Agreat power is anation,state orempire that, through itseconomic,political andmilitary strength, is able to exertpower andinfluence not only over its ownregion of the world, but beyond to others. A great power typically possesses military, economic, and diplomatic strength that it can wield to influence the actions ofmiddle orsmall powers.

In a modern context, recognized great powers first arose inEurope during the post-Napoleonic era.^[1] The formalization of the division betweensmall powers^[2] and great powers came about with the signing of theTreaty of Chaumont in 1814.

The historical terms "Great Nation", a distinguished aggregate of people inhabiting a particular country or territory, and "Great Empire",^[3] a considerable group of states or countries under a single supreme authority, arecolloquial; their use is seen in ordinary historical conversations.^[4][5][6]

France has been one of the leading powers in Europe and the world, since the breakup of theCarolingian Empire and the emergence ofWest Francia, its predecessor state, although its power was only truly consolidated from 1214 onwards with its victory in theAnglo-French War.^[7][8] Over the 14th century, French kings would focus on bringing more of the kingdom's lands under their direct control, as France emerged as the most populous region in Europe by 1340.^[9] After the discovery of theNew World, France became a dominant empire possessing manycolonies in various locations around the world. Still participating in hisdeadly Italian conflicts,Francis I of France managed to finance expeditions to findtrade routes toChina orCathay through landmassalready discovered by the Spanish underGiovanni da Verrazzano. Giovanni would lead the first French discovery of the "New World" just north of theSpanish invasions of Mesoamerica later asNew Spain and a decade laterJacques Cartier would firmly colonize the landmass in the name of Francis I. This New World colony would becomeNew France, the first colony of theKingdom of France. In the 1500s, France was still the most populous country in Europe,^[10] and would remain so until the mid-19th to late 19th century.^[11] During the reign ofLouis XIV, the Sun King, from 1643 to 1715, France was the leading European power as Europe's richest and most powerful country. The dominance of France over world affairs extended to most foreign European courts speaking French, including other great powers of the time such as England, Sweden, and Russia.^[12]

From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the firstFrench colonial empire stretched over a total area, at its peak in 1680, of up to 10 million km² (3.9 million sq mi), the second-largest empire in the world at the time behind only theSpanish Empire (which France would also take control of, briefly, underNapoleon). It had many possessions around the world, mainly in theAmericas,Asia andAfrica. France kept some of these possessions to this day, integrating them into its territory, likeLa Réunion. At its peak in 1750,French India had an area of 1.5 million km² (0.58 million sq mi) and a totaled population of 30 million people, making it the most populous colony underFrench rule.^[13][14]

At the onset of theFrench Revolutionary Wars, early French victories exported many ideological features of theFrench Revolution throughout Europe. Napoleon gained support by appealing to some common concerns of the people. In France, these included fear by some of a restoration of theancien régime, a dislike of the Bourbons and the emigrant nobility who had escaped the country, a suspicion of foreign kings who had tried to reverse the Revolution – and a wish by Jacobins to extend France's revolutionary ideals.

Napoleon becameEmperor of the French (French:L'Empereur des Français) on 18 May 1804 and crowned Emperor on 2 December 1804, ending the period of theFrench Consulate, and won early military victories in theNapoleonic Wars against most European allied nations, notably at theBattle of Austerlitz (1805) and theBattle of Friedland (1807). Subsequent years of military victories extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 134départements, ruled over 90 million subjects, maintained extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Duchy of Warsaw, and could count Prussia, Russia and Austria as nominal allies.^[15] TheFirst French Empire (1804–1814, 1815), otherwise known as the Napoleonic Empire, was also the dominant power of much of continental Europe, and ruled over 90 million people at its height.^[16] It was the preeminent power in Europe, if not the world, asBritain was its only rival during the early 19th century, the two countries battling for supremacy over the world, with France dominating on land and Britain on the sea.^[17][18]

The feudal system was abolished, aristocraticprivileges were eliminated in all places except Poland, and the introduction of theNapoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems, and legalized divorce. Napoleonplaced his relatives on European thrones and granted many titles, most of which expired with the fall of the Empire. Napoleon andSouth India Mysore rulerTipu Sultan wished to make an alliance, having provided Mysore with French volunteers during theAnglo-Mysore Wars, with the continuous aim of having an eventual open way to attack theBritish in India.^[19][20][21]

Historians have estimated the death toll from the Napoleonic Wars to be around 5 million people, or 15% of the French Empire's subjects.^[22] After Napoleon's disastrousinvasion of Russia, the continental powers joined Russia, Britain, Portugal and the rebels in Spain. TheWar of the Sixth Coalition, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain and a number ofGerman states finally defeated France and drove Napoleon into exile onElba. When he returned, the coalitioninvaded France again, forcing Napoleon to abdicate and thus leading to the restoration ofBourbon rule.

At the end of the 16th century, havingsecured its position as a strong naval power, England began to challenge thePortuguese Empire'smonopoly of trade with Asia, forming private joint-stock companies to finance the voyages: most notably the English, later British,East India Company, chartered in 1600. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrativespice trade, an effort focused mainly on two regions: theEast Indies archipelago, and India. There, England competed for trade supremacy with Portugal and the Netherlands.^[23] Although England eventually eclipsed both countries as a colonial power, in the short term the threeAnglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century left the Netherlands with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased when, in 1688, the DutchWilliam of Orange invaded and ascended to the English throne in what is known as theGlorious Revolution – bringing peace between theDutch Republic and England. A deal between the two nations left thespice trade of theEast Indies archipelago to the Netherlands and trade with thetextiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability.^[24]

During the 16th to 18th centuries,British colonies were created along the east coast ofNorth America. The southern colonies had aplantation economy, made possible byslavery, which produced tobacco and cotton. This cotton was especially important in the development ofBritish textile towns and the rise of the world's firstIndustrial Revolution in Britain by the end of the 18th century. The northern colonies provided timber,ships,furs, andwhale oil for lamps; allowing work to be done at times of the day without natural light.^[25][26] All of these colonies served as importantcaptive markets for British finished goods and trade goods including British textiles, Indian tea, West Indian coffee, and other items.^[27]

The British Empire participated officially in theSeven Years' War from 1756, a war described by some historians as the world's firstWorld War.^[28] The British had hoped winning the war against its colonial rival France would improve the defensibility of its important American colonies, where tensions from settlers eager to move west of theAppalachian Mountains had been a substantive issue.^[29] The newBritish-Prussian alliance was successful in forcing France to cedeCanada to Britain, andLouisiana toSpain, thus ostensibly securingBritish North America from external threats as intended. The war also allowed Britain to capture theproto-industrialisedBengal from the French-alliedMughal Empire, then Britain's largest competitor (and by far the world's single largest producer) in the textile trade, it was also able to flipHyderabad from the Mughals to its cause, and capture the bulk of French territorial possessions in India, effectively shutting them out of thesub-continent.^[30][31] Importantly, the war also saw Britain becoming the dominant global naval power.^[32]

Regardless of its successes in the Seven Years' War, the British government was left close to bankruptcy, and in response it raised taxes considerably in order to pay its debts.^[33] Britain was also faced with the delicate task of pacifying its new French-Canadian subjects, as well as the many American Indian tribes who had supported France, without provoking a new war with France. In 1763,Pontiac's War broke out as a group of Indian tribes in theGreat Lakes region and the Northwest (the modern American Midwest) were unhappy with the loss of congenial and friendly relations with the French and complained about being cheated by the new British monopoly on trade.^[34] Moreover, the Native Americans feared that British rule would lead to white settlers displacing them from their land, whereas it was known that the French had only come as fur traders, and indeed this had been the original source of animosity on the part of British settlers with France and part of the reason the war had started in the first place.^[34] Pontiac's War was going very badly for the British, and it was only with their victory at theBattle of Bushy Run that a complete collapse of British power in the Great Lakes region was avoided.^[35]

In response, King George III issued theRoyal Proclamation of 1763, which forbade white settlement beyond the crest of the Appalachians, with the hope of appeasing the Indians and preventing further insurrection, but this led to considerable outrage in theThirteen Colonies, whose inhabitants were eager to acquire native lands. TheQuebec Act of 1774, similarly intended to win over the loyalty of French Canadians, also spurred resentment among American colonists.^[36] As such, dissatisfaction with the Royal Proclamation and "Taxation Without Representation" are said to have led to the Thirteen Colonies declaring their independence and starting theAmerican War of Independence (1775–1783).^[33][37]

This war was comprehensively supported by Britain's competitors, France and Spain, and Britain lost the war. Britain and the newUnited States of America were able to retain the pre-existing trade arrangements from before independence, minimizing long-term harm to British trading interests. After the war, the American trade deficit with Britain was approximately 5:1, causing a shortage of gold for a number of years.^[38] However, the British Empire would shift its focus from North America to India, expanding from its new base inBengal and signalling the beginning of the second phase of the British Empire.

TheRussian Empire formed from what was theTsardom of Russia underPeter the Great. Peter fought numerous wars and expanded an already vast empire into a major European power. In 1703, he moved the capital fromMoscow to the new model city ofSaint Petersburg, which was largely built according to Western design. This would be the turning point of a series ofmajor reforms he would gradually enact in Russia, aiming to transform the country into a westernized, major player on the world stage.^[39] He led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political mores with a modern, scientific, Western-oriented, and rationalist system.^[39] His victory over Sweden in theGreat Northern War in 1721 saw Russia being recognized as a great power, dominating the Baltic region. The Empire was officially proclaimed after the war, with Peter becoming the firstEmperor of Russia.

EmpressesElizabeth andCatherine the Great presided over agolden age; in the late 17th century, they expanded the state by conquest,colonization, and diplomacy, while continuing Peter I's policy of modernization along Western European lines.^[40][41] EmperorAlexander I played a major role in defeatingNapoleon's ambitions to control Europe, as well as constituting the short-livedHoly Alliance of conservative eastern European monarchies. Russia further expanded to thewest,south andeast, becoming one of the most powerful European empires of the time. Its victories in theRusso-Turkish Wars were checked by defeat in theCrimean War (1853–1856), which led to a period of reform and intensifiedexpansion in Central Asia.^[42] Following these conquests, Russia's territories spanned acrossEurasia, with its western borders ending in easternPoland, and its eastern borders ending inAlaska. By the end of the 19th century, the area of the empire was about 22,800,000 square kilometers (8,800,000 sq mi), or almost1⁄6 of the Earth's landmass; its only rival in size at the time was theBritish Empire. The majority of the population lived in European Russia. More than 100 differentethnic groups lived in the Russian Empire, with ethnicRussians composing about 45% of the population.^[43] EmperorAlexander II initiated numerous reforms, most dramatically theemancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861.

