National Geographic (formerly The National Geographic Magazine,[3] sometimes branded as Nat Geo)[4] is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners.[5] The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine months after the establishment of the society, but is now a popular magazine. In 1905, it began including pictures, a style for which it became well known. Its first color photos appeared in the 1910s. During the Cold War, the magazine committed itself to presenting a balanced view of the physical and human geography of countries beyond the Iron Curtain. Later, the magazine became outspoken on environmental issues.
Until 2015, the magazine was completely owned and managed by the National Geographic Society. Since 2015, controlling interest has been held by National Geographic Partners. Topics of features generally concern geography, history, nature, science, and world culture. The magazine is well known for its distinctive appearance: a thick square-bound glossy format with a yellow rectangular border. Map supplements from National Geographic Maps are included with subscriptions, and it is available in a traditional printed edition and an interactive online edition.
As of 1995, the magazine was circulated worldwide in nearly forty local-language editions and had a global circulation of at least 6.5 million per month including 3.5 million within the U.S.,[6][7] down from about 12 million in the late 1980s. As of 2015, the magazine had won 25 National Magazine Awards.[8] In 2023, National Geographic laid off all staff writers and announced they would stop U.S. newsstand sales in the next year.[9][10][11] As of November 2024, its Instagram page has 280 million followers, the third most of any account not belonging to an individual celebrity.[12] The magazine's combined U.S. and international circulation as of June 30, 2024, was about 1.65 million, with its children's magazines separately achieving a circulation of about 500,000.[13]
