SafekipediaList of largest empires
Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience
List of largest empires
Some of the biggest groups of people in history were called empires. We can learn about them by looking at how much land they covered.
The biggest empire ever was the British Empire. It covered a lot of the world in the year 1920.
Here are some of the largest empires, listed by how much land they covered:
| Empire | Million km2 | Million sq mi | % of world | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Empire | 35.5 | 13.71 | 26.35% | 1920 |
| Mongol Empire | 24.0 | 9.27 | 17.81% | 1270 or 1309 |
| Russian Empire | 22.8 | 8.80 | 16.92% | 1895 |
| Qing dynasty | 14.7 | 5.68 | 10.91% | 1790 |
| Spanish Empire | 13.7 | 5.29 | 10.17% | 1810 |
| Second French colonial empire | 11.5 | 4.44 | 8.53% | 1920 |
| Abbasid Caliphate | 11.1 | 4.29 | 8.24% | 750 |
| Umayyad Caliphate | 11.1 | 4.29 | 8.24% | 720 |
| Yuan dynasty | 11.0 | 4.25 | 8.16% | 1310 |
| United States | 9.5 | 3.67 | 7.05% | 1900 |
| Xiongnu Empire | 9.0 | 3.47 | 6.68% | 176 BC |
| Empire of Brazil | 8.337 | 3.22 | 6.19% | 1889 |
| Empire of Japan | 7.4–8.51 | 2.86–3.285 | 5.49%–6.32% | 1942 |
| Eastern Han dynasty | 6.5 | 2.51 | 4.82% | 100 |
| Ming dynasty | 6.5 | 2.51 | 4.82% | 1450 |
| Rashidun Caliphate | 6.4 | 2.47 | 4.75% | 655 |
| First Turkic Khaganate | 6.0 | 2.32 | 4.45% | 557 |
| Golden Horde Khanate | 6.0 | 2.32 | 4.45% | 1310 |
| Western Han dynasty | 6.0 | 2.32 | 4.45% | 50 BC |
| Achaemenid Empire | 5.5 | 2.12 | 4.08% | 500 BC |
| Second Portuguese Empire | 5.5 | 2.12 | 4.08% | 1820 |
| Tang dynasty | 5.4 | 2.08 | 4.01% | 715 |
| Macedonian Empire | 5.2 | 2.01 | 3.86% | 323 BC |
| Ottoman Empire | 5.2 | 2.01 | 3.86% | 1683 |
| Northern Yuan dynasty | 5.0 | 1.93 | 3.71% | 1368 |
| Roman Empire | 5.0 | 1.93 | 3.71% | 117 |
| Xin dynasty | 4.7 | 1.81 | 3.49% | 10 |
| Tibetan Empire | 4.6 | 1.78 | 3.41% | 800 |
| Xianbei state | 4.5 | 1.74 | 3.34% | 200 |
| First Mexican Empire | 4.429 | 1.71 | 3.29% | 1821 |
| Timurid Empire | 4.4 | 1.70 | 3.27% | 1405 |
| Fatimid Caliphate | 4.1 | 1.58 | 3.04% | 969 |
| Eastern Turkic Khaganate | 4.0 | 1.54 | 2.97% | 624 |
| Hunnic Empire | 4.0 | 1.54 | 2.97% | 441 |
| Mughal Empire | 4.0 | 1.54 | 2.97% | 1690 |
| Great Seljuq Empire | 3.9 | 1.51 | 2.89% | 1080 |
| Seleucid Empire | 3.9 | 1.51 | 2.89% | 301 BC |
| Italian Empire | 3.798 | 1.47 | 2.82% | 1938 |
| Ilkhanate | 3.75 | 1.45 | 2.78% | 1310 |
| Dzungar Khanate | 3.6 | 1.39 | 2.67% | 1650 |
| Chagatai Khanate | 3.5 | 1.35 | 2.60% | 1310 or 1350 |
| Sasanian Empire | 3.5 | 1.35 | 2.60% | 550 |
| Western Turkic Khaganate | 3.5 | 1.35 | 2.60% | 630 |
| Western Xiongnu | 3.5 | 1.35 | 2.60% | 20 |
| First French colonial empire | 3.4 | 1.31 | 2.52% | 1670 |
| Ghaznavid Empire | 3.4 | 1.31 | 2.52% | 1029 |
| Maurya Empire | 3.4–5.0 | 1.31–1.93 | 2.52%–3.71% | 261 BC or 250 BC |
| Delhi Sultanate | 3.2 | 1.24 | 2.37% | 1312 |
| German colonial empire | 3.147 | 1.215 | 2.34% | 1911 |
