Polity · 1797 CE – 1918 CE
Austrian Empire
Kaiserthum Österreich · Kaisertum Österreich
- Peak recorded area
- 810,561 km²
- 1856 CE
- Rulers on record
- 8
- from 1797 CE
- Data series
- 30
- 1797 CE–1867 CE
Overview
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a multinational European great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, it was the third most populous nation in Europe after the Russian Empire and the United Kingdom, while geographically, it was the third-largest empire in Europe after the Russian Empire and the First French Empire.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
23 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1918 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 11 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population53 obs · 1 CE–1867 CE | 4.4Mpersons1867 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| City Pop Vienna12 obs · 1608 CE–1850 CE | 426.4Kpersons1850 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Prague11 obs · 1624 CE–1851 CE | 118.4Kpersons1851 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| Height Men9 obs · 1750 CE–1860 CE | 166.4cm1860 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Brunn7 obs · 1666 CE–1857 CE | 58.8Kpersons1857 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Graz5 obs · 1708 CE–1851 CE | 55.4Kpersons1851 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
3 of 4 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP368 obs · 1500 CE–1867 CE | 3,125int'l $ (inflation adj.)1867 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita5 obs · 1820 CE–1860 CE | 2,8342011 int'l $1860 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Income Inequality Gini2 obs · 1820 CE–1850 CE | 36.07gini (0-1)1850 CE · Clio-Infra |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Battle Count4 obs · 1796 CE–1866 CE | 2battles1866 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Scale Avg4 obs · 1796 CE–1866 CE | 3Lehmann-Zhukov 1-51866 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
| Battle Wins | 1battles won1809 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index79 obs · 1789 CE–1867 CE | 0.188index (0-1)1867 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index79 obs · 1789 CE–1867 CE | 0.849index (0-1)1867 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index72 obs · 1789 CE–1867 CE | 0.178index (0-1)1867 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity267 obs · 1800 CE–1867 CE | -4index (-10 to 10)1867 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Participatory Democracy Index31 obs · 1837 CE–1867 CE | 0.146index (0-1)1867 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 7 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index79 obs · 1789 CE–1867 CE | 0.497index (0-1)1867 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Radios53 obs · 1815 CE–1867 CE | 0count1867 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Line Km43 obs · 1825 CE–1867 CE | 4,145km1867 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items38 obs · 1830 CE–1867 CE | 107items1867 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage38 obs · 1829 CE–1867 CE | 306gross tons1867 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph35 obs · 1830 CE–1867 CE | 2.4count1867 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
8 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Fath-Ali Shah Qajarshah1797 CE – 1834 CE
- Francis II, Holy Roman EmperorHead of State1804 CE – 1835 CE
- Mohammad Shah Qajarshah1834 CE – 1848 CE
- Ferdinand I of AustriaEmperor of Austria1835 CE – 1848 CE
- Franz Joseph I of AustriaEmperor of Austria1848 CE – 1916 CE
- Naser al-Din Shah Qajarshah1848 CE – 1896 CE
- Ahmad Shah Qajarshah1909 CE – 1925 CE
- Charles I of AustriaEmperor of Austria1916 CE – 1918 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- German
- Currency
- thaler
Memberships
- Holy AllianceHistorical alliance · founding member1815 CE – 1825 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3)v3
Brecke, P. Conflict Catalog (Historical Conflict Events Dataset), digitized v3.
Academic use, attribution
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Austrian Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.