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Biggest British Empire Countries

Name the modern-day countries with the most territory that was part of the British Empire.
Based mostly on this map
Not including territory held for less than 10 years
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: July 11, 2024
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First submittedMarch 6, 2017
Times taken80,062
Average score75.0%
Rating4.70
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%
km²
Country
100
10,000,000
Canada
100
7,700,000
Australia
100
3,200,000
India
25
2,400,000
United States
100
1,900,000
Sudan
100
1,200,000
South Africa
%
km²
Country
100
1,000,000
Egypt
100
950,000
Tanzania
100
920,000
Nigeria
100
890,000
Pakistan
100
750,000
Zambia
100
680,000
Myanmar
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41 Comments
Algernon
+5
Level 73
Mar 6, 2017
Only a quarter of the USA was part of the British Empire? I thought it was more. I know some was under French control and a fair bit was still owned/controlled by native Americans, but that 25% figure surprised me.
Carry
+10
Level 63
Mar 7, 2017
If I'm not mistaken the 25% refer to the area in km² today. So it may seem like a small number.
Gustavhansa
+25
Level 72
Mar 7, 2017
well, Alaska was russian controlled, Florida and a very big part of the south west were spanish/mexican, france had Louisiana which was far more then just the state of Louisiana. basically england only controlled new england, most of the eastcoast, the south minus louisiana and florida and the big lakes
Malbaby
+12
Level 70
Mar 7, 2017
Britain not just England
IsleAuHaulte
+22
Level 91
Nov 28, 2019
If you think Wales and Scotland were calling the shots against England pre-1781, that's funny.
Bonzo65
+3
Level 72
Sep 1, 2024
If you think Wales and Scotland were separate countries, independent of Great Britain, that's even funnier, particularly in Jetpunkland.
stusum
+11
Level 64
Jun 24, 2020
English possessions in what is today the USA were very small. Nowhere near the 25% the British Empire eventually controlled. I'm not sure about Wales but Scotland's contribution to the empire was enormous. To downplay other nations involvement is disingenuous. Not only does it reek of English superiority, but it also absolves Scotland of responsibilities committed by the Empire.
Fishyyy
+2
Level 60
Jul 19, 2024
25% seems about right...After the 7 years war they also gain territories all the way to up to Illinois and louisiana
ruftytufty
+4
Level 79
Dec 6, 2022
Florida was part of the British Empire for twenty years from the end of the 7 years war to the Peace of Paris.
HydratedMite
+1
Level 67
Dec 6, 2022
@Malbaby UK not just Britain
Hectorselector
+9
Level 59
Dec 7, 2022
Nope - the UK as a name only dates from 1801. It was Great Britain from the Acts of Union in 1707.
Jotari
+10
Level 18
Jun 23, 2020
I'm surprised it was anywhere near as high as 25% of the modern day country. Would have guessed it was closer to around 15%. It was the 13 colonies after all, which is a quarter the number of states that currently exist. Factor in how all those east cost states are much smaller than west and central ones and I'm still surprised the British territories took up as much as 25%.
AntiMatter8192
+5
Level 75
Dec 6, 2022
I think the US won some land from Britain outside the 13 colonies after it gained independence, roughly stretching from the Great Lakes to (almost) the Gulf of Mexico.
Jerry928
+8
Level 76
Mar 6, 2017
Amazing how the UK itself is way smaller than all of these countries.
loganite
+8
Level 91
Jun 18, 2017
Yes, the UK itself was my first guess. Didn't realize the British Empire controlled such large portions of so many other countries. For those wondering, the UK is 242,500 sq km.
MavsFanForLife25
+5
Level 77
Sep 9, 2017
That's why Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense" in the first place
Hectorselector
+6
Level 59
Dec 8, 2022
Because the UK is 242,500 km2? How odd. I always thought it was because of his longstanding political views.
mightythor
+2
Level 66
Mar 7, 2017
I guess Pink Floyd was wrong.
Antofagasta
+1
Level 71
Jun 16, 2017
Good quiz, master.
aplusplus
+2
Level 36
Jun 17, 2017
I never knew Britain once ruled the whole of the Canadian territory? I thought parts were once part of the French empire, for example Quebec, hence why French is an official language there
BranOfTheNorth
+12
Level 40
Jun 19, 2017
French people were the original settlers to Canada, the British came after and conquered it from the French. The highest concentration of french people at the time of British colonization were in Quebec and Acadia (what's now New Brunswick and parts of Nova Scotia). Quebec fiercely defended their French culture and resisted assimilation for many years and when Canada became an independent country, French was given official status to accommodate the Quebeckers

