List of countries by population in 1900

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List of Countries by Population
1800	1900	1939

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).

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	100%
1	British Empire constituents British Asia – 301,041,000 constituents India – 241,000,000 Bangladesh – 30,000,000 Pakistan – 23,000,000 Ceylon – 3,912,000 Malaya – 900,000 Straits Settlements – 550,000 Sarawak – 500,000 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 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	23.51%
2	Qing China constituents Qing China – ~395,800,000 Tibet – 4,200,000	400,000,000	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	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	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 Colony of 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	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	4.0%
7	Dutch Empire constituents Dutch East Indies – 42,746,000 Netherlands – 5,104,100 Surinam – 86,000 Netherlands Antilles – 44,000	47,980,100	2.8%
8	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 Transylvania – 2,100,000 Bosnia – 1,600,000 Dalmatia – 1,300,000 Carniola – 1,200,000 Croatia-Slavonia – 1,000,000 Südtirol – 500,000	47,295,100	2.8%
9	Empire of Japan constituents Japan – 43,847,000 Taiwan - 2,758,161	46,605,000	2.7%
10	Kingdom of Italy constituents Kingdom of Italy – 32,475,000 Italian Somaliland - 400,000 Eritrea - 220,000	33,095,000	1.9%
11	Ottoman Empire 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 Hiyaz – 600,000 Beirut – 530,000 Tripoli – 500,000 Scutari – 350,000 Cretan State – 310,000 Mosul – 300,000 Basora – 200,000 Zor – 100,000	31,706,300	1.9%
12	Sokoto Caliphate	10-20,000,000	0.6-1.1%
13	Spanish Empire constituents Spain – 18,594,000 Spanish Guinea – 150,000 Rio de Oro – 40,000 Fernando Po – 25,000 Spanish Morocco – 22,000 Elobey, Annobón, and Corsico – 3,000	18,834,000	1.1%
14	Brazil	17,984,000	1.1%
16	Korean Empire	17,082,000	1.0%
17	Belgian colonial empire constituents Congo Free State – 8,730,000 Belgium – 6,693,500 Neutral Moresnet – 3,000	15,426,500	0.9%
18	Mexico	13,607,000	0.8%
19	Portuguese Empire constituents Portugal – 5,450,000 Portuguese West Africa – 4,790,000 Portuguese East Africa – 2,239,000 Portuguese India – 475,000 Portuguese Timor – 300,000 Azores – 260,000 Guinea – 200,000 Madeira – 160,000 Cape Verde – 140,000 Macau – 80,000 São Tomé and Príncipe – 61,000	12,434,000	0.7%
20	Ethiopian Empire	12,180,600	0.7%
21	Qajar Iran	9,860,000	0.6%
22	Philippines	7,409,000	0.4%
23	Union between Sweden and Norway constituents Sweden – 5,136,400 Norway – 2,218,000	7,354,400	0.4%
24	Morocco	7,000,000	0.4%
25	Siam	6,320,000	0.4%
26	Romania	6,000,000	0.4%
27	Afghanistan	4,550,000	0.3%
28	Argentina	4,542,000	0.3%
29	Jabal Shammar	~4,218,000	~0.2%
30	Colombia	4,157,000	0.2%
31	Bulgaria	3,744,300	0.2%
32	Nepal	3,599,000	0.2%
33	Switzerland	3,315,400	0.2%
34	Chile	3,110,100	0.18%
35	Peru	3,000,000	0.18%
36	Serbia	2,579,800	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	0.15%
39	Venezuela	2,445,000	0.14%
40	Bolivia	1,766,000	0.1%
41	South African Republic	1,400,000
42	Ecuador	1,271,900
43	Uruguay	943,000
44	Guatemala	885,000
45	El Salvador	801,000
46	Liberia	641,000
47	Paraguay	635,600
48	Dominican Republic	600,000
49	Honduras	543,700
50	Muscat and Oman	500,000
51	Nicaragua	429,300
52	Orange Free State	400,000
53	Costa Rica	341,600
54	Montenegro	320,000
55	Bhutan	280,000
56	Luxembourg	252,000
57	Monaco	19,000
58	San Marino	11,000
59	Liechtenstein	10,000
60	Andorra	6,000

References

• Calendario atlante de Agostini, anno 99 [Agostini atlas calendar, year 99] (in Italian). 2003.
• The Columbia gazetteer of the world. 1998.
• Britannica book of the year: World Data. 1997.
• Witthauer, Kurt (1958). Bevölkerung der Erde [Population of the earth] (in German).