TheOttoman Empire was aTurkic state, which at the height of its power in the 16th–17th centuries spanned three continents, controlling parts ofSoutheastern Europe, theMiddle East and most ofNorth Africa.^[44] The empire has been called by historians a "Universal Empire" due to having bothRoman andIslamic traditions.^[45] It was one of the powerfulgunpowder empires.

The empire was at the center of interactions between theEastern andWestern worlds for several centuries. The Ottoman Empire was the only power in the world to seriously challenge the rising power ofWestern Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. WithConstantinople (laterIstanbul) as its capital, the Empire was in some respects an Islamicsuccessor of earlier Mediterranean empires—theRoman andByzantine empires.

The effective military and bureaucratic structures of the early Empire also came under strain, while the Ottomans gradually fell behind European powers in military technology. Causes of this long decline are still debated today: theOttoman decline thesis was the predominant view for most of history, but recent discoveries tend to contradict it.^[46] Potential factors contributing to this decline include a protracted period of misrule by weak Sultans; stifled innovation and research due to growing religious and intellectual conservatism; public or military opposition to reform; or simply a need to transform the country in order for it to survive, which could have hampered all efforts to strengthen the state itself.^[47]

In spite of these difficulties, the Empire remained a major expansionist power until theBattle of Vienna in 1683, which marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Europe and its maximum territorial extent on the continent.^[48]

Ottoman military reform efforts begin withSelim III (1789–1807) who made the first major attempts to modernize the army along European lines. These efforts, however, were hampered by reactionary movements, partly from the religious leadership, but primarily from theJanissary corps, who had become anarchic and ineffectual. Jealous of their privileges and firmly opposed to change, they revolted and deposed him. Selim's efforts cost him his throne and his life, but were resolved in spectacular and bloody fashion by his successor, the dynamicMahmud II, whomassacred the Janissary corps in 1826. Even then, it was too late: much of the decline took place in the 19th century under pressure from Russia and various other powers, beginning with theGreek War of Independence, and culminating in 1875 in theGreat Eastern Crisis: by 1882, the Empire had lost effective control ofEgypt,Tunisia, and more. TheBalkans werelost by 1913, leading to acoup d'état, and the Empiredisintegrated after the First World War, leavingTurkey as its successor state.^[49]

ThePortuguese Empire was the first empire with land on all continents, as well as the earliest and longest-lived of theWestern Europeancolonial empires, lasting from 1415 to 1999.^[50]Portugal's small size and population restricted the empire, in the 16th century and beyond, to a collection of small but well-defended outposts along the African coasts, alongside three vast colonies,Angola,Mozambique andBrazil. For most of the 16th century, thePortuguese Indian Armadas, then one of the strongest navies in shipbuilding andnaval artillery, dominated most of theAtlantic Ocean south of theCanary Islands, theIndian Ocean, and the westernPacific Ocean. The height of the empire was reached in the 16th century; but isolation and competition against new colonial empires like theBritish,French andDutch, started its long and gradual decline. After the 18th century, Portugal focused on thecolonization ofBrazil as well as itsAfrican possessions. However, following theLiberal Revolution of 1820, Brazil soondeclared independence and the Portuguese Empire lost its most prized possession.^[51]

After the crowns ofCastile andAragon united in 1469, modern Spain began to emerge as a great power. Besides conquering theEmirate of Granada and completing theReconquista, in the 16th century, Spain was in the vanguard of European global exploration and colonial expansion and the opening of trade routes across the oceans, with trade flourishing across the Atlantic Ocean between Spain and the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean between theAsia–Pacific and Mexico via the Philippines.Conquistadors toppled theAztec,Inca, andMaya civilizations, and laid claim to vast stretches of land in North and South America. For a long time, theSpanish Empire dominated the oceans with its navy and ruled the battlefield with its infantry, the effectivetercios. Spain enjoyed a culturalgolden age in the 16th and 17th centuries as Europe's foremost power, with the largest economy of all nations during at least half of the 16th century.^[52]

From 1580 to 1640,^[53] theSpanish Empire and thePortuguese Empire were conjoined in apersonal union of itsHabsburg monarchs, during the period of theIberian Union, though the empires continued to be administered separately.

From the middle of the 16th century, silver and gold from the American mines increasingly financed the military capability ofHabsburg Spain, then the foremost global power, in its long series of European, American and North African wars. Until the loss of its American colonies in the 19th century, Spain maintained one of the largest empires in the world, even though it suffered fluctuating military and economic fortunes from the 1640s. Confronted by new experiences, Spanish thinkers formulated some of the first modern thoughts on natural law, sovereignty, international law, war, and economics, going as far as questioning the legitimacy of imperialism, in related schools of thought referred to collectively as theSchool of Salamanca.

Constant contention with rival powers caused territorial, commercial, and religious conflict that contributed to the slow decline of Spanish power from the early 17th century, aggravated by both theGeneral Crisis sweeping through Europe, as well as the collapse of theHabsburg Netherlands and ensuringEighty Years' War, which would cripple Spain for decades. In theMediterranean, Spain warred constantly with the Ottoman Empire; on the European continent,France eventuallyreplaced Spain as the leading military power. Overseas, Spain was initially rivaled byPortugal, and later by theEnglish andDutch. In addition, English-, French-, and Dutch-sponsored privateering and piracy, overextension of Spanish military commitments in its territories, increasing government corruption, and economic stagnation caused by military expenditures ultimately contributed to the empire's weakening.^[54]

After a century of decline from once being Europe's most powerful country, Spain entered theWar of the Spanish Succession, with its population divided between pro-Bourbon and pro-Habsburg factions, as Europe was to decide on the country's fate. Spain's European empire was finally undone by thePeace of Utrecht (1713), which stripped Spain of its remaining territories in Italy and theLow Countries. Spain's fortunes improved thereafter, but it remained a second-rate power in European politics. However, Spain maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire until the 19th century, when the shock of thePeninsular War sparked declarations of independence inQuito,Venezuela,Paraguay andmany more successive revolutions that split away its territories from its Americanmainland. By then, although it would remain a strong country, Spain was not to be a great power again.

Theunion of theKingdom of Poland and theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, formed in 1385, emerged as a major power in Central and Eastern Europe following its victory at theBattle of Grunwald in 1410.^[55][56][57] Poland–Lithuania covered a large territory in Central and Eastern Europe, making it the largest state in Europe at the time.^[57] Through its territorial possessions and vassal principalities and protectorates, its influence extended from theBaltic Sea to theBlack Sea, reachingLivonia (present-dayEstonia andLatvia) in the north,^[58] andMoldavia andCrimea in the south and southeast.^[59][60] In the 15th century the rulingJagiellonian dynasty managed to place its members on the thrones of the neighbouring kingdoms ofBohemia andHungary, becoming one of the most powerful houses in Europe.^[61]

ThePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest, most powerful and most populous^[62] countries in 16th, 17th, and 18th centuryEurope. In fact, Poland was a major power that imposed its will on weaker neighbors. Its political structure was formed in 1569 by theUnion of Lublin, which transformed the previous Polish–Lithuanian union into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and lasted in this form until the adoption of theConstitution of May 3, 1791. In the 16th century, the area of the Rzeczpospolita reached almost 1 million km², with a population of 11 million. At that time, it was the third largest country in Europe, and the largest country ofWestern Christian Europe.^[63] Poland was a political, military and economic power. It was a country ofreligious freedom, confirmed by theWarsaw Confederation, one of the first European acts of its kind, which encouraged an influx of immigrants, includingArmenian,Czech,^[64]Dutch,French,Greek,Jewish, andScottish.

The Union possessed features unique among contemporary states. This political system unusual for its time stemmed from the ascendance of the szlachtanoble class over other social classes and over thepolitical system ofmonarchy. In time, the szlachta accumulated enough privileges (such as those established by theNihil novi Act of 1505) that no monarch could hope to break the szlachta's grip on power. The Commonwealth's political system does not readily fit into a simple category; it may best be described as a melange of:

• confederation andfederation, with regard to the broad autonomy of its regions. It is, however, difficult to decisively call the Commonwealth either confederation or federation, as it had some qualities of both of them;
• oligarchy, as only the szlachta—around 15% of the population—had political rights;
• democracy, since all the szlachta were equal in rights and privileges, and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters, includinglegislation (the adoption of new laws), foreign affairs, declaration of war, and taxation (changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones). Also, the 9% of Commonwealth population who enjoyed those political rights (the szlachta)^[65] was a substantially larger percentage than in majority European countries;^[66] note that in 1789 in France only about 1% of the population had the right to vote, and in 1867 in the United Kingdom, only about 3%.^[65][66]
• elective monarchy, since the monarch, elected by the szlachta, was Head of State;
• constitutional monarchy, since the monarch was bound bypacta conventa and other laws, and theszlachta could disobey decrees of the king that they deemed illegal.

ThePolish Golden Age, in the reigns ofSigismund I andSigismund II, the last two Jagiellonian kings, and more generally the 16th century, is identified with the culture of thePolish Renaissance. This flowering had its material base in the prosperity of the elites, both the landed nobility and urban patriciate at such centers asKraków andGdańsk. TheUniversity of Kraków became one of the leading centers of learning in Europe, and in PolandNicolaus Copernicus formulated a model of the universe thatplaced the Sun rather than Earth at its center, making a groundbreaking contribution, which sparked theScientific Revolution in Europe.^[57][61]

Following the Union of Lublin, at various times, through personal unions and vassalages, Poland's sphere of influence reached Sweden and Finland in Northern Europe, theDanube in Southeastern Europe,^[67][68] and theCaribbean and West Africa. In a rather unique feat, Poland became a territorially extensive state largely not through war conquests, but rather through peaceful incorporation of territories, with the Polish-Lithuanian union formed voluntarily, andPrussia,Caffa in Crimea andLivonia voluntarily recognizing Polish sovereignty in 1454,^[69] 1462 and1561, respectively, viewing Poland as a defender against either oppressive regimes, such as theTeutonic Order, or potential invaders such asTurkey and Russia.

