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List of largest empires

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This article provides a list of the largest empires in world history.

Measurement details

The calculation of the land area of a particular empire is controversial. In general, this list centers on the side of including any land area that was explored and explicitly claimed, even if the areas were populated very sparsely or not at all. For example, a large portion of Northern Siberia is included in the size of the Russian Empire but not the Mongol Empire. The Mongol Empire's northern border was somewhat ill-defined, but in most places it was simply the natural border between the steppe and the taiga. Occupied areas north of this are included in the area of the empire, but at the time the majority of the taiga and tundra were unexplored and uninhabited. This area was only very sparsely populated by the Russian Empire, but it had been explicitly claimed by the Russian Empire by the 1600s, and its extent had been entirely explored by the late 1800s. Similarly, the northernmost Canadian islands such as Ellesmere Island were explored and claimed by the British Empire by the mid 1800s (virtually the entire mainland was at least sparsely populated well before that).

No claims on mainland Antarctica are included in the area of any of the empires.

Due to the historical trend of increasing population and GDP, the list of largest empires in these categories is highly dependent on which relatively recent political entities are defined as empires. The measures of population and GDP as a percentage of the world total take into account this historical growth, although decent GDP data is only available for the last few centuries, accurate only for the last decades.

Debates regarding definition of imperial domains

Compilations of history’s largest empires (in both geographical size and population) often vary due to differing definitions of imperial borders throughout history and across distinct historical traditions. Imperial domains have been variously defined in terms of direct administrative rule from a common ruling authority, military presence, colonisation and settlement, collection of tribute, economic dependence, or even incorporation into a common trading or ideological network. Many imperial domains have therefore enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy, self-rule, or even outright independence (though sometimes with a dependent or protectorate relationship to a stronger power). Some regions claimed by an imperial authority have been large, yet arid and very sparsely populated lands without much administrative control whatsoever. Therefore, empires can vary in size according to these designations, often quite significantly.

For example in India, which experienced varying levels of European contact and imperial forays since Vasco da Gama’s expeditions in 1497-1498, French, Dutch, Portuguese and especially British authorities claimed authority over increasing portions of the Indian Subcontinent. This process culminated in the period of the British Raj (and its smaller French and Portuguese counterparts) after 1857. Nevertheless, even then approximately half of Indian territory consisted of Princely States under de facto and de jure rule of local rajas and maharajas. While the Indian princes often sought protection and mediation from the European maritime powers, they minted their own coins, issued their own edicts, and otherwise ruled of their own accord; furthermore, the Indian independence Act, which ended the British presence by 1948, did not apply to the Princely States, which required separate negotiations with the new Indian nation as independent states in themselves. Thus, although many European maps showed nearly the whole of India as a predominantly British colony in the late 1800’s, close to 50% was essentially independent, and the Indian historical tradition in particular does not consider the large and populous region ruled by these rajas to have been under Western rule.

Another issue is that many of history’s empires have ruled over vast and mostly uninhabited territorial expanses, sparsely populated by largely autonomous tribes, and with little in the way of direct administration or settlement by an imperial power. For example, various Mongol khanates from the 13th century established dominion over arid steppes in Central Asia and Siberia that were difficult to control from a central authority, as was the case with the expansionist tsarist Russian empires from the 17th century, which established control in the same regions. In both cases, administrative structures and settlements were gradually introduced into the regions—with Russian settlers, for example, initiating forts and frontier cities in the 19th century in particular—and so the size of each empire in any given decade would depend on how strict one’s criteria are in regard to the presence of true settlement and administration. Likewise, in more recent history, almost half the land expanse that is often regarded as part of the British Empire (and also much of the historical French Empire in North America), consisted of essentially barren and uninhabitable terrain in Canada and the interior of Australia, which was often difficult to even map (let alone settle and administer). Even today, the population of those regions (particularly in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada) consists largely of sparse settlements of self-governing indigenous peoples, with little in the way of submission to a central ruling authority.

