By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time.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".

Population

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 1881 1901 notes that "the census returns for 1901 from the various parts of the empire were condensed for the first time in 1906 into a blue-book under the title of Census of the British Empire, Report with Summary". 1913Maddison 2001, pp. 97 & 241 1925 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 61,157,433 305,512,568 400,000,000 447,249,000 449,223,000 World population (approx.) ~1.0 billion ~1.4 billion ~1.7 billion ~1.8 billion ~2.0 billion British Empire percentage ~6% ~21% ~24% ~25% ~22%

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 color, negros and natives. The largest ethnic grouping in the empire was Indians (including what are now Pakistanis and Bangladeshis), who were classified into 118 groups on the basis of language which were amalgamated into seven "principle groups". The following table gives the population figures for white people and non-white people, in the empire and its territories, in 1814 and 1901.

Territories 1814 1901 White people Non-white peopleWhite %Non-white% White people Non-white peopleWhite %Non-white% United Kingdom and home dependencies 16,636,606 style="text-align: right;" 100%0% 41,608,791 style="text-align: right;" 100%0% British India 25,246 40,033,1620.06%99.94% 50,481 294,191,3790.05%99.95% British Africa 20,678 108,29916.03%83.97% 1,000,000 33,499,3292.90%97.10% Other Asian colonies 61,059 1,947,9463.04%96.96% style="text-align: right;" 5,144,9540%100% British North America 486,146 style="text-align: right;" 100%0% 5,500,000 100,00098.21%1.79% Australasia and Pacific 35,829 399,0538.24%91.76% 4,662,000 824,00084.98%15.02% British West Indies 64,994 667,1778.87%91.13% 100,000 1,912,6554.97%95.03% Total British Empire 18,001,796 43,155,63729.43%70.57% 53,040,468 335,672,31713.64%86.36%

Religion The British authorities were primarily Protestant Christians throughout the history of the Empire.

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.

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 Economy of the British Empire Territorial evolution of the British Empire

References

Further reading