Poland had turbulent relations with the neighboring powers ofRussia,Sweden andTurkey, which challenged Polish power in a series of wars.^[70][71][72] After victories in theDimitriads (theBattle of Klushino, 1610), with Polish forces enteringMoscow,Sigismund III's son, PrinceWładysław of Poland, was briefly electedTsar of Russia. The weakening of Poland was brought by the disastrousRusso-Swedish-Brandenburgian invasion of 1654–1660, yet Poland still remained a great power. The victory of Polish-led forces at theBattle of Vienna in 1683 saved Austria fromOttoman conquest and marked the end of Ottoman advances into Europe.^[73][74] Poland's great power came to an end with theSwedish invasion of Poland of 1701–1706 during theGreat Northern War,^[75] and fromStanislaus I onwards, successive kings were consistently elected in the geopolitical interests of foreign nations.^[76]

TheQing dynasty was the lastruling dynasty of China, proclaimed in 1636 and collapsed in 1912 (with a brief, abortiverestoration in 1917). It was preceded by theMing dynasty and followed by theRepublic of China. The dynasty was founded by theManchu clanAisin Gioro in what is todayNortheast China (also known as "Manchuria"). Starting in 1644, it expanded intoChina proper and its surrounding territories. Complete pacification of China proper was accomplished around 1683 under theKangxi Emperor. The multiethnic Qing Empireassembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest Chinese dynasty and in 1790the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With a population of432 million in 1912, it was theworld's most populous country at the time. The Qing dynasty also reached its economic peak in 1820, when it became the world's largest economy, contributing to around 30% of the world'sGDP.^[77]

Originally theLater Jin dynasty, the dynasty changed its official name to "Great Qing", meaning "clear" or "pellucid", in 1636. In 1644,Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led byLi Zicheng, a minor Ming official who later proclaimed theShun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, theChongzhen Emperor, committed suicide when the city fell, marking the official end of the Ming dynasty. Qing forces then allied with Ming generalWu Sangui and seized control of Beijing to expel Shun forces from the city.^[78]

The Qing dynasty reached itsheight in the ages of theKangxi Emperor,Yongzheng Emperor and theQianlong Emperor. TheTen Great Campaigns and in addition, the conquest of the western territories of theMongols,Tibetans, andMuslims under the rule of the Qing were another factor of prosperity. The skillful rule of the era's emperors allowed for this success: rule through chiefdoms, in territories likeTaiwan, allowed for the conquered peoples to retain their culture and be ruled by their own people while the Qing Empire still possessed the ultimate control over its vast territory. These ruling tactics created little need or reason for rebellion of the conquered.^[79] Another aspect of Manchu rule under the Qing Empire, was rule within modern-day China. TheMongols' attempt to rule may have failed because they attempted to rule from the outside. The High Qing emperors ruled from within, enabling them to obtain and retain stable, efficient control of the state.

A new generation of emperors combined the strengths of their culture in addition to a level ofsinicization of the conquered cultures, in order to combine assimilation and the retaining of their own cultural identity. This was initiated with theKangxi Emperor who was in power at the initiation of the High Qing. As an emperor he elevated the status of the Qing Empire through his passion for education in combination with his military expertise, and his restructuring of the bureaucracy into that of a cosmopolitan one. His son and successor, theYongzheng Emperor ruled differently through more harsh and brutal tactics, but possessed an efficient and unprecedented level of commitment to the betterment of the empire.^[80] The last successful emperor of the High Qing was theQianlong Emperor who, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, was a well-rounded ruler who created the peak of the High Qing Empire. The unique and unprecedented ruling techniques of these three emperors, and the emphasis on multiculturalism^[81] fostered the productivity and success that lasted through the High Qing era.

A heavy revival of the arts was another characteristic of the High Qing Empire. Through commercialization, items such asporcelain were mass-produced and used in trade. Literature was emphasized as Imperial libraries were erected, and literacy rates of men and women both rose within the elite class. The significance of education and art in this era is that it created an economic stimulation that would last for a period of over fifty years.^[82] After the Qianlong Emperor's death, the dynasty faced changes in the world system,foreign instrusion,internal revolts, population growth, economic disruption, official corruption, and the reluctance ofConfucian elites to change their mindsets. With peace and prosperity, the population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, soon leading to a fiscal crisis.

China, under the Qing dynasty, remained an unrecognized great power, as European powers did not, at the time, consider Asian nations to be their equals. Following theFirst andSecond Opium Wars, where Britain and France imposed their will on the imperial dynasty, the government attempted to pursue a policy of radical reforms known as theSelf-Strengthening Movement.^[83] While initially successful, theFirst Sino-Japanese War brought an abrupt end to the relative stability the Qing had managed to maintain, and was followed quickly by theBoxer Rebellion, until the Qing finallylost control in 1912.

TheMughal Empire was aPersianate empire founded in 1526 byBabur of theBarlas clan with the backing of the neighboringSafavid Empire'sShah Ismail Safavi acting as Babur's suzerain.^[84][85] Babur's victories at theFirst Battle of Panipat and theBattle of Khanwa against theDelhi Sultanate andRajput Confederation led to the formation of the Mughal Empire.^[85][86][87] Over the next centuries underAkbar,Jahangir,Shah Jahan, the Mughal Empire would grow in area and power and dominate theIndian subcontinent, reaching its maximum extent under EmperorAurangzeb. This imperial structure lasted until 1720, shortly after theMughal-Maratha Wars and the death of Aurangzeb,^[88][89] where the Mughals would gradually lose their influence to new powers such as theMaratha Empire and theSikh Confederacy. The empire went on a prolonged period ofdecline during the following century, notably resulting inDelhi being sacked in 1739 and 1757. The country was made an unofficialprotectorate of the Maratha Empire in 1784.^[90] After theSecond Anglo-Maratha War, the British took over, until the Mughal Empire was formally dissolved by theBritish Raj after theIndian Rebellion of 1857. The Maratha Empire itself reached its territorial peak in 1760^[91] before it entered its own period of decline starting with its defeat at theThird Battle of Panipat byAfghanistan in 1761. The death of young PeshwaMadhavrao I marked the end of Peshwa’s effective authority over other chiefs in the empire.^[92][93][94] The Indian subcontinent was producing about 25% of the world's industrial output from 1st millennium CE up to until the 18th century.^[95] The exchequer of the EmperorAurangzeb reported an annual revenue of more than £100 million, or $450 million, making him one of the wealthiest monarchs in the world at the time.^[96][97] The empire had an extensive road network, which was vital to the economic infrastructure, built by apublic works department set up by the Mughals, linking towns and cities across the empire, making trade easier to conduct.^[98]

The Mughals adopted and standardised therupee (rupiya, or silver) anddam (copper) currencies introduced bySur EmperorSher Shah Suri during his brief rule.^[99][100] The Mughals minted coins with high purity, never dropping below 96%, and withoutdebasement until the 1720s.^[101]

A major sector of the Mughal economy was agriculture.^[98] A variety of crops were grown, including food crops such as wheat, rice, andbarley, and non-foodcash crops such as cotton,indigo andopium. By the mid-17th century, Indian cultivators begun to extensively grow imported from the Americas,maize andtobacco.^[98] The Mughal administration emphasisedagrarian reform, started bySher Shah Suri, the work of whichAkbar adopted and furthered with more reforms. The civil administration was organised in a hierarchical manner on the basis of merit, with promotions based on performance, exemplified by the common use of theseed drill among Indian peasants,^[102] and builtirrigation systems across the empire, which produced much highercrop yields and increased the net revenue base, leading to increased agricultural production.^[98]

Manufacturing was also a significant contributor to the Mughal Economy. The Mughal empire produced about 25% of the world's industrial output up until the end of the 18th century.^[95]Manufactured goods and cash crops from the Mughal Empire were sold throughout the world. Key industries included textiles,shipbuilding, and steel. Processed products included cotton textiles,yarns,thread, silk,jute products,metalware, and foods such as sugar, oils and butter^[98] The Mughal Empire also took advantage of the demand of products from Mughal India in Europe, particularly cotton textiles, as well as goods such as spices, peppers,indigo, silks, andsaltpeter (for use inmunitions).^[98]European fashion, for example, became increasingly dependent on Mughal Indian textiles and silks. From the late 17th century to the early 18th century, Mughal India accounted for 95% ofBritish imports from Asia, and theBengal Subah province alone accounted for 40% ofDutch imports from Asia.^[103]

Indian cotton textiles were the most important manufactured goods in world trade in the 18th century, consumed across the world from the Americas to Japan.^[104] By the early 18th century, Mughal Indian textiles were clothing people across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East.^[105]

TheDutch Empire ended up in control of various territories after the Dutch achieved independence fromSpain in the late 16th century. The strength of theirshipping industry and the expansion oftrading routes between Europe and theOrient bolstered the strength of the overseascolonial empire which lasted from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of indirect state capitalistcorporate colonialism, as small European trading-companies often lacked the capital or the manpower for large-scale operations. TheStates General chartered larger organisations—theDutch West India Company and theDutch East India Company—in the early seventeenth century to enlarge the scale of trading operations in theWest Indies and the Orient respectively. These trading operations eventually became one of the largest and most extensive maritime trading companies at the time, and once held a virtual monopoly on strategic European shipping-routes westward through theSouthern Hemisphere aroundSouth America through theStrait of Magellan, and eastward aroundAfrica, past theCape of Good Hope.^[106] The companies' domination of global commerce contributed greatly to a commercial revolution and a cultural flowering in the Netherlands of the 17th century, known as theDutch Golden Age. During the Dutch Golden Age, Dutch trade, science and art were among the most acclaimed in Europe.^[107] Dutch military power was at its height in the middle of the 17th century and in that era theDutch navy was one of the biggest navies in the world.^[108]

By the middle of the 17th century, the Dutch had overtaken Portugal as the dominant player in the spice and silk trade, and in 1652 founded a colony at Cape Town on the coast of South Africa, as a way-station for its ships on the route between Europe and Asia. After the first settlers spread out around the Company station, nomadic white livestock farmers, or Trekboers, moved more widely afield, leaving the richer, but limited, farming lands of the coast for the drier interior tableland. Between 1602 and 1796, many Europeans were sent to work in the Asia trade. The majority died of disease or made their way back to Europe, but some of them made the Indies their new home. Interaction between the Dutch and native population mainly took place in Sri Lanka and the modern Indonesian Islands.

