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HISTORY

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Empires

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Largest Empires by Population

This list features the largest empires in history by share of the world population.

RANK

EMPIRE

GLOBAL POPULATION

PEAK EMPIRE POPULATION

WORLD SHARE%

DURATION

1

Achaemenid Empire

100 million

(500 BC)

49 million

49.0%

550 BC – 330 BC

(220 years)

2

Qing Dynasty

1.2 billion

(19th century)

450 million

37.5%

1644 – 1912

(268 years)

3

Eastern Han Dynasty

170 million

(2 AD)

57 million

33.53%

25 BC – 220 AD

(245 years)

4

Ming Dynasty

500 million

(1600)

160 million

32.0%

1368 – 1644

(276 years)

5

Mongol Empire

360 million

(1200s)

110 million

30.6%

1206 – 1368

(162 years)

6

Yuan Dynasty

360 million

(1300)

79 million

21.94%

1271 – 1368

(97 years)

7

Abbasid Caliphate

275 million

(1000)

60 million

21.82%

750 – 1258

(508 years)

8

British Empire

1.9 billion

(1919)

412 million

21.68%

1583 – 1997

(414 years)

9

Umayyad Caliphate

210 million

(700)

30 million

14.29%

661 – 750

(89 years)

10

Russian Empire

1.6 billion

(1913)

125.6 million

7.85%

1721 – 1917

(196 years)


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References

Worldometers, 2024. World population by year. [Online] Available at: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/ [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Guinness World Records, 2024. Largest empire by percentage of world population. [Online] Available at: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-empire-by-percentage-of-world-population#:~:text=By%20share%20of%20population%2C%20the,BC%20%E2%80%93%20an%20astonishing%2044%25. [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Oxford University Press, 2024. Asian history: The Mongol Empire. [Online] Available at: https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-445?d=%2F10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780190277727.001.0001%2Facrefore-9780190277727-e-445&p=emailAcVlUmt4PiilQ [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Lumen Learning, 2024. Rise of the Ming Dynasty. [Online] Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/rise-of-the-ming-dynasty/#:~:text=At%20its%20height%2C%20the%20Ming,army%20of%20one%20million%20troops. [Accessed 1 December 2025]. World Atlas, 2024. Largest empires in history. [Online] Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/largest-empires-in-history.html [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Study.com, 2024. How many people lived in the Mongol Empire?. [Online] Available at: https://homework.study.com/explanation/how-many-people-lived-in-the-mongol-empire.html [Accessed 1 December 2025]. National Geographic Kids, 2024. British Empire facts. [Online] Available at: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/general-history/british-empire-facts/ [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Columbia University, 2024. Population of China in 1950. [Online] Available at: https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1950_population.htm [Accessed: 2 March 2025]. Lumen Learning, 2024. Expansion under the Umayyad Caliphates. [Online] Available at: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/expansion-under-the-umayyad-caliphates/#:~:text=At%20its%20greatest%20extent%2C%20the,proportion%20of%20the%20world's%20population [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Facts and Details, 2024. Population of the world in 1000. [Online] Available at: https://africame.factsanddetails.com/article/entry-261.html#:~:text=By%20the%20year%201000%2C%20the,Middle%20East%20and%20Central%20Asia [Accessed 1 December 2025]. Wikipedia, 2024. Russian Empire census. [Online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire_census [Accessed 1 December 2025].
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