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Contents 1 Measurement details 2 Debates regarding definition of imperial domains 3 Largest empires by landmass 3.1 Ancient empires 3.2 Maximum extent of the Empire 3.3 Medieval empires 3.4 Modern empires 3.5 All empires 3.6 Contiguous empires 3.7 Maritime empires 4 Largest empires by population 4.1 Population size 4.2 Percentage of world population 5 Largest empires by economy 5.1 GDP size 5.2 Percentage of world GDP 6 See also 7 Notes and references 8 Bibliography 9 External links

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. Depending on whether and which of these are considered members of the Soviet Empire, the USSR in the late 1940’s or subsequent decades may also be considered as the world’s largest, even bigger than the Mongol Empire under Kublai Khan.

Therefore, the lists of largest empires below represent merely a sample of possible rankings depending on the specific criteria used to define an empire. If stringent definitions were used, then many empires, such as the British Empire in particular, would fall substantially in rankings in terms of both geographical size and population. Likewise, either the Mongol Empire under Kublai or the Soviet Empire, at various points from the 1940’s, could be deemed the world’s largest depending on what is regarded to constitute their imperial domains and administration.

Largest empires by landmass

Ancient empires

Maximum extent of the Empire

1. Achaemenid Empire - 8.4 million km² (under Emperor Darius the Great)
2. Sassanid Empire - 7.4 million km² (under Emperor Khosrau II)
3. Han Empire - 6.0 million km² ^[1]
4. Macedonian Empire - 5.9 million km² (under Alexander the Great in 323 BC)
5. Roman Empire - 5 million km² (under Emperor Trajan in 117) - 27BC to 476CE^{[2][dubious – discuss]}
6. Maurya Empire - 5 million km² (under Ashoka the Great)^[3]
7. Seleucid Greek Empire - 4.9 million km²
8. Gupta Empire - 4.5 million km² (under Chandragupta II in 400)
9. Western jin dynasty- 4.5 million km² in 300 AD
10. Kushan Empire - 4.4 million km² (under Kanishka the Great in 140)
11. Parthian Empire - 4 million km² (Under Mithridates the Great 123–88 BCE)
12. Hunnic Empire - 4 million km² (under Attila the Hun in 441)
13. Hapthalite khanate -4 million km² in 500
14. Rouran khaganate -3.6 million km² in 400 BC
15. Xiongnu Empire - 3.5 million km²
16. Median Empire - 3.3 million km²
17. Qin Empire - 3 million km²
18. Northern Wei Dynasty-2.3 million km² in 510
19. Southern Qi Dynasty -2.2million km² in 510
20. Ptolemic Greek Empire - 2 million km²
21. Neo-Assyrian Empire - 1.4 million km²
22. Aksumite Empire - 1.25 million km²^[1]
23. Nanda Empire - 1.2 million km²
24. Satvahana Empire - 1 million km²
25. Egyptian Empire - 1 million km²
26. Akkadian Empire - 650,000 km² in 2100 BC
27. Hittite Empire - 510,000 km² in 1600 BC
28. Neo-Babylonian Empire - 500,000 km² in 540 BC

Medieval empires

1. Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Kublai Khan in 1268)
2. Umayyad Caliphate - 10.2 million km² 
3. Abbasid Caliphate- 10 million km²
4. Rashidun Caliphate - 9 million km² (under Caliph Uthman in 654)^[4]
5. Sassanid Empire - 7.4 million km² (under Khosrau II)
6. Ming Empire - 6.5 million km²
7. Tang Empire - 5.4 million km²
8. Pala Empire - 4.6 million km² (under Devapala)
9. Eastern Roman Empire - 4.5 million km² (called themselves the Roman Empire)
10. Gokturk khaganate- 4 million km²in 600 AD
11. Song dynasty - 4 million km² in 12th century AD
12. Great Seljuq Empire - 3.9 million km²
13. Chola Empire - 3.6 million km² (under Rajendra Chola I)
14. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km²
15. Ghaznavid Empire - 3.4 million km²
16. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km²
17. Kalmar Union - 3 million km²
18. Khazar Empire - 3 million km²
19. Jin dynasty-2.2 million km²in 1200
20. Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyu) - 2 million km² (Under Atahualpa in 1532)
21. Saffarid dynasty -2 million km²
22. Songhai Empire - 1.4 million km² (in 1500)^[5]
23. Aksumite Empire/Ethiopian Empire - 1.25 million km²^[1]
24. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km²
25. Rashtrakuta dynasty- 1.2 million km²in 805
26. Srivijaya Empire - 1.2 million km²
27. Frankish Empire - 1.2 million km²
28. Chalukya Empire- 1.1 million km²
29. Mali Empire - 1.1 million km²^[1]
30. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Frederick II in 1250)
31. Harsha's empire - 1 million km² (under Harsha Vardhana in 648)
32. Western Chalukya Empire - 1 million km²
33. Almoravid Empire - 1 million km²
34. Khmer Empire - 1 million km²
35. Grand Duchy of Lithuania - 930,000 km² (under Vytautas the Great in 1430)
36. Bulgarian Empire - 700,000 km² (under Tsar Simeon I)
37. Vijayanagara Empire -500,000 km²
38. Serbian Empire - 500,000 km²