In their search for new trade passages betweenAsia andEurope, Dutch navigators explored and charted distant regions such asAustralia,New Zealand,Tasmania, and parts of the eastern coast ofNorth America.^[109] During the period ofproto-industrialization, the empire received 50% of textiles and 80% of silks import from the India'sMughal Empire, chiefly from its most developed region known asBengal Subah.^{[110][111][112][113]}

In the 18th century, the Dutch colonial empire began to decline as a result of theFourth Anglo-Dutch War of 1780–1784, in which the Dutch Republic lost a number of its colonial possessions and trade monopolies to theBritish Empire, along with the conquest of theMughal Bengal at theBattle of Plassey by theEast India Company.^{[114][115][116]} Nevertheless, major portions of the empire survived until the advent of globaldecolonisation followingWorld War II, namely theEast Indies andDutch Guiana.^[117] Three former colonial territories in theWest Indies islands around theCaribbean Sea—Aruba,Curaçao, andSint Maarten—remain as constituent countries represented within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.^[117]

Sweden emerged as a great European power underAxel Oxenstierna and KingGustavus Adolphus.^[118] As a result of acquiring territories seized from Russia and thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as its involvement in theThirty Years' War, Sweden found itself transformed into the leading power of theBaltic Sea^[119] and the leader ofLutheranism. Although not a very populous country, Sweden has achieved the status of the dominant power in northern Europe due to its efficient administration, a near monopoly oncopper production in Europe, a strongarms industry, and a robust and innovative army with capable leaders.^[119] The mid-17th and early 18th centuries were Sweden's most successful years as a great power.^[120]

During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden sought to conquer land from theHoly Roman Empire. After its defeat in theBattle of Nördlingen (1634), Sweden was left with only a couple of territories in present-day northern Germany. After France intervened on the same side as Sweden, the tide shifted in its favor. As the war continued, the civilian and military death toll grew, and when it was over, it led to severe depopulation in the German states. Although exact population estimates do not exist, historians estimate that the population of the Holy Roman Empire fell by one-third as a result of the war.^[121] Sweden had seats in theImperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, and was able to interfere in its politics.^[119] Sweden's involvement in the Thirty Years' War weakened Imperial authority and delayed the unification of German states, which occurred only in the 19th century.^[118]

Sweden controlled most of the Baltic Sea, where its only notable rival in the 17th century remained Poland, therefore Sweden initiated several invasions of Poland in an effort to conquer Polish coastal regions as well,^[119] however, except for the capture of centralLivonia withRiga in the 1620s,^[118] without lasting success.^[71] Other major rivals of Sweden in the struggle for hegemony in Northern Europe wereDenmark and Russia.^[119] During theNorthern War of 1655–1660, Sweden even made unsuccessful attempts toannex Denmark,^[122]partition Poland,^{[71][119][123]} andunite withLithuania to create a stronger Baltic bulwark against Russia.^[124][125]

Sweden also had colonial possessions as a minorcolonial Empire that existed from 1638 to 1663 and later from 1784 to 1878. Sweden founded overseas colonies, principally in the New World.New Sweden was founded in the valley of theDelaware River in 1638, and Sweden later laid claim to a number of Caribbean islands.^[126] Astring of Swedish forts and trading posts was constructed along the coast of West Africa as well, but these were not designed for Swedish settlers. Sweden even established its ownEast India Company for trade with Asia that operated from 1731 to 1813, and occupied the South Indian city ofParangipettai for one month in 1733 before it wasretaken by Britain and France.^[127]

Sweden reached its largest territorial extent during the rule ofCharles X (1622–1660) after thetreaty of Roskilde in 1658. After half a century of expansive warfare, the Swedish economy had deteriorated. It would become the lifetime task of Charles' son,Charles XI (1655–1697), to rebuild the economy and refit the army. His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of SwedenCharles XII, was one of the finest arsenals in the world, with a large standing army and a great fleet. Sweden's largest threat at this time, Russia, had a larger army but was far behind in both equipment and training.^[128] The Swedish army crushed the Russians at theBattle of Narva in 1700, one of the first battles of theGreat Northern War. The campaign had a successful opening for Sweden, which came tooccupy half of Poland and Charles laid claim to the Polish throne. But after a long march exposed bycossack raids, the Russian TsarPeter the Great's scorched-earth techniques and the very cold Russian climate, the Swedes stood weakened with shattered confidence and enormously outnumbered by the Russian army atPoltava.^[119][129] The decisive Russian victory at theBattle of Poltava (1709) marked the end of Sweden as a great power.^[130]

France kept its status through the modern era, as a dominant empire possessing manycolonies in various locations around the world. TheFrench colonial empire is the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 16th century to the late 1960s (some see the French control of places such asNew Caledonia as acontinuation of that colonial empire). The first French colonial empire reached its peak in 1680 at over 10,000,000 km² (3,900,000 sq mi), which at the time, was the second largest in the world behind theSpanish Empire. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. At its height in the 1920s and 1930s, including metropolitan France, the total amount of land under French sovereignty reached 13,500,000 km² (5,200,000 sq mi) at the time, which represented 10% of the Earth's total land area.^[131] The total area of the French colonial empire, with the first (mainly in the Americas and Asia) and second (mainly in Africa and Asia), combined, reached 24,000,000 km2 (9,300,000 sq mi), the second-largest ever overall.^[132]

France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India, following Spanish and Portuguese successes during theAge of Discovery, in rivalry with Britain for supremacy. A series of wars with Britain during the 18th and early 19th centuries, which France lost, ended its colonial ambitions on these continents, and with it what some historians term the "first" French colonial empire. In the 19th century, France established a new empire in Africa and South East Asia. Some of these colonies lasted beyond the Second World War, and were integrated into France proper asoverseas territories.

The British Empire in the modern era was built primarily in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It included colonies inCanada, theCaribbean, andIndia,South Africa, and shortly thereafter began the settlement ofAustralia andNew Zealand. Following France's 1815 defeat in theNapoleonic Wars, Great Britain took possession of many more overseas territories in Africa and Asia, and established aninformal empire offree trade in South America,Persia, and more.

At its height, the British Empire was thelargest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. In1815–1914 thePax Britannica was the most powerful unitary authority in history due to theRoyal Navy's unprecedented naval predominance.^[134]

During the 19th century, theUnited Kingdom was the first country in the world to industrialise and embrace free trade, giving birth to theIndustrial Revolution. The rapid industrial growth after the conquests of the wealthyMughal Bengal transformed Great Britain into the world's largest industrial and financial power, while the world's largest navy gave it undisputed control of the seas and international trade routes, an advantage which helped the British Empire, after a mid-century liberal reaction against empire-building, to grow faster than ever before. The Victorian empire colonised large parts ofAfrica, including such territories asSouth Africa,Egypt,Kenya,Sudan,Nigeria, andGhana, most ofOceania, colonies in the Far East, such asSingapore,Malaysia, andHong Kong, and took control over the wholeIndian subcontinent, making it the largest empire in the world.^[135]

After victory in theFirst World War, the Empire gained control of territories such asTanzania andNamibia from theGerman Empire, andIraq andPalestine (includingthe Transjordan) from theOttoman Empire. By this point in 1920 the British empire had grown to becomethe largest empire in history, controlling approximately 25% of the world's land surface and 25% of the world's population.^[133] It covered about 36.6 million km² (14.1 million sq mi). Because of its magnitude, it was often referred to as "the empire on which the sun never sets".^[136]

The political and social changes and economic disruption in the United Kingdom and throughout the world caused by the First World War, followed only two decades later by theSecond World War, caused the Empire to gradually break up as colonies were given independence. Much of the reason the Empire ceased was because many colonies by the mid-20th century were no longer as undeveloped as at the arrival of British control nor as dependent and social changes throughout the world during the first half of the 20th century gave rise to national identity. The British Government, reeling from the economic cost of two successive world wars and changing social attitudes towards being an empire, felt it could no longer afford to maintain it if the country were to recover economically, pay for the newly createdwelfare state, and fight the newly emergedCold War with theSoviet Union.

The influence and power of the British Empire dropped dramatically after the Second World War, especially after thePartition of India in 1947 and theSuez Crisis in 1956. TheCommonwealth of Nations is the successor to the Empire, where the United Kingdom is an equal member with all other states.

The Russian Empire as a state, existed from 1721 until it was declared arepublic in 1917. The Russian Empire was the successor to theTsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires in world history, surpassed in landmass only by the British andMongolian empires: at one point in 1866, it stretched fromNorthern Europe across Asia and intoNorth America.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire extended from theArctic Ocean in the north to theBlack Sea on the south, from theBaltic Sea on the west to thePacific Ocean on the east. With 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population of the world at the time, after Qing China and the British Empire. Like all empires it represented a large disparity in economic, ethnic, and religious positions. Its government, ruled by theEmperor, was one of the lastabsolute monarchies in Europe. Prior to the outbreak ofWorld War I in August 1914 Russia was one of the five major Great Powers of Europe.^[138]

Following theOctober Revolution that overthrew the Russian Republic, theSoviet Union was established by theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union began to resemble the old Russian Empire in landmass, with its territory stretching fromEastern Europe toSiberia, and from Northern Europe toCentral Asia.

After the death of the first Soviet leader,Vladimir Lenin, in 1924,Joseph Stalin eventually won a power struggle and led the country through a large-scale industrialization with a command economy and political repression. On 23 August 1939, after unsuccessful efforts to form an anti-fascist alliance with Western powers, the Soviets signed thenon-aggression agreement with Nazi Germany. After thestart of World War II, the formally neutral Soviets invaded and annexed territories of several Central and Eastern European states, including easternPoland, theBaltic states,northeastern Romania andeastern Finland.

In June 1941 theGermans invaded, openingthe largest and bloodiest theater of war in history.^[139]Soviet war casualties accounted for the majority of Allied casualties of the conflict in the process of acquiring the upper hand overAxis forces at intense battles such asStalingrad andKursk. Soviet forces eventuallycaptured Berlin andwon World War II in Europe on 9 May 1945. The territory overtaken by the Red Army becamesatellite states of theEastern Bloc. TheCold War emerged in 1947, where the Eastern Bloc confronted theWestern Bloc, which would unite in theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949.

FollowingStalin's death in 1953, a period known asde-Stalinization and theKhrushchev Thaw occurred under the leadership ofNikita Khrushchev. The country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took an early lead in theSpace Race with thefirst ever satellite and thefirst human spaceflight andthe first probe to land on another planet,Venus. In the 1970s, there was a briefdétente of relations with the United States, but tensions resumed when the Soviet Uniondeployed troops in Afghanistan in 1979. The war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid toMujahideen fighters.

In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader,Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to further reform and liberalize the economy through his policies ofglasnost andperestroika. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversingeconomic stagnation. The Cold War ended during his tenure and in 1989,Warsaw Pact countries in Eastern Europeoverthrew their respective Marxist–Leninist regimes. Strong nationalist and separatist movements broke out across the USSR. Gorbachev initiated areferendum—boycotted by the Baltic republics, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova—which resulted in the majority of participating citizens voting in favor of preserving the Union as arenewed federation. In August 1991,a coup d'état was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin playing a high-profile role in facing down the coup. The main result was the banning of the Communist Party. The republics led by Russia and Ukraine declared independence. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned. All the republics emerged from thedissolution of the Soviet Union as independentpost-Soviet states. The Russian Federation (formerly the Russian SFSR) assumed the Soviet Union's rights and obligations and is recognized as its continued legal personality in world affairs.

The Soviet Union produced many significant social andtechnological achievements and innovations regarding military power. It boasted the world's second-largest economy and the largest standing military in the world.^{[140][141][142]} The USSR wasrecognized as one of the fivenuclear weapons states. It was a foundingpermanent member of theUnited Nations Security Council as well as a member of theOSCE, theWFTU and the leading member of theCouncil for Mutual Economic Assistance and theWarsaw Pact.

