Counting Stars: 8.6 million reasons to thank its readers for 2025

Last year, Contando Estrelas turned 21, a milestone very few blogs reach. And it didn't do so in just any old way.

Ten purposes for Spain, the West, life and freedom in the year 2026
Counting Stars turns 21 years with the same freedom and some changes in sight

According to Google Analytics data, in 2025 Counting Stars had 8.6 million page views, 1% more than in 2024. Sessions also increased: there were 6.9 million, 5.4% more than the previous year. There were also more unique users: 3.6 million, 5% more than in the previous 12 months. These are figures I wasn't expecting, especially since I haven't checked the blog's statistics for months (I think it's better to write without being preoccupied with those things).

Once again, the majority of visits (2,183,964) came from Spain, the country from which this blog is published daily. The second country with the most visits was the United States, with 237,209, where this blog has a large audience among the Hispanic population. The biggest surprise came when I saw the third country on the list: Communist China, with 203,302, a 4,918% increase compared to the previous year, when only 4,051 readers came from that country. This is especially astonishing, since in the past this blog was censored in that country, whose dictatorship I have been criticizing for years (and will continue to do so).

The fourth country with the most readers was Argentina (120,390), followed by Mexico (91,579), Venezuela (82,026, a spectacular increase of 73.77%), Chile (67,156), and Colombia (66,865). It's a joy for me to see that this blog has so many readers in Hispanic America. The ninth country with the most readers was the United Kingdom, with 55,706 (an increase of 41.22%), and another surprise in tenth place was Singapore, with 53,552 (an increase of 3211%). This blog is being read from increasingly unexpected places, thanks to the English version of the blog. AAmong the countries where there has also been a striking increase in visits is Cuba with 23,285 (a 74.28% increase). As with the other dictatorships, I consider this data a reason for hope: it's like opening a crack to let light through the darkness.

Other countries with a large increase in readers are Ireland (12,770, up 80.55%), Australia (10,450, up 12.57%) and Poland (10,437, up 23.27%), which makes me very happy, as I have a great appreciation for the Polish nation, to which I have dedicated many articles and a Polish edition: Liczenie Gwiazd. There have also been significant increases in viewership in other countries, such as Brazil (10,048, up 31.5%), Japan (4,166, up 33.87%) and Israel (3,929, up 24.49%), a country for which I have great affection and which I have been defending against the smear campaign it is enduring after suffering two years ago the biggest anti-Semitic massacre since the Holocaust.

For a blog that's 21 years old and edited by just one person, having these audience figures is something to be grateful for. I know how valuable your time is, and I consider it a great honor that you give me some of it to read what I publish on these pages. I also give thanks to God, without whose help this blog would be a disaster (because I sincerely believe that if this blog is worthwhile, it's because of His immense help, more than my very meager merits), and also to my family, without whom this blog wouldn't be possible (from them I receive support, encouragement, and many ideas to keep writing), and to my friend Isaac, whose technical support makes this website run like a dream.

Now begins a year in which I've lost a precious listener: my father. I say listener because for some time now, due to health reasons, he could no longer read this blog, so my mother read my articles to him every day. At least now he's with us from heaven. Thank you for all these years, Dad. My challenge now with this blog is to bear witness to everything you taught me and to live up to my father, a man I'm very proud of, as well as continuing to write things that are worth my mother's time, since she's my best reader. Thank you, Mom!