Modern empires

1. British Empire - 33.6 million km² (under George V in 1922)
2. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² (under Nicholas I in 1855) - including Alaska^[6]
3. Spanish Empire - 20 million km² (under Charles III)^[6]
4. Qing Empire - 13 million km² (under Qianlong)
5. French colonial empire - 12.3 million km²
6. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km²^[6]
7. United States - 10 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)
8. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²^[6]
9. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (during World War II)
10. Ottoman Empire - 5.5 million km² (under Mehmed IV [including autonomous indirect ruled lands] in 1680)
11. Mughal Empire - 5 million km² under Aurangzeb in 1690
12. First Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km²
13. Afsharid Persian Empire - 4 million km² (under Nadir Shah)
14. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (during World War II)
15. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²
16. Nazi Empire - 3.6 million km² (during World War II)
17. Safavid Empire - 3.5 million km²
18. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Wilhelm II before World War I)
19. Danish colonial empire- 3 million km² in1800
20. Qajar Empire- 3 million km²
21. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km²
22. Maratha Empire - 1.6 million km² ( in 1760 )
23. Thai Empire / Siamese Empire - 1.12 million km² (under Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke in 1782)
24. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Charles X Gustav in 1658)
25. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 990,000 km² (under Sigismund III in 1619)
26. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 676,615 km²
27. Sikh Empire - 560,900 km² (under Maharajah Sher Singh before First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845)

