List of countries by population in 1900

This is a list of countries by population in 1900, with colonial possessions being counted towards the ruling country's total (such as Poland counting towards Russia and Cuba counting as part of the United States).

Historical Demographics
Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus
Articles
Demographic history
Historical demography
World population estimates
List of countries by population
1800	1900	1939

Estimate numbers are from the beginning of the year and exact population figures are for countries that held a census on various dates in the year 1900.

Map

World map of 1910 showing colonial possessions and commercial highways

Map from The Harmsworth atlas and Gazetter showing the worlds population density in 1908

List

Rank	Country/Territory	Population c. 1900 estimate	Percentage of world population
—	World	1,700,100,000[citation needed]	100%
1	British Empire constituents   British Asia – 301,041,000 constituents India – 241,000,000 Bangladesh – 30,000,000 Pakistan – 23,000,000 Burma – 8,000,000 Ceylon – 3,912,000 British Malaya – 900,000  Straits Settlements – 550,000  Sarawak – 500,000  British Hong Kong – 325,000  North Borneo – 300,000  Cyprus – 240,000 Bahrain – 70,000  Trucial Oman – 70,000 Maldives – 57000  Aden Protectorate – 45,000 Sheikhdom of Kuwait – 40,000 Brunei – 22,000 Qatar – 11,000   British Africa – 44,587,195 constituents  Egypt – 10,000,000[1][2] Northern Nigeria – 8,500,000 Southern Nigeria – 7,500,000 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan – 5,588,000 Cape Colony – 2,500,000  Uganda – 1,649,000  Gold Coast – 1,486,400  Kenya – 1,352,000 Sierra Leone (including protectorate) – 1,027,000 Colony of Natal – 925,100  Northern Rhodesia – 770,000 Nyasaland – 717,000  Southern Rhodesia – 692,000 Basutoland – 383,000 Mauritius– 375,000 Somaliland – 300,000 Zanzibar (UK and Oman) – 250,000 Gambia – 165,000 Bechuanaland – 90,000 Swaziland – 90,000 Seychelles – 22,000 Witu Sultanate – 15,000  Saint Helena – 4,500 Ascension Island – 100 Tristan da Cunha – 95  United Kingdom – 44,498,900  Canada – 5,301,000  Australia – 3,765,700 constituents Territory of Papua – 400,000   British West Indies – 1,685,000 constituents  Jamaica – 720,000 Trinidad and Tobago – 320,000 Barbados – 182,000 Grenada – 70,000 Bahamas – 55,000 Saint Lucia – 50,000 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 49,000  British Honduras – 45,000 Saint Kitts and Nevis – 45,000 Antigua and Barbuda – 35,000 Dominica – 32,000 Bermuda – 20,000 Montserrat – 12,000  Turks and Caicos Islands – 5,500 British Virgin Islands – 5,000 Cayman Islands – 5,000 Anguilla – 4,500  New Zealand – 802,200  British Guiana – 300,000 Newfoundland – 230,000   Western Pacific Territories – 375,689 constituents Solomon Islands – 135,000 Fiji – 125,000 New Hebrides – 50,000 Gilbert Islands – 30,000  Tonga – 21,000  Cook Islands – 6,000 Niue – 4,000 Ellice Islands – 2,400 Christmas Island – 900 Cocos Islands – 650 Tokelau Islands – 500 Pitcairn Islands – 170 Phoenix Islands – 69  Malta – 195,000 Gibraltar – 29,000  Falkland Islands – 2,300	~400,800,000[citation needed]	23.51%
2	Qing China constituents  Qing China – ~395,800,000  Tibet – 4,200,000	400,000,000[citation needed]	23.5%