Many of history’s empires have fragmented into successor states, and the timepoint of this fragmentation (which can bear substantially on estimations of an empire’s size) is often debatable. For example, the Islamic Empire that arose following the spread of Muhammad’s small state in 7th century southern Arabia, and the conquests of Caliph Umar, attained a vast expanse from Spain and Morocco in the west, out to Central Asia and northern India in the east. However, internal feuding among ruling figures in the empire led it to fragment into several states under separate administrations, such as the Umayyads (whose rule continued in Spain after it collapsed elsewhere), Abbasids, Ayyubids, Mamluks and many others. These were in addition to a variety of other Muslim states in Sudan, Indonesia and elsewhere that later arose outside of the main Islamic Empires, through trade and other contacts. Thus, the size of these empires vary depending on how “membership” in the empire is defined—as being under a single administration, accepting a particular ruler or following the dictates of the Caliph (which technically, Sunni Muslims in general were expected to do).

Similarly, the Mongol Empire lost its unity upon the death of the Great Khan Möngke during fighting in China in 1259, with the Golden Horde’s Berke Khan and the Il-Khanate’s Hulegu Khan even taking up arms against each other and supporting rival factions for selection of the Great Khan. However, upon the death of Berke—a Muslim—the religious impetus for conflict among the khanates subsided, with the Mongols again supposedly loyal to the new Great Khan Kublai before fragmenting yet again later. If the khanates are considered to have been a unified Mongol Empire under Kublai—stretching from Korea and China in the east through Siberia and Central Asia and into Persia and Eastern Europe in the west—it would easily be the world’s largest in terms of both land area and population (as a percentage of the world total). A related question arises with the granting of dominion and commonwealth statuses among former imperial domains, in which the domains acquire a high degree of self-rule, equivalent to independence in some estimations. For example, Australia attained dominion status in 1901, which may or may not have indicated a departure from the British Empire, depending on interpretation of the status.

Finally, many of history’s empires have had unusual arrangements among multiple powers, such as joint rule by several authorities, layers of rule (with different powers assuming different levels of administrative authority), territorial division with blurred boundaries or other forms of empire without a single obvious central authority. For example, the Manchus, who established the Qing Dynasty in 17th-century China, also conquered nomadic lands to the north, including Mongolia. The Manchus increasingly merged with the Chinese population over the centuries, so that the administration took on both Manchu and Chinese features with no clear division among them. The Mongol chieftains of Outer Mongolia in particular, pledged loyalty to the Manchus but retained substantial autonomy, and when the Q’ing Dynasty collapsed in the early 1900’s, the status of Outer Mongolia relative to the new Chinese state became unclear. Britain had a very complicated arrangement with Egypt and Sudan. Egyptian forces defeated the British in the Alexandria Expedition in 1807, but in the wake of this, British officials exerted varying degrees of sway in Egypt especially by the late 1800’s, with the French also assuming a role in the Suez Canal territory. Sudan, in turn, was technically a colony of the Egyptians, but the British exerted de facto sway on Sudan indirectly via Egypt. Thus, accounts vary on the imperial status (or lack thereof) of both Egypt and Sudan. Lastly, in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution, many nations took on a Communist character and attached themselves to the global Communist center of the Soviet Union. Mongolia, North Korea, and China following Communist victory in the Chinese civil war, all took guidance from the Soviet Union especially in the years just after their Communist transformations. The Soviet Union also exercised varying control over Eastern Europe via the Warsaw Pact even though the Pact countries were formally independent, while Communist nations in Africa and Latin America also sought Soviet guidance. Therefore, the lists of largest empires below represent merely a sample of possible rankings depending on the specific criteria used to define an empire.

Largest empires by landmass (maximum extent)

For context, note that the total land area of the Earth is 148.94 million km².[1]

Ancient empires

Territory of the Xiongnu (green) (c. 250 BC).
  1. Xiongnu - 9.0 million km² (176 BC)[2]
  2. Achaemenid Empire - 7.5 million km² (under Emperor Darius the Great).[3]
  3. Han China - 6.0 million km² (50 BC)[2]
  4. Alexander's Empire - 5.2 million km² (323 BC)[2]
  5. Maurya India - 5.0 million km² (250 BC)[2]
  6. Roman Empire - 5.0 million km² (AD 117)[2][4]
  7. Western Jin China - 4.5 million km² (AD 300)[citation needed]
  8. Attila's Huns - 4.0 million km² (AD 441)[2]
  9. Hapthalite Khanate - 4.0 million km² (AD 500)[citation needed]
  10. Seleucid Empire - 3.9 million km² (301 BC)[2]
  11. Rouran Khaganate - 3.6 million km² (400 BC)[citation needed]
  12. Gupta India - 3.5 million km² (AD 400)[2]
  13. Qin China - 3.0 million km² (221 BC)[citation needed]
  14. Media - 2.8 million km² (585 BC)[2]
  15. Parthia - 2.8 million km² (AD 1)[2]
  16. Northern Wei China - 2.3 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  17. Southern Qi China - 2.2 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  18. Ptolemaic Egypt - 2.0 million km² (185 BC)[citation needed]
  19. Kushan India - 2.0 million km² (AD 200)[2]
  20. Neo-Assyria - 1.4 million km² (670 BC)[2]
  21. Axum - 1.25 million km² (AD 350)[2]
  22. Nanda India - 1.2 million km² (323 BC)[citation needed]
  23. Egyptian New Kingdom - 1.0 million km² (1300 BC)[2]
  24. Satavahana India - 1.0 million km² (AD 220)[citation needed]
  25. Akkad - 0.65 million km² (2100 BC)[citation needed]
  26. Hittites - 0.51 km² (1600 BC)[citation needed]
  27. Neo-Babylon - 0.5 km² (540 BC)[citation needed]

