Population by Country
Population by Country in 1800
The world’s population had just reached one billion in 1800, but it was still characterized by relatively modest growth at that time. However, the Industrial Revolution and other technological advances would greatly increase the population growth rate during the next century, as more children survived to adulthood. A discussion of world population by country from 1800 requires additional information on the sources used and clarification on countries that no longer exist today.
Sources
The primary source for the population figures below is Two Thousand Years of Economic Statistics by Alexander V. Avakov. That book uses a variety of older sources including those from Angus Maddison. The world population was about 1.036 billion in 1800. The following table shows the top ten most populous countries or territories as they existed at that time:
| Rank | Country/Territory | Population c. 1800 | Percentage of World Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qing China | 300,150,000 | 30.4% |
| 2 | Maratha Confederacy | ~116,000,000 | 14.5% |
| 3 | Britain and possessions | ~49,907,000 | ~5.0% |
| 4 | Holy Roman Empire | ~41,050,000 | ~4.2% |
| 5 | France and possessions | ~39,600,000 | ~4.0% |
| 6 | Russian Empire | 35,005,000 | 3.6% |
| 7 | Tokugawa Japan | 29,000,000 | 3.0% |
| 8 | Spain and possessions | 26,500,000 | 2.7% |
| 9 | Ottoman Empire | 26,000,000 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Habsburg monarchy | 23,145,000 | 2.4% |
The Maratha Confederacy comprised about half of the Indian subcontinent in 1800. Additional territories in that region were controlled by the British East India Company and wouldn’t be directly ruled by the United Kingdom until 1858. The UK’s population figures also wouldn’t include the aboriginal population in Australia until 1967. In addition, colonizing countries like the UK, France and Spain held a great deal of territory beyond their modern borders.
Population figures for the Russian Empire include the Ukrainian region on both sides of the Dnieper River. The Ottoman Empire includes modern Turkey and other regions of land surrounding the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Its territorial holdings reached their peak during the late 17th century, but had declined significantly by 1800.
The Habsburg monarchy consisted of a collection of territories in 1800, many of which were non-continguous. It primarily included modern Austria and Hungary, with additional territories in northeastern Italy and southwestern Germany. The Habsburg monarchy also included parts of modern Belgium, Slovenia and Slovakia. The Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century would significantly change the territories controlled by the Habsburg monarchy. A study of its population during this period would therefore show dramatic differences due to changes in territory, rather than changes in actual population.
