National Geographic Kids statistics bring together two useful kinds of information: facts that help children understand the natural world and figures describing the magazine’s young audience. The numbers below cover animal size, speed, diet, family life, habitats, conservation, readership, language, and environmental attitudes. Measurements and audience figures are presented with the source labels and periods implied by the original National Geographic Kids materials; no additional verification is claimed for these legacy facts.
Contents
- Koala statistics
- Polar bear statistics
- Lion and cheetah statistics
- Wombat statistics
- Conservation figures
- National Geographic Kids readership statistics
Koala statistics
Koalas are compact marsupials with a specialized diet and a remarkably long daily rest period. National Geographic Kids koala facts say that an adult koala measures about 60 to 85 centimeters long and weighs about 14 kilograms. Those figures give a useful sense of scale: the animal’s length is less than a meter, while its weight is comparable to a large household pet.
Koala development also follows a two-stage pattern after birth. A koala joey grows in its mother’s pouch for about six months. It then rides on her back for a further six months, making the first year of development a period of close dependence on the mother. This is one of the clearest examples in the figures of a young animal moving from protected development to visible mobility.
Food intake is another measurable feature. Koalas can eat up to one kilogram of eucalyptus leaves in a day, according to National Geographic Kids koala facts. Their daily routine is much less active than that feeding figure might suggest: koalas can sleep for up to 18 hours a day. Taken together, the statistics describe an animal adapted to a low-energy lifestyle based around eucalyptus leaves and extended rest.
The habitat figure adds a conservation dimension. Around 80% of koala habitat has been lost to human homes, drought, and bushfires. The source presents this as an approximate share rather than a precisely dated measurement, so it should be read as an estimate. It also shows why a basic animal fact sheet can connect directly to questions about land use, climate pressures, and wildlife protection.
Polar bear statistics
Polar bear facts show a very different combination of scale, range, and endurance. National Geographic Kids polar bear facts identify five Arctic countries where polar bears are found: Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, and Norway. Alaska is included in that source list as a place rather than a sovereign country, so the geographic wording is retained exactly as presented.
Adult polar bears can measure over 2.5 meters long and weigh around 680 kilograms. Their hunting abilities extend across both land and water. Polar bears can sniff out prey from up to 16 kilometers away, and they have been spotted in waters over 100 kilometers offshore. These are maximum or observed-distance figures, not claims that every bear reaches the same distance.
Swimming is another useful comparison point. Polar bears can swim at around 10 kilometers per hour using paws that are 30 centimeters wide. The combination of a wide paw and a measurable swimming speed helps explain how the animal moves through its marine environment without reducing the observation to size alone.
Polar bear cubs begin life at a much smaller scale than adults. Cubs are born around 30 centimeters long and weigh about half a kilogram. They stay with their mother for about two years. The contrast between a half-kilogram newborn and an adult weighing around 680 kilograms makes the length of the maternal-care period especially notable.
| Polar bear measure | Figure | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Adult length | Over 2.5 m | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
| Adult weight | Around 680 kg | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
| Prey detection distance | Up to 16 km | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
| Swimming speed | Around 10 km/h | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
| Cub weight at birth | About 0.5 kg | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
| Time with mother | About 2 years | National Geographic Kids polar bear facts |
Lion and cheetah statistics
Lion statistics combine social organization, hunting roles, food requirements, longevity, and speed. National Geographic Kids lion facts say that lions usually live in groups of 10 or 15 animals called prides. An adult male lion’s roar can be heard up to 8 kilometers away, making the roar a long-distance signal as well as a familiar animal sound.
Daily food needs differ by sex in the supplied figures. A female lion needs 5 kilograms of meat a day, while a male needs 7 kilograms or more. Female lions do 85% to 90% of the pride’s hunting. The hunting percentage is a range, and the food figures are daily amounts; neither should be treated as a calculation of the pride’s total food requirement.
Lions also have different life spans depending on setting. They live for an average of 12 years in the wild and up to 16 years there, while they can live up to 25 years in captivity. Female lions reach two-thirds of their adult size by age two. Their top speed is 81 kilometers per hour, although the source does not state how long that speed can be maintained.
