Wikidata: Items, Properties, and Statements
Session 5.2 · ~5 min read
Wikidata is a structured database where every piece of information follows a consistent format. To work with it effectively, you need to understand its data model. This is not complicated, but it is precise. Wikidata stores knowledge as items, properties, and statements. These three concepts form the foundation of everything in the database.
Items: The Entities
Every entity in Wikidata is an item. Each item has a unique identifier that starts with "Q" followed by a number. Google is Q95 (the company). Indonesia is Q252. The concept of "company" is Q783794.
An item represents a single, distinct thing: a person, a company, a city, a concept, a product. When you create a Wikidata entry for your business, you are creating an item. That item gets a Q-number, and from that moment forward, your entity has a globally unique, machine-readable identifier that Google and other systems can reference.
Properties: The Attributes
Properties define what you can say about an item. Each property has a unique identifier starting with "P" followed by a number. For example:
- P31 = "instance of" (what type of thing this is)
- P856 = "official website"
- P571 = "inception" (founding date)
- P112 = "founded by"
- P17 = "country"
Properties are standardized. You cannot create your own. You must use the existing property vocabulary, which contains over 11,000 properties covering virtually every type of factual statement you would need to make about an entity.
Statements: The Facts
A statement combines an item, a property, and a value. This is how Wikidata stores facts. The format is always: [Item] [Property] [Value].
For example, the statement "PT Arsindo Cipta Karya is a company" would be structured as:
- Item: PT Arsindo Cipta Karya (Q-number)
- Property: P31 (instance of)
- Value: Q783794 (company)
Notice that the value itself is another Wikidata item. This is how Wikidata creates a web of interconnected entities. Your company item links to the "company" concept item, which links to broader concepts like "organization" and "legal entity." Google traverses these connections to build entity relationships in its Knowledge Graph.
(Q????????)"] -->|P31: instance of| B["Item: Company
(Q783794)"] A -->|P856: official website| C["https://yoursite.com"] A -->|P571: inception| D["1993"] A -->|P112: founded by| E["Item: Founder Name
(Q????????)"] A -->|P17: country| F["Item: Indonesia
(Q252)"] A -->|P159: headquarters| G["Item: Tangerang
(Q193163)"] E -->|P31: instance of| H["Item: Human
(Q5)"] style A fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style B fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style C fill:#222221,stroke:#8a8478,color:#ede9e3 style D fill:#222221,stroke:#8a8478,color:#ede9e3 style E fill:#222221,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style F fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style G fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style H fill:#222221,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3
Essential Wikidata Properties for Businesses
Not all properties are equally important. The following table lists the properties most relevant for business entities, ordered by their impact on Knowledge Graph construction.
| Property ID | Property Name | Value Type | Example | KG Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P31 | instance of | Wikidata item | company (Q783794) | Critical: defines entity type |
| P856 | official website | URL | https://ptarsindo.com | Critical: links entity to web |
| P571 | inception | Date | 1993 | High: entity age and history |
| P112 | founded by | Wikidata item | Founder's Q-item | High: person-entity relationship |
| P17 | country | Wikidata item | Indonesia (Q252) | High: geographic classification |
| P159 | headquarters location | Wikidata item | Tangerang (Q193163) | High: geographic specificity |
| P452 | industry | Wikidata item | engineering (Q11023) | High: industry classification |
| P1128 | employees | Quantity | 150 | Medium: entity scale signal |
| P154 | logo image | Commons file | File:Company-logo.svg | Medium: visual entity identifier |
| P18 | image | Commons file | File:Company-building.jpg | Medium: visual representation |
| P1566 | GeoNames ID | External ID | 1625812 | Medium: geographic cross-reference |
| P213 | ISNI | External ID | 0000 0004 1234 5678 | Medium: authority cross-reference |
Essential Properties for Person Entities
If you are building a personal entity (founder, executive, author), the relevant properties differ:
| Property ID | Property Name | Example Value | KG Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| P31 | instance of | human (Q5) | Critical: entity type |
| P106 | occupation | engineer (Q81096) | High: professional classification |
| P27 | country of citizenship | Indonesia (Q252) | High: geographic identity |
| P69 | educated at | University item | Medium: institutional association |
| P108 | employer | Company Q-item | High: organizational link |
| P856 | official website | Personal site URL | High: web presence link |
| P2002 | Twitter/X username | @username | Medium: social identity |
| P6634 | LinkedIn personal profile ID | Profile slug | Medium: professional identity |
Qualifiers and References
Statements in Wikidata can have two additional components:
Qualifiers add context to a statement. For example, if your company's employee count has changed over time, you can add a "point in time" qualifier to specify when the count was accurate. Qualifiers make your data more precise and credible.
References cite the source of a statement. Every statement should have at least one reference pointing to a reliable, published source. A reference might be a URL to a news article, a government registry, or a published report. Statements without references are more likely to be challenged or removed by Wikidata editors.
Wikidata is not a place for claims. It is a place for sourced facts. Every statement you add should be verifiable through a published, independent source. Unsourced statements are treated as unreliable by both Wikidata editors and the systems (including Google) that consume Wikidata.
Further Reading
- Wikidata. "Wikidata: Introduction." Wikidata.org.
- Wikidata. "Help: Statements." Wikidata Help.
- Wikidata. "Help: Sources." Wikidata Help.
- Wikidata. "List of Properties." Wikidata.org.
Assignment
- Go to wikidata.org/wiki/Q95 (Google LLC). Study the item structure: labels, descriptions, aliases, statements, qualifiers, and references. Note how each property creates a factual declaration.
- Using the business properties table above, list every property that applies to your business. For each, write the value you would enter and identify a published source you could use as a reference.
- If you are building a personal entity, repeat the exercise with the person properties table.
- For properties that require linking to other Wikidata items (country, city, industry), search Wikidata for those items and record their Q-numbers.