TY - JOUR A1 - Crowther, P. A. T1 - Wolf-Rayet content of the Milky Way T2 - Wolf-Rayet Stars : Proceedings of an International Workshop held in Potsdam, Germany, 1.–5. June 2015 N2 - An overview of the known Wolf-Rayet (WR) population of the Milky Way is presented, including a brief overview of historical catalogues and recent advances based on infrared photometric and spectroscopic observations resulting in the current census of 642 (vl.13 online catalogue). The observed distribution of WR stars is considered with respect to known star clusters, given that ≤20% of WR stars in the disk are located in clusters. WN stars outnumber WC stars at all galactocentric radii, while early-type WC stars are strongly biased against the inner Milky Way. Finally, recent estimates of the global WR population in the Milky Way are reassessed, with 1,200±100 estimated, such that the current census may be 50% complete. A characteristic WR lifetime of 0.25 Myr is inferred for an initial mass threshold of 25 M⊙. Y1 - 2015 UR - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/8756 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-87562 SP - 21 EP - 26 ER -