All empires

1. British Empire - 33.6 million km² (under George V in 1922)
2. Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Kublai Khan in 1268) ^[1]
3. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² (under Alexander II in 1866) - including Alaska^[6]
4. Spanish Empire - 20 million km² (under King Charles III r. 1759-1788)^[6]
5. Qing Empire - 13 million km²^[7] (under Emperor Qianlong) -
6. French Empire - 12.3 million km²^[6] (under President Albert Lebrun in 1938)
7. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km²^[6]
8. Umayyad Caliphate - 10.2 million km²^[6] (under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik r. 723-743)^{[not in citation given]}
9. United States - 10 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)
10. Abbasid Caliphate - 10 million km²
11. Roman Empire - 9.1 million km² (under Emperor Trajan) - 27BC to 476CE^[8]
12. Rashidun Caliphate - 9 million km² (under Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan r. 644-656)^[4]
13. Achaemenid Empire - 8.4 million km² (under Emperor Darius the Great)
14. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²^[6]
15. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (during World War II)
16. Sassanid Empire - 7.4 million km² (under Emperor Khosrau II)
17. Ming Empire - 6.5 million km²
18. Han Empire - 6.0 million km² ^[1]
19. Macedonian Empire - 5.9 million km² (under Alexander the Great)
20. Maurya Empire - 5.9 million km² (under Ashoka the Great)
21. Ottoman Empire - 5.5 million km² (under Mehmed IV [including autonomous indirect ruled lands] in 1680))
22. Tang Empire - 5.4 million km²
23. Mughal Empire - 5 million km² (under Aurangzeb in 1690)
24. Seleucid Greek Empire - 4.9 million km²
25. Pala Empire - 4.6 million km² (under Devapala)
26. Gupta Empire - 4.5 million km² (under Chandragupta II in 400)
27. Western jin dynasty- 4.5million km² in 300 AD
28. Byzantine Empire - 4.5 million km² (referred to themselves as the Roman Empire)
29. Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km²
30. Kushan Empire - 4.4 million km² (under Kanishka the Great in 140)
31. Parthian Empire - 4 million km² (Under Mithridates the Great 123–88 BCE)
32. Hunnic Empire - 4 million km² (under Attila the Hun in 441)
33. Hapthalite khanate-4 million km² in 500
34. Gokturk khaganate- 4 million km² in 600 AD
35. Song dynasty - 4 million km² in 12th century AD
36. Afsharid Persian Empire - 4 million km² (under Nadir Shah)
37. Great Seljuq Empire - 3.9 million km²
38. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (during World War II)
39. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²
40. Nazi Empire - 3.6 million km² (during World War II)
41. Chola Empire - 3.6 million km² (under Rajendra Chola I)
42. Rouran khaganate - 3.6 million km²in 400 BC
43. Safavid Empire - 3.5 million km²
44. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Wilhelm II before World War I)
45. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km²
46. Xiongnu Empire - 3.5 million km²
47. Ghaznavid Empire - 3.4 million km²
48. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km²
49. Danish colonial empire- 3 million km² in 1800
50. Kalmar Union - 3 million km²
51. Khazar Empire - 3 million km²
52. Qin Empire - 3 million km²
53. Qajar Empire- 2.9 million km²
54. Median Empire - 2.8 million km²
55. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km
56. Northern Wei Dynasty-2.3 million km²in 510
57. Southern Qi Dynasty=-2.2million km²in 510
58. Jin dynasty-2.2 million km²in 1200
59. Ptolemic Empire - 2 million km²
60. Saffarid dynasty - 2 million km²
61. Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyu) - 2 million km² (Under Atahualpa in 1532)
62. Maratha Empire - 1.6 million km² ( in 1760 )
63. Neo-Assyrian Empire - 1.4 million km²
64. Songhai Empire - 1.4 million km² (in 1500)^[9]
65. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km²
66. Aksumite Empire - 1.25 million km²^[1]
67. Rashtrakuta dynasty - 1.2 million km²in 805
68. Srivijaya Empire - 1.2 million km²
69. Frankish Empire - 1.2 million km²
70. Nanda Empire - 1.2 million km
71. Thai Empire / Siamese Empire - 1.12 million km² (under Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke in 1782)
72. Chalukya Empire- 1.1 million km²
73. Mali Empire - 1.1 million km²^[1]
74. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Frederick II in 1250)
75. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Charles X Gustav in 1658)
76. Egyptian Empire - 1 million km²
77. Satavahana - 1 million km²
78. Western Chalukya Empire - 1 million km²
79. Harsha's empire - 1 million km² (under Harsha Vardhana in 648)
80. Almoravid Empire - 1 million km²
81. Khmer Empire - 1 million km²
82. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 990,000 km² (under Sigismund III in 1619)
83. Grand Duchy of Lithuania - 930,000 km² (under Vytautas the Great in 1430)
84. Bulgarian Empire - 700,000 km² (under Tsar Simeon I)
85. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 676,615 km²
86. Akkadian Empire - 650,000 km²
87. Sikh Empire - 560,900 km² (under Maharajah Sher Singh before First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845)
88. Hittite Empire - 510,000 ;km²
89. Neo-Babylonian Empire - 500,000 km²
90. Vijayanagara Empire - 500,000& km²