| Northern Song dynasty | 3.1 | 1.20 | 2.30% | 980 |
| Uyghur Khaganate | 3.1 | 1.20 | 2.30% | 800 |
| Western Jin dynasty | 3.1 | 1.20 | 2.30% | 280 |
| Danish Empire | 3.0 | 1.16 | 2.23% | 1700 |
| Sui dynasty | 3.0 | 1.16 | 2.23% | 589 |
| Safavid empire | 2.9 | 1.12 | 2.15% | 1630 |
| Samanid Empire | 2.85 | 1.10 | 2.12% | 928 |
| Eastern Jin dynasty | 2.8 | 1.08 | 2.08% | 347 |
| Median Empire | 2.8 | 1.08 | 2.08% | 585 BC |
| Parthian Empire | 2.8 | 1.08 | 2.08% | 1 |
| Rouran Khaganate | 2.8 | 1.08 | 2.08% | 405 |
| Byzantine Empire | 2.7–2.8 | 1.04–1.08 | 2.00%–2.08% | 555 or 450 |
| Indo-Scythian Kingdom | 2.6 | 1.00 | 1.93% | 20 |
| Liao dynasty | 2.6 | 1.00 | 1.93% | 947 |
| Greco-Bactrian Kingdom | 2.5 | 0.97 | 1.86% | 184 BC |
| Later Zhao | 2.5 | 0.97 | 1.86% | 329 |
| Maratha Empire | 2.5 | 0.97 | 1.86% | 1760 |
| Belgian colonial empire | 2.47 | 0.95 | 1.83% | 1939 |
| Jin dynasty (1115–1234) | 2.3 | 0.89 | 1.71% | 1126 |
| Khwarazmian Empire | 2.3–3.6 | 0.89–1.39 | 1.71%–2.67% | 1210 or 1218 |
| Qin dynasty | 2.3 | 0.89 | 1.71% | 220 BC |
| Dutch Empire | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1938 |
| First French Empire | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1813 |
| Kievan Rus' | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1000 |
| Mamluk Sultanate | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1300 or 1400 |
| Southern Song dynasty | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1127 |
| Third Portuguese Empire | 2.1 | 0.81 | 1.56% | 1900 |
| Almohad Caliphate | 2.0–2.3 | 0.77–0.89 | 1.48%–1.71% | 1200 or 1150 |
| Cao Wei | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 263 |
| Former Qin | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 376 |
| Former Zhao | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 316 |
| Ghurid dynasty | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 1200 |
| Inca Empire | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 1527 |
| Kushan Empire | 2.0–2.5 | 0.77–0.97 | 1.48%–1.86% | 200 |
| Liu Song dynasty | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 450 |
| Northern Wei | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 450 |
| Western Roman Empire | 2.0 | 0.77 | 1.48% | 395 |
| Ayyubid dynasty | 1.7–2.0 | 0.66–0.77 | 1.26%–1.48% | 1200 or 1190 |
| Gupta Empire | 1.7–3.5 | 0.66–1.35 | 1.26%–2.60% | 440 or 400 |
| Hephthalite Empire | 1.7–4.0 | 0.66–1.54 | 1.26%–2.97% | 500 or 470 |
| Buyid dynasty | 1.6 | 0.62 | 1.19% | 980 |
| Eastern Wu | 1.5 | 0.58 | 1.11% | 221 |
| Northern Qi | 1.5 | 0.58 | 1.11% | 557 |
| Northern Xiongnu | 1.5 | 0.58 | 1.11% | 60 |
| Northern Zhou | 1.5 | 0.58 | 1.11% | 577 |
| Neo-Assyrian Empire | 1.4 | 0.54 | 1.04% | 670 BC |
| Eastern Maurya Kingdom | 1.3 | 0.50 | 0.96% | 210 BC |
| Liang dynasty | 1.3 | 0.50 | 0.96% | 502, 549, or 579 |
| Qajar Empire | 1.29 | 0.50 | 0.96% | 1873 |
| Kingdom of Aksum | 1.25 | 0.48 | 0.93% | 350 |
| Shang dynasty | 1.25 | 0.48 | 0.93% | 1122 BC |
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