
What if the Tibetan Empire Reunited Today?
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Last updated: Thursday July 8th, 2021
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Last updated: Thursday July 8th, 2021
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The Tibetan Empire was one of the largest empires the world had ever seen and at its height in 780AD, the empire controlled a monstrous amount of land continuously from as far north as Kazakhstan, all the way to parts of Laos, in southeast Asia. However, this empire slowly began to die down as loose its power and influence it had previously had in the region until it faded into history like all empires and But what it the empire reunited today?
Population and Land
So the first thing we need to think about the newly reunited Tibetan Empire is the population and land it would control. For starters, a total of 12 countries would lose all or some of their sovereign territory to the empire which is not that much if you compare this number to other empires we have covered in the series but this would not stop it from having a gargantuan land area.
In total, the Tibetan Empire would control a huge land area of 1,780,000 sq miles (4,600,000 sq km)! This would make it the 7th largest country in the world steaming well ahead of other countries like India (3,287,590 sq km) and Argentina (2,780,400 sq km) but still remaining well behind the continental behemoth, Australia (7,692,024 sq km).
The population of the mammoth empire would be as equally impressive as its land area, standing at an estimated 560,200,000 people! Such a massive population size for the empire would mainly be due to the booming population centres of Bangladesh, Northern India, and Parts of China located within the empire. Nonetheless, this would be enough to make it the 3rd most populous country in the world speeding ahead of other very populated countries like the United States (333 million) and Indonesia (276 million) but still less than half the size of an independent India (1.393 Billion) and an independent China (1.445 Billion).
The Tibetan Empire would also boast some very populated and impressive cities within its borders. The capital city of the empire would be a very tough choice as there are lots, and I mean lots of rightful capitals. The most obvious choice most people would think of would probably Lhasa, as it is already the current capital city of Tibet, but the city only has a puny population of just 902,500 and is also very isolated from the rest of the empire by sparsely populated land surrounding it. In my opinion, Dhaka would probably be the next logical choice as it would be the most populous city within the empire and is already a swinging economic centre. Here would be the rest of the top 10 most populous urban areas in the empire:
In total, the Tibetan Empire would control a huge land area of 1,780,000 sq miles (4,600,000 sq km)! This would make it the 7th largest country in the world steaming well ahead of other countries like India (3,287,590 sq km) and Argentina (2,780,400 sq km) but still remaining well behind the continental behemoth, Australia (7,692,024 sq km).
The population of the mammoth empire would be as equally impressive as its land area, standing at an estimated 560,200,000 people! Such a massive population size for the empire would mainly be due to the booming population centres of Bangladesh, Northern India, and Parts of China located within the empire. Nonetheless, this would be enough to make it the 3rd most populous country in the world speeding ahead of other very populated countries like the United States (333 million) and Indonesia (276 million) but still less than half the size of an independent India (1.393 Billion) and an independent China (1.445 Billion).
The Tibetan Empire would also boast some very populated and impressive cities within its borders. The capital city of the empire would be a very tough choice as there are lots, and I mean lots of rightful capitals. The most obvious choice most people would think of would probably Lhasa, as it is already the current capital city of Tibet, but the city only has a puny population of just 902,500 and is also very isolated from the rest of the empire by sparsely populated land surrounding it. In my opinion, Dhaka would probably be the next logical choice as it would be the most populous city within the empire and is already a swinging economic centre. Here would be the rest of the top 10 most populous urban areas in the empire:
- Dhaka (20,300,000)
- Kolkata (17,000,000)
- Chengdu (9,600,000)
- Chongqing (8,150,000)
- Kunming (6,630,000)
- Chittagong (5,100,000)
- Ürümqi (4,050,000)
- Lanzhou (2,900,000)
- Guiyang (3,300,000)
- Baotou (2,225,000)

Land area of the recreated Tibetan Empire on a map
GDP and Money
As well as a huge population centre, the Tibetan Empire would also be a powerful economic hub. To start off, the Nominal GDP of the empire would stand at around $3.452 Trillion, which is a whopping total. This would be enough to put it in 5th place, in terms of GDP, just beating up other massive economies like the United Kingdom ($3.124 Trillion) and India ($3.049 Trillion) but still significantly behind the 4th and 3rd place contenders, Germany ($4.319 Trillion) and Japan ($5.387 Trillion).
The GDP Per Capita of the empire however wouldn't be as impressive mainly due to the fairly poor living standards in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. Taking all of this into consideration, the Tibetan Empire's Nominal GDP Per Capita would stand at $6,164 which is quite a small value. Nonetheless, however, this would be enough to put the empire in 110th place for Nominal GDP Per Capita, just in front of the living standards in Albania ($5,991) but still remaining quite behind Belarus ($6,847).
The GDP Per Capita of the empire however wouldn't be as impressive mainly due to the fairly poor living standards in Bangladesh, Nepal and India. Taking all of this into consideration, the Tibetan Empire's Nominal GDP Per Capita would stand at $6,164 which is quite a small value. Nonetheless, however, this would be enough to put the empire in 110th place for Nominal GDP Per Capita, just in front of the living standards in Albania ($5,991) but still remaining quite behind Belarus ($6,847).
