Polity · 1871 CE – 1919 CE
German Empire
Deutsches Reich · Deutsches Kaiserreich
- Peak recorded area
- 1,424,070 km²
- 1918 CE
- Rulers on record
- 7
- from 1871 CE
- Data series
- 144
- 1871 CE–1919 CE
Overview
The German Empire, also referred to as Imperial Germany, the Second Reich, or simply Germany, was the period of the German Reich from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the November Revolution in 1918, when Germany changed its form of government to a republic. The German Empire consisted of 25 states, each with its own nobility: four constituent kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
13 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. CShapes 2.0 holds 13 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
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 1919 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 94 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population105 obs · 1 CE–1919 CE | 60.5Mpersons1919 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Urban Population104 obs · 1816 CE–1919 CE | 14.8Mpersons1919 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Height Men21 obs · 1710 CE–1910 CE | 170.5cm1910 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Dresden13 obs · 1699 CE–1914 CE | 618Kpersons1914 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Hamburg13 obs · 1680 CE–1914 CE | 1.3Mpersons1914 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Leipzig13 obs · 1700 CE–1914 CE | 618Kpersons1914 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
6 of 14 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita420 obs · 1500 CE–1919 CE | 4,1222011 int'l $1919 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP per capita PPP420 obs · 1500 CE–1919 CE | 5,074int'l $ (inflation adj.)1919 CE · Gapminder |
| Real Wage94 obs · 1820 CE–1913 CE | 28.59index (1500=1)1913 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Total Exports50 obs · 1870 CE–1919 CE | 0million USD (current)1919 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports50 obs · 1870 CE–1919 CE | 0million USD (current)1919 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance50 obs · 1870 CE–1919 CE | 0million USD (current)1919 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 10 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score104 obs · 1816 CE–1919 CE | 0.0768CINC (share of world capability)1919 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption104 obs · 1816 CE–1919 CE | 146.7Mcoal-ton equivalents1919 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production104 obs · 1816 CE–1919 CE | 7.8Mtons1919 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel104 obs · 1816 CE–1919 CE | 114Kpersons1919 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure GBP98 obs · 1816 CE–1913 CE | 88.4Mcurrent GBP1913 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Battle Count6 obs · 1896 CE–1918 CE | 2battles1918 CE · Historical Conflict Events Dataset (HCED v3) |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production20 obs · 1900 CE–1919 CE | 816.09TWh1919 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production20 obs · 1900 CE–1919 CE | 0TWh1919 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production20 obs · 1900 CE–1919 CE | 0.43TWh1919 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index131 obs · 1789 CE–1919 CE | 0.577index (0-1)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index131 obs · 1789 CE–1919 CE | 0.457index (0-1)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index131 obs · 1789 CE–1919 CE | 0.372index (0-1)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index131 obs · 1789 CE–1919 CE | 0.879index (0-1)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity252 obs · 1868 CE–1919 CE | 6index (-10 to 10)1919 CE · Clio-Infra |
| Regime Type20 obs · 1900 CE–1919 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
Development
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index131 obs · 1789 CE–1919 CE | 0.838index (0-1)1919 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Railway Line Km93 obs · 1825 CE–1917 CE | 64.8Kkm1917 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Passenger Km74 obs · 1840 CE–1913 CE | 41.4Kpassenger-km1913 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage69 obs · 1829 CE–1913 CE | 3,320gross tons1913 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items64 obs · 1850 CE–1913 CE | 7,024items1913 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Freight Tkm64 obs · 1850 CE–1913 CE | 67.7Ktonne-km1913 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
7 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Wilhelm IHead of State1871 CE – 1888 CE
- Frederick III, German EmperorHead of State1888 CE
- Wilhelm IIHead of State1888 CE – 1918 CE
- Chlodwig, 3rd Prince of Hohenlohe-SchillingsfürstChancellor of Germany1894 CE – 1900 CE
- Bernhard von BülowChancellor of Germany1900 CE – 1909 CE
- Theobald von Bethmann HollwegChancellor of Germany1909 CE – 1917 CE
- Georg von HertlingChancellor of Germany1917 CE – 1918 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- German
Memberships
- 20-member Defense Pact (1815)Military alliance · member1816 CE – 1848 CE
- 4-member Defense Pact (1815)Military alliance · member1816 CE – 1822 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Russia Defense Pact (1833)Military alliance · member1833 CE – 1848 CE
- Germany–Russia Defense Pact (1833)Military alliance · member1833 CE – 1848 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Russia Defense Pact (1833)Military alliance · member1833 CE – 1839 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Russia Entente (1833)Historical alliance · member1833 CE – 1853 CE
- 5-member Defense Pact (1840)Military alliance · member1840 CE – 1840 CE
- Hanover–Germany–Saxony Defense Pact (1849)Military alliance · member1849 CE – 1849 CE
- 20-member Defense Pact (1815)Military alliance · member1850 CE – 1866 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary Defense Pact (1851)Military alliance · member1851 CE – 1854 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary Defense Pact (1854)Military alliance · member1854 CE – 1856 CE
- Germany–Russia Defense Pact (1863)Military alliance · member1863 CE – 1863 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary Defense Pact (1864)Military alliance · member1864 CE – 1866 CE
- Germany–Mecklenburg Schwerin Defense Pact (1866)Military alliance · member1866 CE – 1867 CE
- Germany–Italy Defense Pact (1866)Military alliance · member1866 CE – 1866 CE
- Germany–Wuerttemburg Defense Pact (1866)Military alliance · member1866 CE – 1870 CE
- Germany–Baden Defense Pact (1866)Military alliance · member1866 CE – 1870 CE
- Bavaria–Germany Defense Pact (1866)Military alliance · member1866 CE – 1870 CE
- Germany–Hesse Grand Ducal Defense Pact (1867)Military alliance · member1867 CE – 1871 CE
- United Kingdom–Germany Defense Pact (1870)Military alliance · member1870 CE – 1872 CE
- Germany–Russia Defense Pact (1873)Military alliance · member1873 CE – 1878 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Russia Entente (1873)Historical alliance · member1873 CE – 1878 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary Defense Pact (1879)Military alliance · member1879 CE – 1918 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Russia Non-Aggression Pact (1881)Historical alliance · member1881 CE – 1887 CE
- Triple AllianceHistorical alliance · founding member1882 CE – 1915 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Italy Defense Pact (1882)Military alliance · member1882 CE – 1918 CE
- 4-member Defense Pact (1883)Military alliance · member1883 CE – 1918 CE
- 4-member Non-Aggression Pact (1887)Historical alliance · member1887 CE – 1895 CE
- Germany–Russia Non-Aggression Pact (1887)Historical alliance · member1887 CE – 1890 CE
- Germany–Russia Defense Pact (1905)Military alliance · member1905 CE – 1905 CE
- Central PowersHistorical alliance · founding member1914 CE – 1918 CE
- Germany–Turkey Defense Pact (1914)Military alliance · member1914 CE – 1918 CE
- Germany–Bulgaria Defense Pact (1914)Military alliance · member1914 CE – 1918 CE
- Germany–Austria-Hungary–Bulgaria Defense Pact (1915)Military alliance · member1915 CE – 1918 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).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
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
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
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
German Empire is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.