Contiguous empires

1. Mongol Empire - 33.2 million km² (under Kublai Khan in 1268)
2. Russian Empire - 22.4 million km² (under Alexander II in 1866, includes Alaska across the Bering Strait)
3. Umayyad Caliphate - 10.2 million km² (Includes Al-Andulus across Strait of Gibraltar)
4. Abbasid Caliphate- 10 million km²
5. Roman Empire - 9.1 million km² (under Emperor Trajan) - 27BC to 476CE^[10]
6. Rashidun Caliphate - 9 million km² (under Caliph Uthman in 654)^[4]
7. Brazilian Empire - 8.1 million km²^[6]
8. Sassanid Empire - 7.4 million km² (under Khosrau II in 626)
9. Han Empire - 6.0 million km²
10. Maurya Empire - 5.9 million km² (under Ashoka the Great)
11. Ottoman Empire - 5.5 million km² (under Mehmed IV [including autonomous indirect ruled lands] in 1680)
12. Tang Empire - 5.4 million km²
13. Mughal Empire - 5 million km² (under Aurangzeb in 1690)
14. Seleucid Empire - 4.9 million km²
15. Pala Empire - 4.6 million km² (under Devapala)
16. Gupta Empire - 4.5 million km² (under Chandragupta II in 400
17. Western jin dynasty- 4.5million km² in 300 AD
18. Byzantine Empire/Eastern Roman Empire - 4.5 million km²
19. Mexican Empire - 4.4 million km²
20. Kushan Empire - 4.4 million km² (under Kanishka the Great in 140)
21. Parthian Empire - 4 million km² (Under Mithridates the Great 123–88 BCE)
22. Hunnic Empire - 4 million km² (under Attila the Hun in 441
23. Hapthalite khanate-4 million km²in 500
24. Gokturk khaganate- 4 million km²in 600 AD
25. Afsharid Persian Empire - 4 million km² (under Nadir Shah)
26. Great Seljuq Empire - 3.9 million km²
27. Seleucid Empire - 3.9 million km²
28. Nazi Empire - 3.6 million km² (during World War II)
29. Rouran khaganate-3.6 million km²in 400 BC
30. Uyghur Khaganate - 3.5 million km²
31. Safavid Empire - 3.5 million km²
32. Ghaznavid Empire - 3.4 million km²
33. Delhi Sultanate - 3.2 million km²
34. Khazar Empire - 3 million km²
35. Qin Empire - 3 million km²
36. Qajar Empire- 2.9 million km²
37. Median Empire - 2.8 million km²
38. Northern Wei Dynasty-2.3 million km²in 510
39. Southern Qi Dynasty=-2.2million km²in 510
40. Jin dynasty-2.2 million km²in 1200
41. Ptolemic Empire - 2 million km²
42. Inca Empire (Tahuantinsuyu) - 2 million km² (Under Atahualpa in 1532)
43. Saffarid dynasty -2 million km²
44. Maratha Empire - 1.6 million km² ( in 1760 )
45. Neo-Assyrian Empire - 1.4 million km²
46. Songhai Empire - 1.4 million km² (in 1500)^[11]
47. Aksumite Empire - 1.25 million km²^[1]
48. Gurjara-Pratiharas - 1.25 million km²
49. Rashtrakuta dynasty- 1.2 million km²in 805
50. Frankish Empire - 1.2 million km²
51. Nanda Empire - 1.2 million km²
52. Thai Empire - 1.12 million km² (under Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke in 1782)
53. Holy Roman Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Frederick II in 1250)
54. Chalukya Empire- 1.1 million km
55. Mali Empire - 1.1 million km²^[1]
56. Satavahana - 1 million km²
57. Harsha Empire - 1 million km² (under Harsha Vardhana in 648)
58. Western Chalukya Empire - 1 million km²
59. Egyptian Empire - 1 million km²
60. Almoravid Empire - 1 million km²
61. Khmer Empire - 1 million km²
62. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - 990,000 km² (under Sigismund III in 1619)
63. Grand Duchy of Lithuania - 930,000 km² (under Vytautas the Great in 1430)
64. Bulgarian Empire - 700,000 km² (under Tsar Simeon I)
65. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 676,615 km²
66. Akkadian Empire - 650,000 km²in 2100 BC
67. Sikh Empire - 560,900 km² (under Maharajah Sher Singh before First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845)
68. Hittite Empire - 510,000 km²in 1600 BC
69. Neo-Babylonian Empire - 500,000 km² in 540 BC
70. Serbian Empire - 500,000 km²
71. Vijayanagara Empire - 500,000 km²

Maritime empires

1. British Empire - 33.6 million km² (under King Emperor George V in 1922)
2. Spanish Empire - 20 million km² (under King Charles III)^[6]
3. Qing Empire - 13 million km² (under Qianlong Emperor
4. French Empire - 12.3 million km²
5. Portuguese Empire - 10.4 million km²^[6]
6. United States - 10 million km² (1898-1902 and 1906-1908)
7. Roman Empire - 9.1 million km² (under Emperor Trajan) - 27BC to 476CE^[12]
8. Achaemenid Empire - 8.4 million km² (under Darius the Great)
9. Greek Empire - 7.4 million km² (under Alexander the Great)
10. Japanese Empire - 7.4 million km² (during World War II)
11. Ming Empire - 6.5 million km²
12. Song Dynasty - 4 million km²
13. Italian Empire - 3.8 million km² (during World War II)
14. Dutch Empire - 3.7 million km²
15. Chola Empire - 3.6 million km² (under Rajendra Chola I)
16. Nazi Empire - 3.6 million km² (during World War II)
17. German Empire - 3.5 million km² (under Wilhelm II before World War I)
18. Danish colonial empire- 3 million km²
19. Belgian Empire - 2.5 million km²
20. Srivijaya Empire - 1.2 million km²
21. Swedish Empire - 1.1 million km² (under Charles X Gustav in 1658)

