Empire↓ Land area (million km2)↓ Contiguous↓ Era↓ Population (million)↓ % of world population↓
11a 0 a -9999 0 0
British Empire 33.1 No 1946[2][3] 531.3 (in 1938)[4] 23.1% (458 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)[4]
Mongol Empire 33.0 Yes 1270 or 1309[5] 110.0 (in the 13th century)[6] 25.6% (110.0 million out of 429 million[7] in the 13th century)
Russian Empire 23.7 Yes 1866[2][3] 176.4 in 1913 9.8% (176.4 million out of 1.791 billion[8] in 1913)
Spanish Empire 20.0 No 1740-1790 approx[9] 68.2 [10] 12.3% (68.2 million out of 556 million[8] in the 17th century)
Qing Empire, China 14.7 Yes 1790[2][3] 432.2 in 1851.[11] 36.6% (381.0 million out of 1.041 billion in 1820)[8]
Yuan Dynasty 14.0 Yes 1310[3] 86.0 in 1290.[12][13]
Umayyad Caliphate 13.0 Yes 720 or 750[14] 62.0 (in the 8th century)[15] 29.5% (62.0 million out of 210 million[16] in the 7th century AD)
Second French Colonial Empire 13 No 1938[9] 112.9 in 1938 4.9% (112.9 million out of 2.295 billion in 1938)
Abbasid Caliphate 11.1 Yes 750[3] 20.0% (50.0 million out of 250 million in 850)[8]
Portuguese Empire 10.4 No 1815[9]
Rashidun Caliphate 9.0 Yes 654[3][17] 19.1% (40.3 million out of 210 million in 7th century)
Empire of Brazil 8.5 Yes 1880, similar to the Federative Republic of Brazil of today [9]
Achaemenid Empire, Persia 8.0 Yes BC 480[18] 49.4 (in the 5th century BC)[19] 44.0% (49.4 million out of 112.4 million[20] in the 5th century BC/480 BC)[19]
Japanese Empire 7.4 No 1942[9] 134.8 in 1938 5.9% (134.8 million out of 2.295 billion[8] in 1938)
Sassanid Empire, Persia 3.5 Yes 620[2] 78.0 (in the 7th century AD) 37.1% (78.0 million out of 210 million[16] in the 7th century AD)
Han Empire, China 6.5 Yes 100[21] 74.0 in 2[12][22] 26.0% (59.6 million out of 230 million[8] in 2 AD)
Ming Empire, China 6.5 Yes 1450[2][3] 110.0 in 1600.[23][24] 28.8% (160.0 million out of 556.2 million in 1600)[8]