I'm skipping quite a few steps in there but that's the gist of what happened. Source: Canadian with French heritage.

Dimby
+1
Level 80
Jul 11, 2024
Mostly true. French didn’t become officially recognized in Canada until 1969, though.
tshalla
+3
Level 77
Jun 23, 2020
Well, the British claimed sovereignty over the whole area, but had transferred a huge portion (Rupertsland) to the Hudson Bay Company in 1670, without ever having "ruled" any of it. The company held it until it was sold to the government of Canada in 1869. So, it's fuzzy, like so much else about sovereignty.
Pokebom
+2
Level 56
Jun 23, 2020
In theory, you could even argue that most of Arctic Canada were only claimed but never controlled by anyone before Canada's independence.
Kitts
+3
Level 43
Sep 29, 2017
The one with India is incorrect. Parts of India like Goa were part of Portugal, while Pondicherry French, Sikkim was an independent Buddhist Kingdom like Bhutan.
sararoad
+11
Level 15
Aug 16, 2019
I believe (I may be mistaken) that Sikkim was eventually under British rule, and my guess about the other European colonies is that they are very small, so that the percentage is closer to 100%
SWATkun
+6
Level 59
Jun 25, 2020
I wouldn't say that. The parts of Pondicherry, Chandannagar, Goa et cetera are really very small... So yeah maybe UK didn't controlled 100% of India but it had nearly 99% of it
Nestormakhno
+1
Level 74
Jun 23, 2020
Can we check the numbers on Libya after ww2 which was french and British controlled?
hirsutebodkin
+4
Level 58
Jun 23, 2020
What's most upsetting as a Brit is that if we hadn't treated the inhabitants of those countries so appallingly we might still have the majority of those countries.There's a lesson for all empire builders right there (*cough* Russia, *cough* China)
Hectorselector
+10
Level 59
Dec 7, 2022
Also as a Brit, why would you want another country?
SteveStryker
+1
Level 21
Jun 23, 2020
How the heck did I forget USA??
stayc0tt
+1
Level 45
Jul 3, 2020
excellent quiz.
Melikesanmarino
+1
Level 58
Dec 6, 2022
3 secs left and I got all of them
Azerk
+1
Level 65
Dec 8, 2022
I forgot the US...
nerfed
+1
Level 58
Aug 14, 2023
Great Quiz! If this had just been a regular ranking of modern countries by size, I wouldn’t have noticed :)
sumguy
+16
Level 86
Jul 11, 2024
Why did the quiz get reset? Did a former British colony get bigger?
Thisisreal
+6
Level 92
Jul 11, 2024
Came here for this.
AllHailKingHomer
+6
Level 79
Jul 11, 2024
Sudan shrank, but that was 2011. Lol, I'm also curious
PrettyTiedUp
+1
Level 70
Jul 16, 2024
This is what I thought - we are not at it again are we?!
PolskaStronk
+1
Level 66
Jul 11, 2024
Shouldn't India technically not be 100%, since small portions like Goa and Puducherry were Portuguese or French? Actually, come to think of it that might still round up to 100%...
Junzhi
+1
Level 50
Jun 4, 2025
Managed to type Egypt with less than a second remaining.
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