Medieval empires

Mongol Empire at its greatest extent.
  1. Mongol Empire - 24.0 million km² (1270)[2]
  2. Umayyad Caliphate - 11.1 million km² (750)[2]
  3. Abbasid Caliphate - 10.0 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  4. Rashidun Caliphate - 9.0 million km² (654)[5]
  5. Ming China - 6.5 million km² (1450)[2]
  6. Tang China - 5.4 million km² (715)[2]
  7. Pala India - 4.6 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  8. Fatimid Caliphate - 4.1 million km² (969)[2]
  9. Gokturk khaganate - 4.0 million km² (600)[citation needed]
  10. Seljuq Persia - 3.9 million km² (1080)[2]
  11. Sassanid Persia - 3.5 million km² (621)[2]
  12. Chola India - 3.6 million km² (1050)[citation needed]
  13. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km² (795)[citation needed]
  14. Ghaznavid Persia - 3.4 million km² (1029)[2]
  15. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km² (1312)[2]
  16. Song China - 3.1 million km² (980)[2]
  17. Kalmar Union - 3.0 million km² (1397)[citation needed]
  18. Khazar Empire - 3.0 million km² (850)[2]
  19. Byzantine Empire - 2.7 million km² (555)[2]
  20. Jin China - 2.3 million km² (1126)[2]
  21. Saffarid Persia - 2.0 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  22. Inca Empire - 2.0 million km² (1527)[2]
  23. Songhai Africa - 1.4 million km² (1500)[6]
  24. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km² (780)[citation needed]
  25. Rashtrakuta India - 1.2 million km² (805)[citation needed]
  26. Francia - 1.2 million km² (814)[2]
  27. Srivijaya - 1.2 million km² (1200)[2]
  28. Chalukya India - 1.1 million km² (636)[citation needed]
  29. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (1250)[citation needed]
  30. Mali Africa - 1.1 million km² (1380)[2]
  31. Lithuania-Poland - 1.1 million km² (1430)[2]
  32. Harsha India (Kanyakubia) - 1.0 million km² (648)[2]
  33. Almoravids - 1.0 million km² (1120)[2]
  34. Western Chalukya - 1.0 million km² (1121)[citation needed]
  35. Khmer Empire - 1.0 million km² (1290)[2]
  36. Bulgarian Empire - 0.7 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  37. Serbian Empire - 0.5 million km² (1350)[citation needed]
  38. Vijayanagara India - 0.5 million km² (1529)[citation needed]

Modern empires

British Empire at its greatest extent.
  1. British Empire - 33.67 million km² (1922)[7]
  2. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² - including Alaska (1855)[8]
  3. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - 22.4 million km² - After Stalin's annexations in western Europe.
  4. Spanish Empire - 19.425 million km² (c. 1740-1790)[8]
  5. Qing China - 14.7 million km² (1790)[2]
  6. French Empire - 12.3 million km² (1938)[8]
  7. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km² (1815)[8]
  8. United States - 10.0 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)[citation needed]
  9. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²[8]
  10. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  11. Ottoman Empire - 5.2 million km² (1683)[2]
  12. First Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km² (1822)[citation needed]
  13. Mughal India - 4.0 million km² (1690)[2]
  14. Afsharid Persia - 4.0 million km² (1747)[citation needed]
  15. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (1940)[citation needed]
  16. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²[citation needed]
  17. Nazi Germany - 3.6 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  18. Safavid Persia - 3.5 million km² (1512)[citation needed]
  19. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  20. Danish colonial empire - 3.0 million km² (1800)[citation needed]
  21. Qajar Persia - 3.0 million km² (1796)[citation needed]
  22. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  23. Maratha India - 2.5 million km² (1760)[2]
  24. Siam - 1.12 million km² (1782)[citation needed]
  25. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (1658)[citation needed]
  26. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 0.99 million km² (1619)[citation needed]
  27. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 0.676615 million km²[citation needed]
  28. Sikh Empire - 0.5609 million km² (1845)[citation needed]