Before its dissolution, the USSR had maintained its status as a world superpower alongside the United States, for four decades after World War II. Sometimes also called "theSoviet Empire", it exercised itshegemony in Central and Eastern Europe and worldwide with military and economic strength,proxy conflicts and influence indeveloping countries and funding of scientific research, especially inspace technology and weaponry.^[143][144]

TheUnited States has exercised and continues to exercise worldwide economic, cultural, and military influence.

Founded in 1776 by thirteen coastal colonies thatdeclared their independence from Great Britain, the United States began itswestern expansion following the end of theAmerican Revolutionary War and the recognition of U.S. sovereignty in the1783 Treaty of Paris. The treaty bequeathed to the nascent republic all land between theAppalachian Mountains and theMississippi River, and Americans began migrating there in large numbers at the end of the 18th Century, resulting in the displacement of Native American cultures, often through native peoples' forcible deportation and violent wars of eviction. These efforts at expansion were greatly strengthened by the 1787Constitutional Convention, which resulted in the ratification of theUnited States Constitution and transformed the U.S. from a loose confederation of semi-autonomous states into a federal entity with a strong national core. In 1803, the United Statesacquired Louisiana from France, doubling the country's size and extending its borders to theRocky Mountains.

American power and population grew rapidly, so that by 1823 PresidentJames Monroe felt confident enough to issue hisMonroe Doctrine, which warned European powers against further seizure of land in North America. This was the beginning of the U.S.'s emergence as aregional power in North America. That process was confirmed in theMexican–American War of 1846–1848, in which the United States, invaded Mexico to protect Texas and acquire California. The war included the deployment of U.S. forces into Mexico, thetaking of Veracruz by sea, and the occupation of Mexico City by American troops (which finally resulted in Mexico's defeat). In the peace treaty (Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo) that followed, the U.S.annexed the northern half of Mexico, comprising what is now theSouthwestern United States.^[145] During the course of the war, the United States alsonegotiated by treaty the acquisition of the Oregon Territory's southern half fromGreat Britain. In 1867,William H. Seward, theU.S. Secretary of State, negotiated the purchase ofAlaska from theRussian Empire. President Ulysses Grant was defeated by Congress in his scheme to annex the Dominican Republic. The United States defeatedSpain in theSpanish–American War in 1898, and gained the possessions ofCuba,Puerto Rico, and thePhilippines. The independent republic ofHawaii was annexed in 1898. The United States became a majorvictoriouspower in both World Wars, and became a major economic power afterWorld War I tired out the European powers.^[146]

Modern Italy was unified, from a collection of small states, over several decades during the modern era. TheKingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861, and theRisorgimento was only truly completed by 1871, with thecapture of Rome and its designation as the kingdom's capital city.

The Italian colonial empire was created after Italy joined other European powers in establishing colonies overseas during the "scramble for Africa". By this time,France,Spain,Portugal,Britain, and theNetherlands, had already carved out large empires over several hundred years. One of the last remaining areas open to colonisation was on the African continent.^[147][148]

By the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914, Italy had annexedEritrea andSomalia, and had wrested control of portions of theOttoman Empire, includingLibya, though it was defeated in its attempt to conquerEthiopia. TheFascist regime under Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini which came to power in 1922 sought to increase the size of the empire further. Ethiopia wassuccessfully taken, four decades after the previous failure, and Italy's European borders were expanded. An official "Italian Empire" was proclaimed on 9 May 1936 following the conquest of Ethiopia.^[149] Before the outbreak of World War II, Italy boasted the fifth-largest economy in Europe and the seventh in the world.^[150]

Italy sided withNazi Germany during World War II, but Britain soon captured Italian overseas colonies. By the time Italy itself was invaded in 1943, its empire had ceased to exist. On 8 September 1943 the Fascist regime of Mussolini collapsed, and acivil war broke out between theItalian Social Republic, supported by Axis forces, and theItalian Resistance Movement, supported by Allied forces.

TheKingdom of Prussia attained its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it conquered various territories previously held by Sweden,^[151][152] Austria, Poland, France, Denmark, and various minor German principalities.^[153] It became a European great power under the reign ofFrederick II of Prussia (1740–1786).^[153] It dominatedNorthern Germany politically, economically, and in terms of population, and played a key role in theunification of Germany in 1871.

After the territorial acquisitions of theCongress of Vienna (1815), theKingdom of Prussia became the only great power with a majority German-speaking population.^[153] During the 19th century, ChancellorOtto von Bismarck pursued a policy of uniting the German principalities into a "Lesser Germany" which would exclude theAustrian Empire. Prussia was the core of theNorth German Confederation formed in 1867, which became part of theGerman Empire orDeutsches Reich in 1871 when the southern German states, excluding Austria, were added.

After 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron (and later steel), chemicals, and railways. In 1871, Germany had a population of 41 million people; by 1913, this had increased to 68 million. A heavily rural collection of states in 1815, the now united Germany became predominantly urban.^[154] The success of German industrialization manifested itself in two ways since the early 20th century: The German factories were larger and more modern than their British and French counterparts.^[155] During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire became the industrial, technological, and scientific giant of Europe, and by 1913, Germany was the largest economy in Continental Europe and the third-largest in the world.^[156] Germany built up the longest railway network of Europe, the world's strongest army,^[157] and a fast-growing industrial base.^[158] Starting very small in 1871, in a few decades, thenavy became second only toBritain'sRoyal Navy, as Germanyplanned to match it. After the removal ofOtto von Bismarck byWilhelm II in 1890, the empire embarked onWeltpolitik – a bellicose new course that ultimately contributed to the outbreak of World War I.

Wilhelm II wanted Germany to have her "place in the sun", like Britain, which he constantly wished to emulate or rival.^[159] With German traders and merchants already active worldwide, he encouraged colonial efforts in Africa and the Pacific ("new imperialism"), causing the German Empire to vie with other European powers for remaining "unclaimed" territories. With the encouragement or at least the acquiescence of Britain, which at this stage saw Germany as a counterweight to her old rival France, Germany acquiredGerman Southwest Africa (modernNamibia),German Kamerun (modernCameroon),Togoland (modernTogo) andGerman East Africa (modernRwanda,Burundi, and the mainland part of currentTanzania). Islands were gained in the Pacific through purchase and treaties and also a 99-year lease for the territory ofKiautschou in northeast China. But of these German colonies, only Togoland andGerman Samoa (after 1908) became self-sufficient and profitable; all others required subsidies from the Berlin treasury for building infrastructure, school systems, hospitals and other institutions.

AfterWorld War I broke out, Germany participated in the war as a part of theCentral Powers. At its height, Germany occupiedBelgium and parts ofFrance, and also acquired Ukraine and theBaltic States in theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk. After its defeat, the German Empire collapsed and, in theTreaty of Versailles, had to cede some of its territories and all of its overseas territories toBritain and France, as well as giving up most of its military.^{[160][n. 1][161][n. 2][n. 3][n. 4][n. 5][n. 6][162][n. 7][n. 8]}

Germany rose back to be a great power in 1933, whenNazi Germany replaced theWeimar Republic as the new government of Germany. The most pressing economic matter the Nazis initially faced was the 30 per cent national unemployment rate.^[163] Economist Dr.Hjalmar Schacht, President of theReichsbank and Minister of Economics, created a scheme for deficit financing in May 1933. Capital projects were paid for with the issuance of promissory notes calledMefo bills. When the notes were presented for payment, the Reichsbank printed money. Hitler and his economic team expected that the upcoming territorial expansion would provide the means of repaying the soaring national debt.^[164] Schacht's administration achieved a rapid decline in the unemployment rate, the largest of any country during the Great Depression.^[163] Economic recovery was uneven, with reduced hours of work and erratic availability of necessities, leading to disenchantment with the regime as early as 1934.^[165]

In October 1933, theJunkers Aircraft Works was expropriated. In concert with other aircraft manufacturers and under the direction of Aviation Minister Göring, production was ramped up. From a workforce of 3,200 people producing 100 units per year in 1932, the industry grew to employ a quarter of a million workers manufacturing over 10,000 technically advanced aircraft annually less than ten years later.^[166]

An elaborate bureaucracy was created to regulate imports of raw materials and finished goods with the intention of eliminating foreign competition in the German marketplace and improving the nation'sbalance of payments. The Nazis encouraged the development of synthetic replacements for materials such as oil and textiles.^[167] As the market was experiencing a glut and prices for petroleum were low, in 1933 the Nazi government made a profit-sharing agreement withIG Farben, guaranteeing them a 5 per cent return on capital invested in their synthetic oil plant atLeuna. Any profits in excess of that amount would be turned over to the Reich. By 1936, Farben regretted making the deal, as excess profits were by then being generated.^[168] In another attempt to secure an adequate wartime supply of petroleum, Germany intimidatedRomania into signing a trade agreement in March 1939.^[169]

Major public works projects financed with deficit spending included the construction of a network ofAutobahnen and providing funding for programmes initiated by the previous government for housing and agricultural improvements.^[170] To stimulate the construction industry, credit was offered to private businesses and subsidies were made available for home purchases and repairs.^[171] On the condition that the wife would leave the workforce, a loan of up to 1,000 Reichsmarks could be accessed by young couples of Aryan descent who intended to marry, and the amount that had to be repaid was reduced by 25 per cent for each child born.^[172] The caveat that the woman had to remain unemployed outside the home was dropped by 1937 due to a shortage of skilled labourers.^[173]

Envisioning widespread car ownership as part of the new Germany, Hitler arranged for designerFerdinand Porsche to draw up plans for theKdF-wagen (Strength Through Joy car), intended to be an automobile that everyone could afford. A prototype was displayed at theInternational Motor Show in Berlin on 17 February 1939. With the outbreak of World War II, the factory was converted to produce military vehicles. None were sold until after the war, when the vehicle was renamed theVolkswagen (people's car).^[174]

Six million people were unemployed when the Nazis took power in 1933 and by 1937 there were fewer than a million.^[175] This was in part due to the removal of women from the workforce.^[176] Real wages dropped by 25 per cent between 1933 and 1938.^[163] After the dissolution of the trade unions in May 1933, their funds were seized and their leadership arrested,^[177] including those who attempted to co-operate with the Nazis.^[178] A new organisation, theGerman Labour Front, was created and placed under Nazi Party functionaryRobert Ley.^[177] The average work week was 43 hours in 1933; by 1939 this increased to 47 hours.^[179]

By early 1934, the focus shifted towards rearmament. By 1935, military expenditures accounted for 73 per cent of the government's purchases of goods and services.^[180] On 18 October 1936, Hitler named Göring asPlenipotentiary of the Four Year Plan, intended to speed up rearmament.^[181] In addition to calling for the rapid construction of steel mills, synthetic rubber plants, and other factories, Göring institutedwage and price controls and restricted the issuance ofstock dividends.^[163] Large expenditures were made on rearmament in spite of growing deficits.^[182] Plans unveiled in late 1938 for massive increases to the navy and air force were impossible to fulfil, as Germany lacked the finances and material resources to build the planned units, as well as the necessary fuel required to keep them running.^[183] With the introduction of compulsory military service in 1935, theReichswehr, which had been limited to 100,000 by the terms of the Versailles Treaty, expanded to 750,000 on active service at the start of World War II, with a million more in the reserve.^[184] By January 1939, unemployment was down to 301,800 and it dropped to only 77,500 by September.^[185]

After triumphing in economic success, the Nazis started a hostile foreign expansion policy. They first sent troops to occupy the demilitarizedRhineland in 1936, then annexedAustria andSudetenland ofCzechoslovakia in 1938. In 1939, they further annexed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia and founded theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and annexed theLithuanian port city ofKlaipėda. The Slovak part of Czechoslovakia declared independence under German support and theSlovak Republic was established.

