Demographics of the British Empire
By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the world population at the time,[1]
Population
Territorial population distribution of the British Empire (1925)[2]
The following table gives the population of the British Empire and its territories, in several different time periods. The most populous territory in the empire was British India, which included what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh.
| Territories | 1814[3] | 1881[4] | 1901[5][6] | 1913[7] | 1925[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 16,456,303 | 34,884,848 | 41,458,721 | 45,649,000 | 47,307,000 |
| British India | 40,058,408 | 253,896,330 | 294,361,056 | 303,700,000 | 318,942,000 |
| British Africa | 128,977 | 1,526,110 | 43,000,000 | 52,000,000 | 47,993,000 |
| Other Asian colonies | 2,009,005 | 3,347,770 | 5,638,944 | 26,300,000 | 13,373,000 |
| British North America | 486,146 | 4,522,145 | 5,600,000 | 18,000,000 | 9,047,000 |
| Australasia and Pacific | 434,882 | 2,837,081 | 5,486,000 | 7,603,000 | |
| European dependencies | 180,300 | 359,403 | 650,000 | 656,000 | |
| British West Indies | 732,171 | 1,216,409 | 2,012,655 | 1,600,000 | 2,012,000 |
| Total British Empire | 61,157,433 | 305,512,568[8] | 400,000,000[9] | 447,249,000 | 449,223,000 |
Ethnicity
The empire's population was classified into white people, also referred to as Europeans, and non-white people, variously referred to as persons of colour, negros and natives.[3][6] The largest ethnic grouping in the empire was Indians (including what are now Pakistanis and Bangladeshis), who were classified into a number of individual South Asian ethnic groups.[6] The following table gives the population figures for white people and people of colour, in the empire and its territories, in 1814 and 1901.
| Territories | 1814[3] | 1901[6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White people | People of colour | White people | People of colour | |
| United Kingdom and home dependencies | 16,636,606 | ? | 41,608,791 | ? |
| British India | 25,246 | 40,033,162 | 169,677 | 294,191,379 |
| British Africa | 20,678 | 108,299 | 1,000,000 | 33,499,329 |
| Other Asian colonies | 61,059 | 1,947,946 | ? | 5,144,954 |
| British North America | 486,146 | ? | 5,500,000 | 100,000 |
| Australasia and Pacific | 35,829 | 399,053 | 4,662,000 | 824,000 |
| British West Indies | 64,994 | 667,177 | 100,000 | 1,912,655 |
| Total British Empire | 18,001,796 | 43,155,637 | 53,040,468 | 335,672,317 |
Religion
The following table gives the population figures for the religions in the British Empire in 1901. The most populous religion in the empire was Hinduism, followed by Islam.[6]
| Religion | Population | % of total population |
|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 208,000,000 | 52.4 |
| Islam | 94,000,000 | 23.7 |
| Christianity | 58,000,000 | 14.6 |
| Buddhism | 12,000,000 | 3 |
| Paganism and others | 25,000,000 | 6.3 |
| Total British Empire | 397,000,000 | 100 |
See also
References
- ↑ Maddison 2001, pp. 97 "The total population of the Empire was 412 million [in 1913]", 241 "[World population in 1913 (in thousands):] 1 791 020".
- 1 2 "Area and Population of the British Empire". Historical Atlas of the British Empire. 1925.
- 1 2 3 Patrick Colquhoun (1814). A Treatise on the Wealth, Power and Resources of the British Empire in Every Quarter of the World, Including the East-Indies: The Rise and Progress of the Funding System Explained. National Library of the Netherlands. p. 7.
- ↑ Census of the British empire: 1901. Great Britain Census Office. 1906. p. xviii.
- ↑ Census of the British empire: 1901. Great Britain Census Office. 1906. pp. xvi & xviii.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 British Empire, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ Maddison 2001, pp. 97 & 241
- ↑ Smith, George (1882). The Geography of British India, Political & Physical. Oxford University. J. Murray. p. 3.
- ↑ Census of the British empire: 1901. Great Britain Census Office. 1906. p. xvi.
Further reading
- Maddison, Angus (2001). The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective (PDF). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. ISBN 92-64-18608-5. Retrieved 22 July 2009.