All empires

An anachronistic map of every territory ever held by the British Empire.
  1. British Empire - 33.67 million km² (1922)[9]
  2. Mongol Empire - 24.0 million km² (1270)[2]
  3. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² - including Alaska (1855)[8]
  4. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - 22.4 million km² - After Stalin's annexations in western Europe.
  5. Spanish Empire - 19 million km² (under Charles III)[8]
  6. Qing China - 14.7 million km² (1790)[2][10]
  7. French Empire - 12.3 million km² (1938)[8]
  8. Umayyad Caliphate - 11.1 million km² (750)[2]
  9. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km² (1815)[8]
  10. Abbasid Caliphate - 10.0 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  11. United States - 10.0 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)[citation needed]
  12. Xiongnu - 9.0 million km² (176 BC)[2]
  13. Rashidun Caliphate - 9 million km² (under Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan r. 644-656)[5]
  14. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²[8]
  15. Achaemenid Empire - 7.5 million km² (under Emperor Darius the Great).[11]
  16. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  17. Ming China - 6.5 million km² (1450)[2]
  18. Han Empire - 6.0 million km² [2]
  19. Tang China - 5.4 million km² (715)[2]
  20. Alexander's Empire - 5.2 million km² (323 BC)[2]
  21. Ottoman Empire - 5.2 million km² (1683)[2]
  22. Maurya India - 5.0 million km² (250 BC)[2]
  23. Roman Empire - 5.0 million km² (AD 117)[2][12]
  24. Pala India - 4.6 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  25. Western Jin China - 4.5 million km² (AD 300)[citation needed]
  26. First Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km² (1822)[citation needed]
  27. Mughal India - 4.0 million km² (1690)[2]
  28. Hapthalite Khanate - 4.0 million km² (AD 500)[citation needed]
  29. Gokturk Khaganate - 4.0 million km² (600)[citation needed]
  30. Afsharid Persia - 4.0 million km² (1747){{Fact|date=May
  31. Attila's Huns - 4.0 million km² (AD 441)[2]
  32. Seleucid Empire - 3.9 million km² (301 BC)[2]
  33. Seljuq Persia - 3.9 million km² (1080)[2]
  34. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (1940)[citation needed]
  35. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²[citation needed]
  36. Rouran Khaganate - 3.6 million km² (400 BC)[citation needed]
  37. Chola India - 3.6 million km² (1050)[citation needed]
  38. Nazi Germany - 3.6 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  39. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km² (795)[citation needed]
  40. Safavid Persia - 3.5 million km² (1512)[citation needed]
  41. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  42. Gupta India - 3.5 million km² (AD 400)[2]
  43. Sassanid Persia - 3.5 million km² (621)[2]
  44. Ghaznavid Persia - 3.4 million km² (1029)[2]
  45. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km² (1312)[2]
  46. Song China - 3.1 million km² (980)[2]
  47. Qin China - 3.0 million km² (221 BC)[citation needed]
  48. Khazar Empire - 3.0 million km² (850)[2]
  49. Kalmar Union - 3.0 million km² (1397)[citation needed]
  50. Danish Empire - 3.0 million km² (1800)[citation needed]
  51. Qajar Persia - 3.0 million km² (1796)[citation needed]
  52. Parthia - 2.8 million km² (AD 1)[2]
  53. Media - 2.8 million km² (585 BC)[2]
  54. Byzantine Empire - 2.7 million km² (555)[2]
  55. Maratha India - 2.5 million km² (1760)[2]
  56. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  57. Northern Wei China - 2.3 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  58. Jin China - 2.3 million km² (1126)[2]
  59. Southern Qi China - 2.2 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  60. Ptolemaic Egypt - 2.0 million km² (185 BC)[citation needed]
  61. Kushan India - 2.0 million km² (AD 200)[2]
  62. Saffarid Persia - 2.0 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  63. Inca Empire - 2.0 million km² (1527)[2]
  64. Neo-Assyria - 1.4 million km² (670 BC)[2]
  65. Songhai Africa - 1.4 million km² (1500)[13]
  66. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km² (780)[citation needed]
  67. Axum - 1.25 million km² (AD 350)[2]
  68. Rashtrakuta India - 1.2 million km² (805)[citation needed]
  69. Francia - 1.2 million km² (814)[2]
  70. Srivijaya - 1.2 million km² (1200)[2]
  71. Nanda India - 1.2 million km² (323 BC)[citation needed]
  72. Siam - 1.12 million km² (1782)[citation needed]
  73. Chalukya India - 1.1 million km² (636)[citation needed]
  74. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (1250)[citation needed]
  75. Mali Africa - 1.1 million km² (1380)[2]
  76. Lithuania-Poland - 1.1 million km² (1430)[2]
  77. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (1658)[citation needed]
  78. Egyptian New Kingdom - 1.0 million km² (1300 BC)[2]
  79. Satavahana India - 1.0 million km² (AD 220)[citation needed]
  80. Western Chalukya - 1.0 million km² (1121)[citation needed]
  81. Harsha India (Kanyakubia) - 1.0 million km² (648)[2]
  82. Almoravids - 1.0 million km² (1120)[2]
  83. Khmer Empire - 1.0 million km² (1290)[2]
  84. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 0.99 million km² (1619)[citation needed]
  85. Bulgarian Empire - 0.7 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  86. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 0.676615 million km²[citation needed]
  87. Akkad - 0.65 million km² (2100 BC)[citation needed]
  88. Sikh Empire - 0.5609 million km² (1845)[citation needed]
  89. Hittites - 0.51 million km² (1600 BC)[citation needed]
  90. Neo-Babylon - 0.5 million km² (540 BC)[citation needed]
  91. Vijayanagara India - 0.5 million km² (1529)[citation needed]