World War II broke out in 1939, whenGermany invaded Poland with the Soviet Union. After occupyingPoland, Germany started the conquest of Europe, and occupiedBelgium,Luxembourg,Netherlands,Denmark,Norway, France and theBritish Channel Islands in 1940,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania,Greece andYugoslavia in 1941,Italy,Albania,Montenegro andMonaco in 1943, andHungary in 1944. TheFrench government continued to operate after the defeat, but was actually a client state of Germany.

Nazi Germanyinvaded the Soviet Union in 1941, but was forced to retreat following a number of Allied victories. This marks the start of the collapse of the German Reich. On8 May 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies and the regime was dissolved shortly thereafter.

After theWar of the Spanish Succession,HabsburgAustria, which had already controlled other Central European lands such asBohemia,Hungary andCroatia, acquired the Italian lands ofMilan,Mantua,Naples andSardinia as well as theAustrian Netherlands from the declining Spanish Empire.^[186] It later briefly acquiredSicily after theWar of the Quadruple Alliance as well as the Balkan lands ofSerbia andOltenia after theAustro–Turkish War. In the second half of the 18th century, it participated in thePartitions of Poland by annexingGalicia, and even briefly ventured intooverseas colonialism in Asia. After Napoleondissolved the Holy Roman Empire, theImperial Crown and title of Holy Roman Emperor was directly transferred to the Austrian territories, most of which lay outside of theGerman Confederation.^[187][188]

TheHabsburg Empire became one of the key powers in Europe after theNapoleonic Wars, with asphere of influence stretching overCentral Europe, Germany, and Italy. During the second half of the 19th century, the Habsburgs could not prevent theunification of Italy, and lost its preeminent position among German states against Prussia, which would soon unify Germany. Eventually, the complex internal power struggle resulted in the establishment of a so-calleddual monarchy between Austria and Hungary. Austria-Hungary maintained a strong economy, and its vast population gave it the industry and manpower to compete against other European powers.^[189]

Following the defeat and dissolution of the monarchy after theFirst World War, bothAustria andHungary became independent and self-governing countries (First Austrian Republic,Kingdom of Hungary). Other political entities emerged from the destruction of theGreat War includingPoland,Czechoslovakia, and theKingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

The Empire ofJapan, officially the Empire of Great Japan or simply Great Japan (Dai Nippon), was an empire that existed from theMeiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War IIConstitution of Japan on 3 May 1947.

Imperial Japan's rapidindustrialization andmilitarization under the sloganFukoku kyōhei (富国強兵, "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces") led to its emergence as a great power, eventually culminating in its shock victory in theRusso-Japanese War, the first time an Asian country had soundly defeated a relatively modern European great power. This resulted in a further rise ofnationalism in Japan, and its recognition by other nations as a rising power.^[190]

In August 1914, former President of the United StatesWilliam Howard Taft listed Japan and his country as the only two great powers uninvolved in World War I.^[191] After its military victories against China (First Sino-Japanese War, and thelater invasion of Manchuria) and Russia, the Japanese Empire was considered to be one of the major powers worldwide.

Its eventual membership in theAxis alliance, and the conquest of a large part of the Asia-Pacific region, allowed Japan to control much-needed resources for its further development. The maximum extent of the empire was gained during theSecond World War, when Japan conquered many Asian and Pacific countries (seeGreater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere). At the height of its power in 1942, the Japanese Empire ruled over a geographic area spanning 7,400,000 km² (2,857,200 sq mi) to 8,508,100 km² (3,285,000 sq mi).^[192] This made it the 12th or 11thlargest empire in history.^[193]

After suffering many defeats and theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, the Empire of Japan surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945. A period ofoccupation by the Allies followed the surrender, and a new constitution was created with American involvement. The constitution came into force on 3 May 1947, officially dissolving the Empire. American occupation and reconstruction of the country continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose title is simply that ("the nation of Japan" Nippon-koku) or just "Japan".

TheFrench Republic is considered to be a great power.^{[194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201]} France retains its centuries-long status as a global centre ofart,science andphilosophy. It hosts thefourth-largest number ofUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites^[202] and is the world'smost visited tourist destination, having received over 100 million foreignvisitors in 2023.^[203] France is acultural superpower, consistently ranked among the most powerful nations in soft power,^[204][205] if not the most powerful of all.^[206] France is adeveloped country with the world'sseventh-largest economy by nominal GDP andninth-largest by PPP;^[207] in terms of aggregate household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world.^[208] France performs well ininternational rankings ofeducation,health care,life expectancy,human development, andglobal innovation.^{[209][210][211]} It remains a major influence on global affairs,^[212][213] being one of the fivepermanent members of the United Nations Security Council and an officialnuclear-weapon state.^[214] France is a founding andleadingmember of the European Union and theeurozone,^[215] as well as a key member of theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) andLa Francophonie.

France'smetropolitan area extends from theRhine to theAtlantic Ocean, and from theMediterranean Sea to theEnglish Channel and theNorth Sea; overseas territories includeFrench Guiana inSouth America,Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, theFrench West Indies, and several islands inOceania and the Indian Ocean. It is also atranscontinental country spanningWestern Europe andoverseas regions and territories in theAmericas and theAtlantic,Pacific andIndian Oceans.^{[n. 9]} Includingall of its territories, France has twelvetime zones, the most of any country, ironically being todaythe only country where the sun never truly sets,^[216] a title formerly attributed to its old rival,Britain, and its empire. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largestexclusive economic zone in the world, or the second-largest discountingits claim to a part of Antarctica. France bordersBelgium,Luxembourg,Germany,Switzerland,Monaco,Italy,Andorra andSpain in Europe, as well as theNetherlands,Suriname andBrazil in the Americas. Itseighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of 643,801 km² (248,573 sq mi) and over 68 million people (as of December 2024^[update]), making it the largest and second-most populous country in the European Union.^[217]

France has a developed, high-incomemixed economy, characterised bysizeable government involvement,economic diversity, a skilled labour force, and high innovation. For roughly five centuries and more, the French economy hasconsistently ranked among the ten largest globally.^[218] France is considered aneconomic power,^[219] with membership in theGroup of Seven, theGroup of Ten, theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (headquartered in Paris), and theGroup of Twenty.

France's economy is highly diversified;services represent two-thirds of both the workforce and GDP,^[220] while theindustrial sector accounts for a fifth of GDP and a similar proportion of employment. France is the third-biggest manufacturing country in Europe, behind Germany and Italy, and ranks eighth in the world by share of global manufacturing output, at 1.9 percent.^[221] Less than 2 percent of GDP is generated by theprimary sector, namely agriculture;^[222] however, France's agricultural sector is among the largest in value and leads the EU in overall production.^[223]

In 2018, France was the fifth-largest trading nation in the world and the second-largest in Europe, with the value of exports representing over a fifth of GDP.^[224] Its membership in theeurozone and the broaderEuropean Single Market facilitate access to capital, goods, services, and skilled labour.^[225] Despiteprotectionist policies over certain industries, particularly in agriculture, France has generally played a leading role in fostering free trade and commercial integration in Europe in order to enhance its economy.^[226][227] In 2019, it ranked first in Europe and 13th in the world inforeign direct investment, with European countries and the United States being leading sources.^[228] Similarly, France is ranked 6th on the FDI Confidence Index.^[229] TheParis region has the highest concentration of multinational firms in Europe.^[230]

With 27 companies that are part of theworld's biggest 500 companies, France was in 2024 the second-most represented European country in the 2024Fortune Global 500, behind Germany (29 companies) and ahead of the UK (22).^[231] In addition, some companies such asAirbus, while not listed as French, have their operational headquarters set in France. As of December 2024, France was also the country that weighed the most on the eurozone'sEURO STOXX 50 (representing 41.8% of all total assets), ahead of Germany (26.5%), controlling six of the top ten companies in the list.^[232]

Several French corporations rank amongst the largest in their industries^[233] such asAXA in insurance, the world's second-largest insurance company by total nonbanking assets in 2020^[234][235] andAir France in air transportation.^[236] Luxury and consumer good are particularly relevant, withL'Oreal being the world's largest cosmetic company whileLVMH andKering are the world's two largest luxury product companies. In energy and utilities,GDF-Suez andEDF are amongst the largest energy companies in the world, andAreva, nowFramatome, is a large nuclear-energy company;Veolia Environnement is the world's largest environmental services and water management company;Vinci SA,Bouygues andEiffage are large construction companies, with Vinci having the highest market capitalization of all construction companies;^[237]Michelin ranks in the top 3 tire manufacturers;JCDecaux is the world's largest outdoor advertising corporation;BNP Paribas,Credit Agricole andSociété Générale rank amongst the largest in the world by assets;Capgemini andAtos are among the largest technology consulting companies;Carrefour is the world's second-largest retail group in terms of revenue;Total is the world's fourth-largest private oil company;Danone is the world's fifth-largest food company and the world's largest supplier of mineral water;Sanofi is the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical company;Publicis is the world's third-largest advertising company;Groupe PSA, nowStellantis, is the world's 4th and Europe's second-largest automaker;Accor is the leading European hotel group;Alstom is one of the world's leading conglomerates in rail transport.

