Regional Manifestations of Globalization: Empires and Control of the "Known" World
| British Empire | 36.6 million km² | 1921 |
| Mongol Empire | 33.2 million km² | 1279 |
| Russian Empire | 22.8 million km² | 1895 |
| Spanish Empire | 19 million km² | 1790 |
| Arab Empire | 13.2 million km² | 720 |
| Qing Empire | 12 million km² | 1899 |
| French Empire | 11.2 million km² | 1914 |
| Portuguese Empire | 10.4 million km² | 1820 |
| American Empire | 10 million km² | 1908 |
| Brazilian Empire | 8.1 million km² | 1865 |
| Achaemenid Persian Empire | 7.5 million km² | 490 BCE |
| Japanese Empire | 7.4 million km² | 1943 |
| Ming Empire | 6.5 million km² | 1644 |
| Han Empire | 6 million km² | 220 |
| Ottoman Empire | 5.6 million km² | 1299-1922 |
| Roman Empire | 5.6 million km² | 116 |
| Tang Empire | 5.4 million km² | 756 |
| Macedonian Empire | 5.4 million km² | 323 BCE |
| Maurya Empire | 5 million km² | 232 BCE |
| Mexican Empire | 4.7 million km² | 1867 |
As a reference point, the habitable portion of the globe (i.e. excluding Antarctica) extends over roughly 52, 677,000 square miles (136,433,400 sq. km.)