Contiguous empires

  1. Mongol Empire - 24.0 million km² (under Kublai Khan in 1270)[2]
  2. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² - including Alaska (1855)[8]
  3. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - 22.4 million km² - After Stalin's annexations in western Europe.
  4. Qing China - 14.7 million km² (1790)[2][14]
  5. Umayyad Caliphate - 11.1 million km² (750) [2]
  6. Abbasid Caliphate - 10.0 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  7. Xiongnu - 9.0 million km² (176 BC)[2]
  8. Rashidun Caliphate - 9.0 million km² (654)[5]
  9. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²[8]
  10. Achaemenid Empire - 7.5 million km² (under Emperor Darius the Great).[15]
  11. Han China - 6.0 million km² (50 BC)[2]
  12. Tang China - 5.4 million km² (715)[2]
  13. Ottoman Empire - 5.2 million km² (1683)[2]
  14. Maurya India - 5.0 million km² (250 BC)[2]
  15. Roman Empire - 5.0 million km² (AD 117)[2][16]
  16. Pala India - 4.6 million km² (850)[citation needed]
  17. Western Jin China - 4.5 million km² (AD 300)[citation needed]
  18. First Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km² (1822)[citation needed]
  19. Attila's Huns - 4.0 million km² (AD 441)[2]
  20. Gokturk Khaganate - 4.0 million km² (600)[citation needed]
  21. Hapthalite Khanate - 4.0 million km² (AD 500)[citation needed]
  22. Mughal India - 4.0 million km² (1690)[2]
  23. Afsharid Persia - 4.0 million km² (1747)[citation needed]
  24. Seleucid Empire - 3.9 million km² (301 BC)[2]
  25. Seljuq Persia - 3.9 million km² (1080)[2]
  26. Rouran Khaganate - 3.6 million km² (400 BC)[citation needed]
  27. Chola India - 3.6 million km² (1050)[citation needed]
  28. Nazi Germany - 3.6 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  29. Gupta India - 3.5 million km² (AD 400)[2]
  30. Sassanid Persia - 3.5 million km² (621)[2]
  31. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km² (795)[citation needed]
  32. Safavid Persia - 3.5 million km² (1512)[citation needed]
  33. Ghaznavid Persia - 3.4 million km² (1029)[2]
  34. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km² (1312)[2]
  35. Song China - 3.1 million km² (980)[2]
  36. Khazar Empire - 3.0 million km² (850)[2]
  37. Qin China - 3.0 million km² (221 BC)[citation needed]
  38. Qajar Persia - 3.0 million km² (1796)[citation needed]
  39. Media - 2.8 million km² (585 BC)[2]
  40. Parthia - 2.8 million km² (AD 1)[2]
  41. Eastern Roman Empire - 2.7 million km² (555)[2]
  42. Maratha India - 2.5 million km² (1760)[2]
  43. Northern Wei China - 2.3 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  44. Jin China - 2.3 million km² (1126)[2]
  45. Southern Qi China - 2.2 million km² (AD 510)[citation needed]
  46. Ptolemaic Egypt - 2.0 million km² (185 BC)[citation needed]
  47. Kushan India - 2.0 million km² (AD 200)[2]
  48. Saffarid Persia - 2.0 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  49. Inca Empire - 2.0 million km² (1527)[2]
  50. Neo-Assyria - 1.4 million km² (670 BC)[2]
  51. Songhai Africa - 1.4 million km² (1500)[17]
  52. Axum - 1.25 million km² (AD 350)[2]
  53. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km² (780)[citation needed]
  54. Nanda India - 1.2 million km² (323 BC)[citation needed]
  55. Rashtrakuta India - 1.2 million km² (805)[citation needed]
  56. Francia - 1.2 million km² (814)[2]
  57. Siam - 1.12 million km² (1782)[citation needed]
