Polity · 1912 CE – 1949 CE
Republic of China
Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok · Chûng-fà Mìn-koet · 中華民國
- Peak recorded area
- 8,440,370 km²
- 1912 CE
- Rulers on record
- 10
- from 1912 CE
- Data series
- 109
- 1912 CE–1949 CE
Overview
The Republic of China (ROC) established its rule over mainland China on 1 January 1912 following the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and ended China's imperial history. The Beiyang government in Beijing was the internationally recognized government of the ROC from 1912 to 1928, with regional warlords occupying parts of the country after the death of Beiyang leader Yuan Shikai in 1916.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
21 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 8 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 1949 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 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population55 obs · 1820 CE–1948 CE | 6.7Mpersons1948 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Urban Population21 obs · 1928 CE–1948 CE | 33.7Mpersons1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Life Expectancy4 obs · 1930 CE–1942 CE | 37years1942 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Guangzhou3 obs · 1912 CE–1925 CE | 789Kpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Suzhou3 obs · 1925 CE–1948 CE | 381.3Kpersons1948 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Xian3 obs · 1925 CE–1948 CE | 392Kpersons1948 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP149 obs · 1800 CE–1948 CE | 1,270int'l $ (inflation adj.)1948 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita42 obs · 1820 CE–1940 CE | 1,9922011 int'l $1940 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 103.9million USD (current)1948 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 140.3million USD (current)1948 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | -36.4million USD (current)1948 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 244.2million USD (current)1948 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 9 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 0.1151CINC (share of world capability)1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 13.1Mcoal-ton equivalents1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 76Ktons1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel36 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | 3.7Mpersons1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure26 obs · 1914 CE–1948 CE | 214.2Mcurrent USD1948 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Nuclear Warhead Stockpile5 obs · 1945 CE–1949 CE | 0count1949 CE · FAS Nuclear Notebook (via OWID) |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 13.43TWh1948 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.229TWh1948 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.035TWh1948 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.16index (0-1)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.088index (0-1)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.051index (0-1)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.199index (0-1)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity227 obs · 1912 CE–1948 CE | -5index (-10 to 10)1948 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 17 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Tech Railway Line Km90 obs · 1853 CE–1949 CE | 938km1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Railway Passenger Km72 obs · 1854 CE–1949 CE | 2,652passenger-km1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph54 obs · 1896 CE–1949 CE | 0.466count1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Freedom Of Expression Index49 obs · 1900 CE–1948 CE | 0.35index (0-1)1948 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Mail Items49 obs · 1896 CE–1949 CE | 36items1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Electricity Production37 obs · 1912 CE–1949 CE | 4.3BGWh1949 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
10 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Lou Tseng-TsiangPremier of the Cabinet1912 CE
- Sun Yat-senGreat President of the Republic of China1912 CE
- Tang ShaoyiPremier of the Cabinet1912 CE
- Yuan ShikaiGreat President of the Republic of China1912 CE – 1915 CE
- Zhao BingjunPremier of the Cabinet1912 CE – 1913 CE
- Duan QiruiPremier of the Cabinet1913 CE
- Li JingxiPremier of the Republic of China1917 CE
- Chiang Kai-shekPresident of the National Government of the Republic of China1928 CE – 1931 CE
- Feng YuxiangVice Premier of the Republic of China1928 CE – 1930 CE
- Chen GongboPresident of the National Government of the Republic of China1944 CE – 1945 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Old National Pronunciation, Standard Taiwanese Mandarin
- Currency
- yuan
Memberships
- League of NationsLoNInternational organisation · founding member1920 CE – 1946 CE
- Russia–China Non-Aggression Pact (1937)Historical alliance · member1937 CE – 1945 CE
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- Russia–China Defense Pact (1945)Military alliance · member1945 CE – 1949 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
FAS Nuclear Notebook (via OWID)2024
Kristensen, H.M. et al., Federation of American Scientists Nuclear Notebook, via Our World in Data (2024).
CC BY 4.0 (OWID); underlying FAS data
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
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
Republic of China is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.