Under the doctrine ofDirigisme, the government historically played a major role in the economy; policies such asindicative planning andnationalisation are credited for contributing to three decades of unprecedented postwar economic growth known asTrente Glorieuses.^[238] Policies aimed at promoting economic dynamism and privatisation have improved France's economic standing globally: it is among the world's 10 mostinnovative countries in the 2020Bloomberg Innovation Index,^[239] and the 15th most competitive, according to the 2019Global Competitiveness Report (up two places from 2018).^[240]

Financial services, banking, and insurance are important parts of the French economy. As of 2011, the three largestfinancial institutions cooperatively owned by their customers were French:Crédit Agricole,Groupe Caisse D'Epargne, andGroupe Caisse D'Epargne.^[241] According to a 2020 report and a 2024 report byS&P, France's leading banks,BNP Paribas andCrédit Agricole, are among the top world's 10 largest bank by assets, withSociété Générale andGroupe BPCE ranking near the top 20 globally, andCrédit Mutuel in the top 30.^[242][243]

The Paris stock exchange merged with counterparts in Amsterdam and Brussels in 2000 to formEuronext,^[244] which in 2007 merged with theNew York stock exchange to formNYSE Euronext, the world's largest stock exchange.^[244]Euronext Paris, the French branch ofEuronext, is Europe's second-largest stock exchange market, behind theLondon Stock Exchange.^[245]

According to the IMF, France ranks22nd in GDP per capita, with roughly $48,000 per inhabitant.^[246] It placed 28th in theHuman Development Index, indicating very high and rising human development.^[247]Public corruption is among the lowest in the world, with France consistently ranking among the 30 least corrupt countries since theCorruption Perceptions Index began in 2012; it placed 21st in 2021, 2022 and 2023.^[248] France is Europe's second-largest spender inresearch and development, at over 2 percent of GDP; globally, it ranks 12th.^[249]

France is also the second largest contributor to theEuropean Space Agency afterGermany,^[250] and is its de facto leader: France maintains and shares afully-functioning space program with the European Union, the third-oldest in the world; theCNES, the French space agency, controls theGuiana Space Center, from where the ESA launches its missions. Kourou counts among thelaunch centers with the highest rates of successful launches in the world, withAriane 5 achieving a 95.5% success rate over its history.^[251]

Paris is a leadingglobal city, has the largest GDP of any city and Europe, and one of the largest in the world.^[252] It ranks as the first city in Europe (and 3rd worldwide) by the number of companies classified inFortune'sFortune Global 500.^[253]Paris produced US$984 billion atmarket exchange rates in 2021^[254] while the economy of theParis metropolitan area — the largest in Europe with London — generates around $1.0 trillion.^[254] Paris has been ranked as the 2nd most attractive global city in the world in 2019 byKPMG.^[255]La Défense, Paris's Central Business District, was ranked byErnst & Young in 2017 as the leading business district incontinental Europe, and fourth in the world.^[256] The other major economic centres of the country includeLyon,Toulouse (centre of the European aerospace industry),Marseille andLille.

France also maintains a strong military presence in the world, with one of thehighest military expenditures in the world,overseas bases in Germany, Africa and the Middle East, and troops around the world in its various overseas territories. The French military routinely conducts military operations in foreign countries, such as operationBarkhane, Chammal and Boali, with anti-terror and stabilization operations being the most frequent. France is also at the helm of the European Union's defence program, having pushed extensively forPESCO and, more generally, for French and European independence from outside influences.^[257][258]

France remains the oldest-standing great power, and while its influence has waned,notably in Africa, it remains a source of soft power, a diplomatic powerhouse^[259] with a strong economy and military allowing it to exert influence in all regions of the world, in a much more friendly manner compared to its colonial and belligerent past – for instance, with de Gaulle's buildup of relationswith the PRC, or by recently building close relationswith India, or even by headinga new, comprehensive treaty on climate change.

TheUnited Kingdom is considered to be a great power.^{[194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201]} The United Kingdom is asovereign country in north-western Europe, off the north-­western coast of the European mainland.^[260] The United Kingdom includes the island ofGreat Britain, the north-­eastern part of the island ofIreland, and many smaller islands within theBritish Isles.^[261] Northern Ireland sharesa land border with theRepublic of Ireland. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with theNorth Sea to the east, theEnglish Channel to the south and theCeltic Sea to the south-west, giving it the12th-longest coastline in the world. TheIrish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 244,376 square kilometres (94,354 sq mi),^[262] with an estimated population in 2024 of 68 million.^[263]

The nearbyIsle of Man,Guernsey andJersey are not part of the UK, beingCrown Dependencies with theBritish Government responsible for defence and international representation.^[264] There are also 14British Overseas Territories,^[265] the last remnants of theBritish Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and a third of the world's population, and was thelargest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal and political systems of many of itsformer colonies;^{[266][267][268][269][270]} the English language is themost spoken language in the world, and is the world'slingua franca today.

The United Kingdom has the world'ssixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and thetenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP).^[271] It has a high-income economy and a very highhuman development index rating, ranking 15th in the world in 2024. Today the UK remains one of the world's leading powers with considerable economic, cultural, military,scientific, technological andpolitical influence internationally.^[272] It is a recognisednuclear state and is rankedsixth globally in military expenditure.^[273] It has been apermanent member of theUnited Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The United Kingdom is a member of theCommonwealth of Nations, theCouncil of Europe, theG7, theGroup of Ten, theG20, theUnited Nations,NATO, theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),Interpol, and theWorld Trade Organization (WTO). It was a member state of theEuropean Communities (EC) and its successor, theEuropean Union (EU), from itsaccession in 1973 until itswithdrawal in 2020 following areferendum held in 2016.

Since the end of the second World War, the United Kingdom has been described as a "super power in decline".^[274] Nonetheless, a 2019 study in geopolitical capability (carried out by the UK-basedHenry Jackson Society) found the United Kingdom to be the most powerful nation in Europe and the second most powerful in the world behind the United States.^[275] Several other studies point to the United Kingdom as one of the top ten countries country in soft power,^[276] diplomatic missions,^[259] and economy.^[277]

In the aftermath of the second World War and theSuez crisis, the United Kingdom substantially declined as a world power. Towards the end of the 20th century, and especially under the Conservative-led government ofMargaret Thatcher and the Labour-led government ofTony Blair, the United Kingdom underwent a period of strong economic growth andcultural reach, especially in the United States; therelationship between the UK and the US is generally considered to be among thestrongest international relationships. A notable break in this tradition occurred under the administration ofBarack Obama who sought to align with Germany as a principal European ally.^[278][279] PresidentDonald Trump described the UK-US relationship as "just so important" and the administration of PresidentJoe Biden has restored traditional relations, reiterating that "the United States has no closer ally than the United Kingdom".^[280]

The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower",^[281][282] andLondon, one of the highest-rankingglobal cities, has been described as a world cultural capital^[283][284] and the center of European trade, at least until its withdrawal from the European Union.^[285] With 22 companies that are part of theworld's biggest 500 companies, the UK was in 2024 the third-most represented European country in theFortune Global 500 index.

The UK hasseveral military bases around the world and in the territories it controls, with the island ofDiego Garcia being used for major operations during thewar on terror. After leaving the European Union, the UK formed a new strategic partnership with Australia and the United States namedAUKUS. It remains one of the driving forces of NATO, and committed significant international aid during theRussian invasion of Ukraine.

The United Kingdom, while no longer the superpower it used to be, remains a country with a diversified and powerful economy, with its culture, language and diplomatic ability reaching and influencing all regions of the world. With a strong military and a nuclear arsenal, the UK remains a great power.

Sinceits imperial times, Russia has risen from being aregional power to being considered agreat power.^{[194][196][198][199][201]}

TheRussian Federation, the world'slargest nation by land area, is home to over 30% of the world'snatural resources according to some sources.^{[286][287][288]} It is ahigh-income country and the world'sfourth-largest economy in terms of PPP according to the World Bank.^[289] Throughout most of theSoviet-era, Russia was one of the world's twosuperpowers. However, after thedissolution of the Soviet Union, it lost its superpower status, and recently has been suggested as a potential candidate for resuming superpower status in the 21st century^{[290][291][292]} while others have made the assertion that it is already a superpower.^[293] In 2009,Hugo Chavez, late President ofVenezuela whose government was noted to have enjoyed warm relations with theKremlin, stated that "Russia is a superpower", citing waning American influence in global affairs, and suggested theruble be elevated to a global currency.^[294]Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu called Russia an important superpower, praising its effectiveness as an ally of Israel.^[295]

In 2014,Stephen Kinzer ofThe Boston Globe compared Russia's actions with its own neighbouring territories, to those of "any other superpower", takingUkraine andCrimea as examples.^[296] A mixed opinion has been offered by Matthew Fleischer of theLos Angeles Times: he contends that Russia will not become a superpower unlessclimate change eats away at thepermafrost that covers, as of March 2014, two-thirds of the country's landmass. The absence of this permafrost would reveal immense stores of oil, natural gas, and precious minerals, as well as potential farmland, which would allow Russia to "become the world's bread basket—and control the planet's food supply".^[297]

Russian news agencyRIA Novosti called Russia a "superpower"after its actions in Syria,^[298] and after the formation of acoalition to fight ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Benny Avni of theNew York Post called Russia the "world's new sole superpower".^[299] Russian intervention in Syria was crucial in helpingBashar Al Assad to stay in power against ISIS and western-backed rebels.^{[300][301][302]}

Since the creation of theWagner Group in 2014, Russia has used it to intervene in various conflicts (while maintaining plausible deniability) in Africa aside from being involved inLibya,Syria, and evenVenezuela by projecting power far away from the borders of the former Soviet Union.^{[303][304][305]}

However, several analysts commented on the fact that Russia showed signs of an aging and shrinking population.Fred Weir said that this severely constricts and limits Russia's potential to re-emerge as a central world power.^[306] In 2011, British historian and professorNiall Ferguson also highlighted the negative effects of Russia's declining population, and suggested that Russia is on its way to "global irrelevance".^[307] Russia has, however, shown a slight population growth since the late 2000s, partly due to immigration and slowly rising birth rates.^[308]

Nathan Smith of theNational Business Review has said that despite Russia having potential, it did not win the new "Cold War" in the 1980s, and thus makes superpower status inaccurate.^[309]Dmitry Medvedev predicted that if the Russian elite is not consolidated, Russia will disappear as a single state.^[310]Vladimir Putin said the moment theCaucasus leaves Russia, other territorial regions would follow.^[311]

After Russia's poor performance in the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, some analysts questioned Russia's military and power projection capabilities.^{[312][313][314][315][316]} After two years of war, the Russian army did make progress in Ukraine, but the country's economy and resources have been strained. Russia's ally Syria wasoverrun by rebels, and Bashar al-Assad was granted asylum in Russia.^[317] Nevertheless, Russia maintains the world'slargest nuclear arsenal, a large military force, and can project influence around the world.