3	Russian Empire constituents  Russia proper – 73,000,000 Poland – 14,103,766 Grand Duchy of Finland – 2,655,900  Emirate of Bukhara - 1,250,000  Khanate of Khiva - 400,000	136,305,900[citation needed]	8.0%
4	United States constituents  Contiguous United States – 75,994,575 Cuba – 1,600,000 Puerto Rico – 986,000 Hawaii – 154,000 Alaska – 63,592 Guam – 12,000 American Samoa – 6,000	78,816,167[citation needed]	4.6%
5	French Empire constituents French Third Republic – 38,900,000  French Indochina – 15,164,500 constituents Tonkin – 6,000,000 Annam – 4,620,000  French Cochinchina – 2,968,500  Cambodia – 1,103,000 Protectorate of Laos – 473,000  French West Africa – 11,439,000 constituents  French Sudan – 2,672,000 Upper Volta – 2,222,000 Colony of Niger – 1,459,000 French Guinea – 1,459,000 Ivory Coast – 1,355,000 Senegal – 1,200,000 Colony of Dahomey and Dependencies – 570,000 Colony of Mauritania – 502,000  French North Africa – 5,575,000 constituents  French Algeria – 4,675,000  French protectorate of Tunisia – 1,900,000  Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies – 2,539,500 constituents  French Madagascar – 2,249,500  Réunion – 178,000  Comoros – 112,000  French Equatorial Africa – 1,825,000 constituents Territory of Chad – 675,000 Ubangi-Shari – 630,000 French Congo – 280,000 Gabon – 240,000  French India – 280,000 French West Indies – 375,000 constituents  Guadeloupe – 190,000  Martinique – 185,000 Leased Territory of Guangzhouwan – 185,000 New Caledonia – 54,000 French Somaliland – 50,000 New Hebrides – 50,000 French Polynesia – 30,000  French Guiana – 24,000  Wallis and Futuna – 6,000 Saint Pierre and Miquelon – 5,000	78,790,700[citation needed]	4.6%
6	German Empire constituents  Germany – 56,367,178 Kamerun – 3,500,000 German East Africa – 3,500,000 Ruanda-Urundi – 2,700,000 Togoland – 920,000 German South West Africa – 210,000  German New Guinea – 188,000 Kiaochow – 60,000 German Solomon Islands – 50,000 German Samoa – 37,000 Caroline Islands – 36,000 Micronesia – 15,000 Marshall Islands – 15,000 Palau – 4,000 Neutral Moresnet – 3,000 Mariana Islands – 2,500 Nauru – 1,500	67,609,178[3]	4.0%
7	Austria-Hungary constituents  Hungary – 6,800,000  Austria – 6,000,000  Bohemia – 6,000,000   Galicia – 5,300,000  Moravia – 3,000,000  Slovakia – 2,700,000  Croatia-Slavonia – 2,100,000  Transylvania – 2,100,000  Bosnia – 1,600,000  Dalmatia – 1,300,000 Carniola – 1,200,000  Südtirol – 500,000	48,300,000 [citation needed]	2.8%
8	Dutch Empire constituents  Dutch East Indies – 42,746,000  Netherlands – 5,104,100 Surinam – 86,000 Netherlands Antilles – 44,000	47,980,100[citation needed]	2.8%
9	Empire of Japan constituents  Japan – 43,847,000 Taiwan - 2,758,161	46,605,000[4]	2.7%
10	Kingdom of Italy constituents  Kingdom of Italy – 32,475,000 Italian Somaliland - 400,000 Italian Eritrea - 220,000	33,095,000[citation needed]	1.9%
11	Ottoman Empire[a] constituents  Turkey – 14,000,000  Yemen – 2,500,000  Kosovo – 1,600,000 Aleppo – 1,500,000 Salonica – 1,300,000 Manastir – 1,000,000 Damascus – 1,000,000   Eastern Rumelia – 900,000 Baghdad – 800,000 Hejaz – 600,000 Beirut – 530,000   Tripoli – 500,000 Scutari – 350,000 Cretan State – 310,000 Mosul – 300,000 Basra – 200,000 Zor – 100,000	31,706,300[citation needed]	1.9%