Religion and Ethnic Groups
The next thing we need to think about the reunited Tibetan Empire is the religious and ethnic groups prevailing within its borders. Focusing on religion first, Traditional Chinese Folk Religion would be the largest followed faith in the empire with 42% of the population adhering to it. Buddhism would be the next largest at 25%, closely followed by Islam at 14%. Hinduism would make up 4%, Christianity at 1.5% and finally, Atheists and irreligious people would make up the final block at a significant 13.5% of the population.
Now focusing on Ethnicity now, Han Chinese would just barely make up the largest ethnic group within the empire making up 39% of the population. Following very closely behind, Indo-Aryans would be the next largest ethnicity making up 38%. 10% of the empire would be ethnic Uyghurs, followed by Tibetans at 6%so ironic, and the final 7% being a mix of various other ethnicities.
Now focusing on Ethnicity now, Han Chinese would just barely make up the largest ethnic group within the empire making up 39% of the population. Following very closely behind, Indo-Aryans would be the next largest ethnicity making up 38%. 10% of the empire would be ethnic Uyghurs, followed by Tibetans at 6%
Orange = Chinese Folk Religion
Dark Orange = Hinduism
Green = Islam
Yellow = Buddhism

Prevailing Religions in the rough area of the Recreated Tibetan Empire
Military Size
Finally, the last thing we need to think about a reunited Tibetan Empire is its military size and this would be no disappointment. Starting with its manpower, the empire would possess a huge force of around 1,110,000 active-duty personnel with an additional 3,450,000 troops placed in reserves bringing its troops to a total force of 4,560,000 troops. This is a gargantuan number and would put the empire in a strong 5th place, in terms of total military troops, well ahead of Russia's (3,454,000 total troops) and China's (3,205,000 total troops) but still very behind the 4th place contender, India (5,137,000 total troops).
As well as this, the empire would have a big Military Budget standing at an estimated $45.56 Billion. This would be enough to make the Tibetan Empire have the 10th largest budget in the world, larger than South Korea's budget ($43.9 Billion) but smaller than Japan's ($47.7 Billion).
The empire would also be a Nuclear power, inheriting a portion of Pakistan, India and China's nukes but the number of Nuclear weapons it would have at its disposal would be unclear.
As well as this, the empire would have a big Military Budget standing at an estimated $45.56 Billion. This would be enough to make the Tibetan Empire have the 10th largest budget in the world, larger than South Korea's budget ($43.9 Billion) but smaller than Japan's ($47.7 Billion).
The empire would also be a Nuclear power, inheriting a portion of Pakistan, India and China's nukes but the number of Nuclear weapons it would have at its disposal would be unclear.
So that finally brings us to the end of the speculation if the ancient Tibetan Empire did reunite today. Of course, the rest of the empire's future would be completely impossible to accurately depict but there are an infinite amount of theories that can be possible. This part of my Recreated Countries series was picked by you in a vote at the end of the previous part of the series so as always, here are the options for this vote:
Austria-Hungary | Persian/Achaemenid Empire | Russian Empire | Macedonian Empire
Anyways, if you have any new suggestions for other significant empires you want me to cover in this series then please let me know in the comments but for now, thank you so much for reading and goodbye! :)
Austria-Hungary | Persian/Achaemenid Empire | Russian Empire | Macedonian Empire
Anyways, if you have any new suggestions for other significant empires you want me to cover in this series then please let me know in the comments but for now, thank you so much for reading and goodbye! :)
Macedonian Empire | 3 votes | 1st Place
Austria-Hungary | 2 votes | 2nd Place
Persian/Achaemenid | 1 vote | 3rd Place
Russian Empire | 0 votes | 4th Place
I think the capital would be in China, maybe Chengdu? Since Dhaka is culturally very different, and also far from the core Tibetan regions.
Or maybe if Lhasa becomes the capital, more people will move there, but it's unlikely.
Also, I think you are right about the capital. I don't know what I was thinking to pick Dhaka as the capital city for the empire lol.
Also, this is a great and interesting blog, but there are some things I'm not sure are right. For one, I don't think Tibetans would be 66% of the population. There are only about 6.7 million Tibetans overall in the world, whereas the population of Bangladesh along is about 165 million and West Bengal is 90.32 million. I'm guessing if the Tibetan Empire *did* exist, it would be ethnically dominated by Bengalis. That doesn't even include the other populous areas of South Asia, which I'm guessing could add up to an extra 100-150 million people belonging to Indo-Aryan ethnicities. Similarly, I'm guessing Hinduism and Islam would be much larger percentages of the population based on how much land they control in South Asia.
Also, I think active-duty matters more than total troops. For example, Vietnam has 5 million paramilitary members making it 3rd in total troops, but they are hardly considered a military power.