  58. Chalukya India - 1.1 million km² (636)[citation needed]
  59. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (1250)[citation needed]
  60. Mali Africa - 1.1 million km² (1380)[2]
  61. Lithuania-Poland - 1.1 million km² (1430)[2]
  62. Egyptian New Kingdom - 1.0 million km² (1300 BC)[2]
  63. Satavahana India - 1.0 million km² (AD 220)[citation needed]
  64. Harsha India (Kanyakubia) - 1.0 million km² (648)[2]
  65. Western Chalukya - 1.0 million km² (1121)[citation needed]
  66. Almoravids - 1.0 million km² (1120)[2]
  67. Khmer Empire - 1.0 million km² (1290)[2]
  68. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 0.99 million km² (1619)[citation needed]
  69. Bulgarian Empire - 0.7 million km² (900)[citation needed]
  70. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 0.676615 million km²[citation needed]
  71. Akkad - 0.65 million km² (2100 BC)[citation needed]
  72. Sikh Empire - 0.5609 million km² (1845)[citation needed]
  73. Hittites - 0.51 km² (1600 BC)[citation needed]
  74. Neo-Babylon - 0.5 km² (540 BC)[citation needed]
  75. Vijayanagara India - 0.5 million km² (1529)[citation needed]

Maritime empires

  1. British Empire - 33.67 million km² (1922)[18]
  2. Spanish Empire - 20 million km² (under Charles III)[8]
  3. French Empire - 12.3 million km² (1938)[8]
  4. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km²[8]
  5. United States - 10.0 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)[citation needed]
  6. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (1942)[citation needed]
  7. Ottoman Empire - 5.2 million km² (1683)[2]
  8. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (1940)[citation needed]
  9. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²[citation needed]
  10. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  11. Kalmar Union - 3.0 million km² (1397)[citation needed]
  12. Danish Empire - 3.0 million km² (1800)[citation needed]
  13. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km² (1914)[citation needed]
  14. Srivijaya - 1.2 million km² (1200)[2]
  15. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (1658)[citation needed]

Largest empires by population

Population estimates are unknown for many other ancient empires not listed here.

Population size

  1. British Empire - 531.3 million (in 1938)[19]
  2. Qing China - 381 million in 1820[20]
  3. Soviet Union - 286.717 million (in 1989)[21][failed verification]
  4. Russian Empire - 176.4 million in 1913
  5. Mughal India - 175 million in 1700
  6. Ming China - 160 million in 1600[20]
  7. Japanese Empire - 134.8 million in 1938
  8. French Empire - 112.9 million in 1938
  9. Mongol Empire - 110 million (in the 13th century)[22]
  10. Dutch Empire had 80 million people living within its boundaries in 1940.[citation needed]
  11. Roman Empire - 80 million (in 2nd century AD)[23][24]
  12. Sassanid Persia - 78 million (in the 7th century AD)
  13. Nazi Germany - 75.4 million (in 1938)[19]
  14. Spanish Empire - 68.2 million[25]
  15. Umayyad Caliphate - 62 million (in the 7th century)[26]
  16. Dutch Empire - 60 million in 1907
  17. Han China - 60 million (in 2 AD)[27]
  18. Song China - 59 million in 1000 AD[20]
  19. Italian Empire - 51.9 million in 1938
  20. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 50.6 million in 1913
  21. Maurya India - 50 million in the 2nd century BC
  22. Achaemenid Persia - 35 million (in the 4th century BC)[28]