12	Sokoto Caliphate	10-20,000,000[5][6][b]	0.6-1.1%
13	Spanish Empire constituents  Spain – 18,594,000 Spanish Guinea – 150,000 Río de Oro – 40,000 Fernando Po – 25,000 Spanish Morocco – 22,000 Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco – 3,000	18,834,000[citation needed]	1.1%
14	Brazil	17,984,000[citation needed]	1.1%
16	Korean Empire	17,082,000[7]	1.0%
17	Belgian colonial empire constituents  Congo Free State – 8,730,000  Belgium – 6,693,500 Neutral Moresnet – 3,000	15,426,500[citation needed]	0.9%
18	Mexico	13,607,000[citation needed]	0.8%
19	Portuguese Empire constituents  Portugal – 5,450,000 Portuguese Angola – 4,790,000 Portuguese Mozambique – 2,239,000 Portuguese India – 475,000 Portuguese Timor – 300,000 Azores – 260,000 Portuguese Guinea – 200,000 Madeira – 160,000 Cape Verde – 140,000 Portuguese Macau – 80,000 São Tomé and Príncipe – 61,000	12,434,000[citation needed]	0.7%
20	Ethiopian Empire	12,180,600[8]	0.7%
21	Qajar Iran	9,860,000[citation needed]	0.6%
22	Philippines	7,409,000[citation needed]	0.4%
23	Union between Sweden and Norway constituents  Sweden – 5,136,400  Norway – 2,218,000	7,354,400[citation needed]	0.4%
24	Morocco	7,000,000[9]	0.4%
25	Siam	6,320,000[citation needed]	0.4%
26	Romania	6,000,000[citation needed]	0.4%
27	Afghanistan	4,550,000[citation needed]	0.3%
28	Argentina	4,542,000[citation needed]	0.3%
29	Jabal Shammar[c]	~4,218,000[citation needed]	~0.2%
30	Colombia[d]	4,157,000[citation needed]	0.2%
31	Bulgaria	3,744,300[citation needed]	0.2%
32	Nepal[e]	3,599,000[citation needed]	0.2%
33	Switzerland	3,315,400[citation needed]	0.2%
34	Chile	3,110,100[citation needed]	0.18%
35	Peru	3,000,000[citation needed]	0.18%
36	Serbia	2,579,800[f][citation needed]	0.15%
37	Danish Empire constituents  Denmark – 2,430,000 Iceland – 82,000 Danish Virgin Islands – 28,000 Faroe Islands – 17,000 Greenland – 13,000	2,569,000[citation needed]	0.15%
39	Venezuela	2,445,000[citation needed]	0.14%
40	Bolivia	1,766,000[citation needed]	0.1%
41	South African Republic	1,400,000[citation needed]
42	Ecuador	1,271,900[citation needed]
43	Uruguay	943,000[citation needed]
44	Guatemala	885,000[citation needed]
45	El Salvador	801,000[citation needed]
46	Liberia	641,000[citation needed]
47	Paraguay	635,600[citation needed]
48	Dominican Republic	600,000[citation needed]
49	Honduras	543,700[citation needed]
50	Muscat and Oman	500,000[citation needed]
51	Nicaragua	429,300[citation needed]
52	Orange Free State	400,000[citation needed]
53	Costa Rica	341,600[citation needed]
54	Montenegro	320,000[citation needed]
55	Bhutan[g]	280,000[citation needed]
56	Luxembourg	252,000[citation needed]
57	Monaco	19,000[citation needed]
58	San Marino	11,000[citation needed]
59	Liechtenstein	10,000[citation needed]
60	Andorra	6,000[citation needed]

Notes

1. The Ottoman empire was highly centralized, so certain subdivisions (such as the Cretan State) are listed separately. This total also doesn't include the tributary states of Egypt, Bulgaria, East Rumelia, Samos, or Thasos
2. 1837 estimate
3. Includes all of modern-day Saudi Arabia
4. Includes modern-day Panama
5. Nominally independent British protectorate
6. 1902 figure
7. Nominally independent British protectorate