National Geographic, formerly the National Geographic Magazine, is the official magazine of the National Geographic Society. It published its first issue in 1888, just nine months after the Society itself was founded. There are 12 monthly issues of the National Geographic per year, plus additional map supplements. The Magazine is available in its traditional printed edition and through an interactive online edition. On occasion, special editions of the Magazine are issued. It contains articles about geography, popular science, history, culture, current events, and photography.
By 2011, the magazine was circulated worldwide in thirty-six language editions and had a global circulation of 8.3 million. In the United States, the circulation is around 5 million every month.
