The spectroscopic hyperfine constants for all the alkali atoms are reported. For atoms from lithium to cesium, only the long lived atomic isotopes are examined. For francium, the measured data for nuclear ground states of all available isotopes are listed. All results obtained since the beginning of laser investigations are presented, while for previous works the data of Arimondo et al. [Rev. Mod. Phys. 49, 31 (1977)] are recalled. Global analyses based on the scaling laws and the hyperfine anomalies are performed.