Cheetahs are built for shorter, faster pursuits. Their bodies grow to between 1.1 and 1.4 meters long, with a tail measuring 65 to 80 centimeters. They weigh from 34 to 54 kilograms, with males slightly heavier. A cheetah can reach 112 kilometers per hour in just three seconds, but a chase is usually limited to 200 to 300 meters and lasts less than a minute.
That short chase window helps distinguish a top speed from sustained travel. Cheetah family statistics are also specific: siblings stay together for around six months after leaving their mother; females usually give birth to between two and eight cubs at a time; and cubs are able to look after themselves at 16 to 24 months old. National Geographic Kids cheetah facts estimate that 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs remain in Africa. This is an estimated population range, not a precise census total.
Wombat statistics
Wombat facts include species counts, body size, movement, burrow architecture, historical scale, and conservation. National Geographic Kids wombat facts identify three different species: common, Southern hairy-nosed, and Northern hairy-nosed. An adult wombat usually grows to about a meter long and can weigh up to 40 kilograms.
Wombats can run at speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour and can sustain that speed for up to 90 seconds. These are two related but distinct measures: one describes the maximum speed, while the other describes the stated duration. Their burrows can contain tunnels over 200 meters long, showing that the animal’s underground habitat can be far longer than its body.
One observation illustrates how a burrow can serve more than one animal. A black-footed wallaby was spotted using a wombat burrow nearly 2,000 times in eight weeks. This is a reported observation, not a general average for wallabies or wombats, but it demonstrates the potential importance of wombat burrows in the wider habitat.
The extinct giant Diprotodon provides a historical size comparison. Giant Diprotodon wombats were about 1.8 meters tall and weighed as much as 2,800 kilograms. Those figures describe a much larger animal than the modern wombat measurements above and should not be read as characteristics of living wombat species.
Conservation figures
Several National Geographic Kids figures point to conservation without requiring extra interpretation. Around 80% of koala habitat has been lost to human homes, drought, and bushfires. An estimated 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs remain in Africa. The estimate is expressed as a range, so the two endpoints should not be combined or converted into an unsupported total.
Northern hairy-nosed wombat figures show both a current count and an earlier count. Only 115 Northern hairy-nosed wombats are left on Earth, while in the 1980s just 35 were left alive. The current figure and the 1980s figure refer to different measurement periods. They indicate a change in the reported number of surviving animals, but the supplied facts do not provide enough information to calculate a recovery rate or explain the causes of that change.
These conservation statistics can support classroom discussion about evidence. A percentage describes habitat loss, a population range describes an estimate, and a count describes a reported number at a particular point in time. Keeping those forms separate helps young readers avoid treating every number as if it represented the same kind of measurement.
National Geographic Kids readership statistics
The National Geographic Kids SA media pack describes the magazine’s audience and publishing pattern. National Geographic Kids is read by girls and boys aged 6 to 13, and the readership median age is 10 years old. Readers aged 9 to 13 make up 68% of the audience. The median is a midpoint measure, while the 68% figure describes an age band, so they answer different questions about the readership.
The magazine has 12 issues per year. The price is R30 per issue or by subscription. These are publishing and pricing details from the media pack rather than animal measurements, and the price is retained in South African rand as supplied.
| Readership measure | Figure | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Stated reader age range | 6–13 years | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Median reader age | 10 years | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Readers aged 9–13 | 68% | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Boys | 46% | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Girls | 54% | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Issues per year | 12 | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
| Price per issue | R30 | National Geographic Kids SA media pack |
The gender figures are 46% boys and 54% girls. The language figures say that 62% of readers speak English and 35% speak Afrikaans. These audience shares should not automatically be treated as mutually exclusive categories; the supplied source does not say that readers speak only one language.
The media pack also reports that 84% of readers add each copy of NG KIDS to their collection after reading it. In addition, 73% of readers have a pet dog, and 70% would save the environment and protect animals. The last figure measures a stated preference or attitude, not a verified conservation action. Together, these readership statistics connect the magazine with collecting behavior, pet ownership, and interest in protecting animals while keeping those measures distinct from the publication’s age and demographic figures.