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)^[13]
2. Qing Empire - 381 million in 1820^[14]
3. Soviet Union - 286.717 million (in 1989)^{[15][not in citation given]}
4. Russian Empire - 176.4 million in 1913
5. Mughal Empire - 175 million in 1700
6. Ming Empire - 160 million in 1600^[14]
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)^[16]
10. Dutch Empire had 80 million people living within its boundaries in 1940.^{[citation needed]}
11. Roman Empire - 80 million (in 2nd century AD)^[17][18]
12. Sassanid Empire - 78 million (in the 7th century AD)
13. Nazi Empire - 75.4 million (in 1938)^[13]
14. Spanish Empire - 68.2 million^[19]
15. Umayyad Caliphate - 62 million (in the 7th century)^[20]
16. Dutch Empire - 60 million in 1907
17. Han Empire - 60 million (in 2 AD)^[21]
18. Song Empire - 59 million in 1000 AD^[14]
19. Italian Empire - 51.9 million in 1938
20. Austro-Hungarian Empire - 50.6 million in 1913
21. Maurya Empire - 50 million in the 2nd century BC
22. Achaemenid Empire - 35 million (in the 4th century BC)^[22]

Percentage of world population

1. Qing Empire - 36.6% (381 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820)^[14]
2. Roman Empire - 35.3% (80 million out of 226 million^[23] in the 2nd century AD)
3. Maurya Empire - 33.3% (50 million out of 150 million in 2th century BC)
4. Sassanid Empire - 32.5% (78 million out of 240 million^[24] in the 7th century AD)
5. Mughal Empire - 29.2% (175 million out of 600 million^[25] in 1700)
6. Ming Empire - 28.8% (160 million out of 556.2 million in 1600)^[14]
7. Han Empire - 26.5% (59.6 million out of 226 million^[14] in 2 AD)
8. Umayyad Caliphate - 25.83% (62 million out of 240 million^[24] in the 7th century AD)
9. Mongol Empire - 25.6% (110 million out of 429 million^[26] in the 13th century)
10. British Empire - 23.15% (531.3 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)^[13]
11. Achaemenid Empire - 23.0% (35 million out of 152 million in the 4th century BC)
12. Song Empire - 22% (59 million out of 268 million in 1000)^[14]
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^[14] in the 17th century)
15. Russian Empire - 9.8% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion^[14] in 1913)
16. Ottoman Empire - 7.1% (39 million out of 556 million^[14] in the 17th century)
17. Japanese Empire - 5.9% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion^[14] in 1938)
18. Vijayanagara Empire - 5.7% (25 million out of 438 million^[14] in the 16th century)
19. Soviet Union - 5.5% (286.717 million out of 5.175 billion in 1989) ^{[15][not in citation given]}
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 Empire - 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)^[14]
2. British Empire - $683.3 billion (in 1938)^[13]
3. Nazi Empire - $375.6 billion (in 1938)^[13]
4. Japanese Empire - $260.7 billion (in 1938)^[13]
5. Russian Empire - $257.7 billion (in 1913)^[14]
6. Qing Empire - $241.3 billion (GDP decline to 1912, immediately before its downfall)^[14]
7. French Empire - $234.1 billion (in 1938)^[13]
8. Italian Empire - $143.4 billion (in 1938)^[13]
9. Afsharid Persian Empire - $119.85 billion (in 1740)^[14]
10. Austro-Hungarian Empire - $100.5 billion (in 1913)^[27]
11. Mughal Empire - $90.8 billion (GDP decline in 1700)^[14]
12. Ottoman Empire - $26.4 billion (in 1913)^[28]
13. Portuguese Empire - $12.6 billion (in 1913)^[27]

