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You are here: Home / Geography / How Much of the World Did the United Kingdom Rule and Why Did the British Empire Decline After World War I?

How Much of the World Did the United Kingdom Rule and Why Did the British Empire Decline After World War I?

March 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

In 1900, the United Kingdom ruled an empire that covered one-fourth of the world’s land area.

By 1922, the British Empire rules over a population of about 458 million people, or about one-quarter of the world’s population at the time.

The empire slowly broke up, the result of two devastating world wars and the desire of most of the British colonies to gain independence.

Most of the remaining territories of the British Empire became independent at the end of the 20th century, and Hong Kong was handed over to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.

At its height the British Empire was the largest and most powerful empire in history, and it was often said that “the sun never sets on the British Empire”.

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Filed Under: Geography

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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