Percentage of world population

  1. Qing Empire - 36.6% (381 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820)[20]
  2. Roman Empire - 35.3% (80 million out of 226 million[29] in the 2nd century AD)
  3. Maurya India - 33.3% (50 million out of 150 million in 2th century BC)
  4. Sassanid Persia - 32.5% (78 million out of 240 million[30] in the 7th century AD)
  5. Mughal India - 29.2% (175 million out of 600 million[31] in 1700)
  6. Ming China - 28.8% (160 million out of 556.2 million in 1600)[20]
  7. Han China - 26.5% (59.6 million out of 226 million[20] in 2 AD)
  8. Umayyad Caliphate - 25.83% (62 million out of 240 million[30] in the 7th century AD)
  9. Mongol Empire - 25.6% (110 million out of 429 million[32] in the 13th century)
  10. British Empire - 23.15% (531.3 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)[19]
  11. Achaemenid Empire - 23.0% (35 million out of 152 million in the 4th century BC)
  12. Song China - 22% (59 million out of 268 million in 1000)[20]
  13. Rashidun Caliphate - 16.79% (40.3 million out of 240 million in 7th century)
  14. Spanish Empire - 12.3% (68.2 million out of 556 million[20] in the 17th century)
  15. Russian Empire - 9.8% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion[20] in 1913)
  16. Ottoman Empire - 7.1% (39 million out of 556 million[20] in the 17th century)
  17. Japanese Empire - 5.9% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion[20] in 1938)
  18. Vijayanagara India - 5.7% (25 million out of 438 million[20] in the 16th century)
  19. Soviet Union - 5.5% (286.717 million out of 5.175 billion in 1989) [21][failed verification]
  20. French Empire - 4.9% (112.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
  21. Dutch Empire - 3.5% (60 million out of 1.700 billion in 1907)
  22. Nazi Germany - 3.3% (75.4 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
  23. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 2.8% (50.6 million out of 1.791 billion in 1913)
  24. Italian Empire - 2.3% (51.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)

Largest empires by economy

GDP estimates in the following list are only given for empires in modern times, from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. All dollar amounts are in 1990 USD.

GDP size

  1. United States - $1,644.8 billion (in 1945)[20]
  2. British Empire - $683.3 billion (in 1938)[19]
  3. Nazi Germany - $375.6 billion (in 1938)[19]
  4. Japanese Empire - $260.7 billion (in 1938)[19]
  5. Russian Empire - $257.7 billion (in 1913)[20]
  6. Qing Empire - $241.3 billion (GDP decline to 1912, immediately before its downfall)[20]
  7. French Empire - $234.1 billion (in 1938)[19]
  8. Italian Empire - $143.4 billion (in 1938)[19]
  9. Afsharid Persia - $119.85 billion (in 1740)[20]
  10. Austro-Hungarian Empire - $100.5 billion (in 1913)[33]
  11. Mughal India - $90.8 billion (GDP decline in 1700)[20]
  12. Ottoman Empire - $26.4 billion (in 1913)[34]
  13. Portuguese Empire - $12.6 billion (in 1913)[33]

Percentage of world GDP

  1. United States - 35%[35] ($1,644.8 billion[20] out of $4,699 billion[36] in 1945)
  2. Qing China - 32.9% ($228.6 billion out of $694.4 billion in 1820)[20]
  3. Mughal India - 24.5% ($90.8 billion out of $371 billion in 1700)[20]
  4. Afsharid Persia - 24.24% ($119.85 billion out of $494.4 billion in 1740)[20]
  5. British Empire - 23.8% ($265 billion[37] out of $1,111 billion[20] in 1870)
  6. Russian Empire - 9.4% ($257.7 billion out of $2,733 billion[20] in 1913)
  7. Nazi Germany - 8.3% ($375.6 billion out of $4,502 billion[20] in 1938)
  8. Japanese Empire - 5.8% ($260.7 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
  9. French Empire - 5.2% ($234.1 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
  10. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 3.7% ($100.5 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
  11. Italian Empire - 3.2% ($143.4 billion out of $4,502 billion in 1938)
  12. Ottoman Empire - 1% ($26.4 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)
  13. Portuguese Empire - 0.5% ($12.6 billion out of $2,733 billion in 1913)

