48 by Katie Ledecky (2018).
World record progression 200 metres freestyle
World record progression 200 metres freestyle: history of ratified FINA/World Aquatics records, long and short course. Men's LCM record Paul Biedermann 1:42.00 (Rome 2009, supersuit era), women's Federica Pellegrini 1:52.98; 2008-2009 polyurethane suits drove the drop before the January 2010 ban.
World record progression 50 metres freestyle
World record progression in the 50 m freestyle (long course): men's record 20.88 by Cameron McEvoy (2026), breaking Cesar Cielo's 2009 supersuit mark of 20.91; women's record 23.55 by Gretchen Walsh (2026), after Kate Douglass's 23.59.
World Reference Base for Soil Resources
The World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is the international standard soil classification system endorsed by the IUSS, replacing the FAO/UNESCO legend in 1998.
World Register of Marine Species
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS): expert-curated, open-access register of marine organism names with synonymy, hosted at VLIZ on the Aphia platform; over 250,000 accepted species, taxonomic backbone for OBIS, GBIF, and EMODnet Biology.
World religions
World religions is a scholarly and textbook category for the religions considered large or globally influential, coined in the 1800s and most commonly listing Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Sikhism.
World Reptile Park
World Reptile Park (세계파충류공원, Segyepachungnyugongwon) is a reptile-specialist zoo in Neung-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, inside Seoul Children's Grand Park; opened March 27 as South Korea's first reptile park.
World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute (WRI), founded 1982 in Washington, D.C. by Gus Speth with a $15 million MacArthur grant, is an independent nonprofit environmental research organization; 2,000+ staff, Global Forest Watch, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, $1.5B Campaign for People, Nature and Climate.