Percentage of world GDP

1. United States - 35%^[29] ($1,644.8 billion^[14] out of $4,699 billion^[30] in 1945)
2. Qing Empire - 32.9% ($228.6 billion out of $694.4 billion in 1820)^[14]
3. Mughal Empire - 24.5% ($90.8 billion out of $371 billion in 1700)^[14]
4. Afsharid Persian Empire - 24.24% ($119.85 billion out of $494.4 billion in 1740)^[14]
5. British Empire - 23.8% ($265 billion^[31] out of $1,111 billion^[14] in 1870)
6. Russian Empire - 9.4% ($257.7 billion out of $2,733 billion^[14] in 1913)
7. Nazi Empire - 8.3% ($375.6 billion out of $4,502 billion^[14] 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

• Empire
• Global empire
• List of empires
• List of countries by area
• List of countries by GDP
• List of regions by past GDP (PPP)
• List of countries by population
• List of extinct states
• List of political and geographic subdivisions by total area
• Persian Empire
• European empires
• African empires
• The World Economy: Historical Statistics

v • d • e A History of Empires Ancient empires Akkadian · New Kingdom of Egypt · Neo-Assyrian · Hittite · Medes · Achaemenid Persian · Macedonian (Ptolemaic · Seleucid) · Maurya · Gupta · Qin · Han · Parthian · Roman (Western Roman · Eastern Roman) · Sassanid Medieval empires Byzantine · Hunnic · Arab (Rashidun · Umayyad · Abbasid · Fatimid · Almohad) · Ghaznavid · Great Seljuq · Khwarezmian · Timurid · Chola · Mongol · Serbian · Bulgarian · Carolingian · Holy Roman · Angevin · Mali · Tang · Song · Yuan · Inca Empire · Srivijaya Modern empires Maratha · Mughal · Ming · Qing · Ottoman · Safavid · Afsharid · Zand · Qajar · Ethiopian · Portuguese · Spanish · Iberian · Dutch · British · French Napoleonic · French colonial · German · German colonial · Russian · Swedish · Austro-Hungarian · Brazil · Japan

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Jonathan M. Adams, Thomas D. Hall and Peter Turchin (2004). East-West Orientation of Historical Empires. University of Connecticut.
• J. Beloch (1886), Die Bevölkerung der griechisch–römischen Welt, Duncker and Humblot, Leipzig.
• Jean-Noël Biraben (2003). "The rising numbers of humankind", Populations & Societies 394.
• Roger Boesche (2003). "Kautilya’s Arthashastra on War and Diplomacy in Ancient India", The Journal of Military History 67 (p. 9–38).
• Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison (2005). The Economics of World War I. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-8521 2-9.
• Christopher Chase-Dunn, Alexis Álvarez, and Daniel Pasciuti (2002). Power and Size: Urbanization and Empire Formation in World-Systems Since the Bronze Age. University of California, Riverside.
• Raymond W. Goldsmith (1984), "An estimate of the size and structure of the national product of the Early Roman Empire", Journal of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth 30
• Bruce R. Gordon (2005). To Rule the Earth... (cached) (See Bibliography for sources used.)
• Mark Harrison (1998). The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison.
• Angus Maddison (2001). The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective. OECD, Paris.
• Angus Maddison (2006). The Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD. Oxford University Press.
• Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones (1978), "Atlas of World Population History", Facts on File (p. 342-351). New York.
• Sevket Pamuk (2005), "The Ottoman Empire in World War I". In Stephen Broadberry and Mark Harrison (2005), The Economics of World War I, p. 112-136. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-8521 2-9.
• Donald Quataert (2005). The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922.
• Walter Scheidel (2005). The monetary systems of the Han and Roman empires. Stanford University.
• Walter Scheidel (2006). Imperial state formation in Rome and China. Stanford University.
• Carla M. Sinopoli (2003). The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India, C. 1350-1650.
• Ralph Thomlinson (1975), Demographic Problems, Controversy Over Population Control, Second Edition.
• Dr Frances Wood (2006). China: The Three Emperors. Royal Academy.
• H. Yoon (1985). "An early Chinese idea of a dynamic environmental cycle", GeoJournal 10 (2), p. 211-212.

External links

• Flash animation: Imperial History of the Middle East