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ CIA - The World Factbook(132.37 plus 14.4 for Antarctica and 2.17 for Greenland)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj Adams, Hall and Turchin (2004)
  3. ^ The British Museum: Forgotten World, the World of Ancient Persia.
  4. ^ Frank Mclynn, Marcus Aurelius (London: Bodley Head, 2009), p. 2.
  5. ^ a b c Tarikh al-Tabari
  6. ^ John O. Hunwick: Timbuktu and the Songahy Empire: Al-Sa’di’s Ta’rikh Al-sudan Down to 1613 and other Contemporary Documents (Brill, 2003),p. xlix.
  7. ^ Ferguson 2004, p. 15.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Bruce R. Gordon (2005) [unreliable source?].
  9. ^ Ferguson 2004, p. 15.
  10. ^ Wood (2006) at the Royal Academy estimates 12 million km². Gordon (2005) estimates 12 million km².
  11. ^ The British Museum: Forgotten World, the World of Ancient Persia.
  12. ^ Frank Mclynn, Marcus Aurelius (London: Bodley Head, 2009), p. 2.
  13. ^ Hunwick, p. xlix.
  14. ^ Wood (2006) at the Royal Academy estimates 12 million km². Gordon (2005) estimates 12 million km².
  15. ^ The British Museum: Forgotten World, the World of Ancient Persia.
  16. ^ Frank Mclynn, Marcus Aurelius (London: Bodley Head, 2009), p. 2.
  17. ^ Hunwick, p. xlix.
  18. ^ Ferguson 2004, p. 15.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h Harrison (1998, pp. 3,7).
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Maddison, op cit. For alternate estimates, see the Economic History Services' USA/UK GDP search tool.
  21. ^ a b {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) |url=http://www.eightyeightynine.com/culture/population.html |title=World population figures |publisher=eightyeightynine.com |accessdate=2007-01-02}}[unreliable source?] Cite error: The named reference "889pop" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ The combined population of China and Korea in the 13th century was 83 million in Biraben (2003[page needed]). The combined population of Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey was about 27 million in Maddison (2006[page needed]).
  23. ^ Mclynn Frank "Marcus Aurelius" p. 4. Published by The Bodley Head 2009
  24. ^ There are several different estimates for the Roman Empire. Scheidel (2006, p. 2) estimates 60 million. Goldsmith (1984, p. 263) estimates 55 million. Beloch (1886, p. 507) estimates 54 million. Maddison (2006, p. 51, 120) estimates 48 million. Roman Empire Population estimates 65 million (while mentioning several other estimates between 45 million and 130 million).
  25. ^ The combined population of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, United States and the Philippines was 29.2 million in Maddison (2006[page needed]). The population of Latin America was 39 million in Biraben (2003[page needed]), minus Brazil and its 4 million people with was a part of the portuguese empire.
  26. ^ The combined population of Southwest Asia and North Africa was about 57 million in Biraben (2003[page needed]). The combined population of Spain and Portugal was about 5 million in Maddison (2006[page needed]).
  27. ^ Han Dynasty Census recorded 60 million in 2 AD, according to Scheidel (2005, p. 37) and Yoon (1985, p. 211-212).
  28. ^ Ian Morris, Walter Scheidel,"The Dynamics of Ancient Empires",P.77.Published by Oxford University Press US, 2009
  29. ^ Mclynn Frank "Marcus Aurelius" p.4. Published by The Bodley Head 2009
  30. ^ a b McEvedy and Jones (1978).
  31. ^ Thomlinson (1975, Table 1).
  32. ^ Biraben, Jean-Noel (1979-01). "Essai sur l'evolution du nombre des hommes". Population (French Edition). 34 (1): 13–25. doi:10.2307/1531855. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ a b Broadberry and Harrison (2005).
  34. ^ Pamuk (2005[page needed]).
  35. ^ Christopher Chase-Dunn. Social Evolution and the Future of World Society.
  36. ^ This estimate is found through interpolation of the cited statistics of American GDP and the American share of world GDP in 1945.
  37. ^ The combined GDP of the United Kingdom, British India, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa in 1870 is about $265 billion in Maddison (2006[page needed]).

Bibliography

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