The United States was the foremost of the world's twosuperpowers during theCold War. After the Cold War, the most common belief held that only the United States fulfilled the criteria to be considered a superpower.^[197][318] Regardless of the debate on its status as a superpower, the United States is considered a great power.^{[194][195][196][197][198][200][201]}

Its geographic area composes thethird or fourth-largest state in the world, with an area of approximately 9.37 million km².^[319] The population of the US was 334.9 million in 2024, the third-largest of any nation.^[320] The US holds a permanent seat on theUnited Nations Security Council, with two allies with permanent seats, theUnited Kingdom andFrance. The US has strong ties with most ofEurope andNATO,Latin America,Australia,New Zealand,South Africa,Commonwealth Realms in Oceania and the Caribbean, and several East Asian countries (South Korea,Taiwan,Japan,Singapore).

The economic strength of the United States is a major driving force of its power. The United States is a highlydeveloped country, and its economy accounts for approximately more than a quarter of globalGDP, the world'slargest by country. By value, the United States is the world'slargest importer andsecond-largest exporter. Although it accounts for just over 4.2% of the world's total population, the U.S. holdsover 30% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share held by any country. The US has large resources of minerals, energy resources, metals, and timber, a large and modernized farming industry and a large industrial base. The United States dollar is the dominant worldreserve currency. US systems were rooted in capitalist economic theory based on supply and demand, that is, production determined by customers' demands. America was allied with theG7 major economies. US economic policy prescriptions were the "standard" reform packages promoted forcrisis-wrackeddeveloping countries by Washington, DC–based international institutions such as theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF),World Bank, as well as theUS Treasury Department.^[321] The US also provides aid to developing countries throughUSAID.

Themilitary of the United States is a naval-based advanced military with by far thehighest military expenditure in the world.^[322] TheUnited States Navy is the world's largest navy, with the largest number ofaircraft carriers, andmilitary bases all over the world. The US had the largestnuclear arsenal in the world during the first half of the Cold War, and keeps the second-largest to this day; one of the largest armies in the world and the largest air force in the world. Under the NATOnuclear sharing program, the United States provides nuclear weapons to protect several NATO states.^[323] The US also possesses a powerful global intelligence network in theCentral Intelligence Agency.

The cultural impact of the US, often known asAmericanization, is seen in the influence on other countries of US music, TV, films, art, and fashion, as well as the desire forfreedom of speech and other guaranteed rights its residents enjoy. Various styles of music born in the US have become globally influential.^[324]

Following the conclusion of the Cold War, the US enjoyed a short period of absolute dominance, stretching from 1993 to 2001. The subsequentWar on Terrorism,second invasion of Iraq, the response to theGreat Recession and theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States were all seen to damage the credibility of the United States.^[325]

The United States intervenes and can hold a military presence in several countries, notablyAfghanistan,Somalia, andIraq. The US is able to strike around the world, as it proved during anti-terror operations like thekilling of Osama Bin Laden, or theassassination of Qasem Soleimani.

In 2011, the U.S. had 10 major strengths according to Chinese scholar Peng Yuan, the director of the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes for Contemporary International Studies. He noted that the United States had a sizable population (300 million), enjoys its position as a two-ocean power, and has abundant natural resources. Besides, he believed that theUnited States' military muscle, high technology,fair education system,cultural power, cyber power,allies (as the United States has more allies than any other state), global force projection, intelligence capabilities (as demonstrated by the killing of Osama bin Laden), intellectualthink tanks and research institutes, and strategic power lead the United States into the superpower status it now enjoys. However, he noted that the recent breakdown of bipartisanship in the US, economic slowdown, intractable deficits and rising debt, societal polarization, and the weakening of US institutional power since the US can no longer dominate global institutions, are the current flaws of the United States' power.^[326]

Regardless of its recent issues, the economic, technological and military dominance of the United States keep the country as the world's foremost great power for the time being.

TheItalian Republic has been referred to as a great power with almost the same power as Germany, France, and the UK.^{[194][196][197][199][201]}

Italy's great power strengths includea vast advanced economy,^[327][328] thesecond-strongest manufacturing industry in Europe,^[329] a largeluxury goods market,^[330] a largenational budget and the third largestgold reserve in the world. It has one of the largestSDRs and voting power in theIMF.^[331] The country is acultural superpower^[204] and it has close ties with the rest of theCatholic world as the home of thePope. Italy is a key player in maintaininginternational security, especially in the wider Mediterranean region,^{[note 1]} by performingair policing duties for its allies and commanding multinational forces in foreign countries.^[332] The country has therefore developed considerable military capabilities by building twoaircraft carriers and establishing someoverseas military bases. The country is home to two nuclear bases and, as part of theNATO nuclear sharing program, therefore has a retaliatory nuclear capacity despite nominally being a non-nuclear state. According to the former Italian PresidentFrancesco Cossiga, Italy's plans of nuclear retaliation during theCold War consisted of targeting nuclear weapons inCzechoslovakia andHungary in case the Soviet Union waged nuclear war against NATO.^[333] He acknowledged the presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in Italy, and speculated about the possible presence of British and French nuclear weapons.^[334] Italy secretly developed its ownnuclear weapons program, and one in collaboration with France and Germany, but abandoned such projects when it joined the nuclear sharing program.^[335][336] The country has developed theABMPAAMS system.^[337] It has developed several space-launch vehicles, such asAlfa and more recentlyVega. In more recent years, under the auspices ofEuropean space agency, it has demonstrated thereentry and landing of a spacecraft, theIntermediate eXperimental Vehicle. Italy is home to one of two ground operations centres of theGalileo global satellite navigation system.

Besides, Italy has as one of the most advanced economies in the world as theeighth-largest economy by nominal GDP (third in theEuropean Union), the sixth-largestnational wealth and the third-largest central bankgold reserve. It ranks very high inlife expectancy, quality of life,^[338]healthcare,^[339] and education. The country is considered a great power and it plays a prominent role in regional^[340][341] and global^[342][343] economic, military, cultural, and diplomatic affairs. Italy is afounding andleading member of theEuropean Union and a member of numerous international institutions, including theUnited Nations,NATO, theOECD, theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, theWorld Trade Organization, theGroup of Seven, theG20, theUnion for the Mediterranean, theLatin Union, theCouncil of Europe,Uniting for Consensus, andmany more. The source ofmany inventions and discoveries, the country has long been a global centre ofart,music,literature,philosophy,science and technology, andfashion, and has greatly influenced and contributed to diverse fields includingcinema,cuisine,sports, jurisprudence, banking, and business.^[344] As a reflection ofits cultural wealth, Italy has the world'slargest number ofWorld Heritage Sites (58), and is thefourth-most visited country in the world.^[203]

Moreover, Italy contributes greatly to scientific research; in 2023, Italy was the sixth-biggest producer of scientific articles.^[345] Italy operates some permanentresearch stations in Antarctica. In terms of spaceflight capability, the country owns theBroglio Space Centre. The country is a major contributor to theEuropean Space Agency and theInternational Space Station.

However, due to internal political instability, a large public debt,^[346] a diminishing economic productivity, low economic growth in the last fifteen years^[346][347] and a significantCentre-North/South socio-economic divide, Italy is often considered as theleast of the great powers.^[348]

China started to be seen as a great power afterWorld War II as one of theFour Policemen and principalAllies of World War II.^{[194][196][198][200][349][350][201]} After its victory in theChinese Civil War, theKorean War in 1950–1953 and theSino-Soviet split in the 1960s, thePeople's Republic of China emerged as one of the main players in international geopolitics during the late Cold War, with its status as arecognized nuclear weapons state in the 1960s.^[351][352] China was officially recognized as one of thepermanent members of the UN Security Council in 1971.

Currently, China has the world's second-largest population,second-largest GDP per country, and thelargest economy in the world by PPP since 2013 according toThe Economist.^{[353][354][355]} China created theBelt and Road Initiative, which according to analysts has been ageostrategic effort to take a more significant role in global affairs and challengeUS post-war hegemony.^{[356][357][358]} It has also been argued that China co-founded theAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank andNew Development Bank to compete with theWorld Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund indevelopment finance.^[359][360] In 2015, China launched theMade in China 2025 strategic plan to further develop its manufacturing sector. There have been debates on the effectiveness and practicality of these programs in promoting China's global status.^[361]

On aforeign exchange rate basis, some estimates in 2020 and early 2021 said that China could overtake the U.S. in 2028,^[362] or 2026 if theChinese currency further strengthened.^[363] As of July 2021,Bloomberg L.P. analysts estimated that China may either overtake the U.S. to become the world's biggest economy in the 2030s or never be able to reach such a goal.^[364]

The nation receives continual coverage in the popular press of its emerging superpower status,^{[365][366][367][368][369][370]} and has been identified as a rising or emerging economic growth and military superpower by academics and other experts. The "rise of China" has been named the top news story of the 21st century by theGlobal Language Monitor, as measured by the number of appearances in the global print and electronic media, on the Internet and blogosphere, and in social media.^{[371][372][373][374][375]} The term "Second Superpower" has been applied by scholars to the possibility that the People's Republic of China couldemerge withglobal power and influence on par with the United States.^[376] The potential for the two countries to form stronger relations to address global issues is sometimes referred to as theGroup of Two.

Barry Buzan asserted in 2004 that "China certainly presents the most promising all-round profile" of a potential superpower. Buzan claimed that "China is currently the most fashionable potential superpower and the one whose degree of alienation from the dominant international society makes it the most obvious political challenger." However, he noted this challenge is constrained by the major challenges of development and by the fact that its rise could trigger a counter-coalition of states inAsia.^[377]

Parag Khanna stated in 2008 that by making massive trade and investment deals with Latin America and Africa, China had established its presence as a superpower along with theEuropean Union and theUnited States. China's rise is demonstrated by its rising share of trade in itsgross domestic product. He believed that China's "consultative style" had allowed it to develop political and economic ties with many countries, including those viewed asrogue states by the United States. He stated that theShanghai Cooperation Organisation founded with Russia and the Central Asian countries may eventually be the "NATO of the East".^[378]

HistorianTimothy Garton Ash argued in 2011 that theInternational Monetary Fund predicting that China's GDP (purchasing power parity adjusted) would overtake that of the United States in 2016 – which it did in 2013 – and that a power shift to a world with several superpowers was happening in the early 21st century. However, China is still lacking in soft power and power projection abilities and has a lowGDP per capita. The article also stated that thePew Research Center in a 2009 survey found that people in 15 out of 22 countries believed that China had already overtaken or would overtake the US as the world's leading superpower.^[379]

In an interview given in 2011, Singapore's firstpremier,Lee Kuan Yew, stated that while China supplanting the United States is not a foregone conclusion,Chinese leaders are nonetheless serious about displacing the United States as the most powerful country in Asia. "They have transformed a poor society by an economic miracle to become now the second-largest economy in the world. How could they not aspire to be number 1 in Asia, and in time the world?"^[380] The Chinese strategy, Lee maintains, will revolve around their "huge and increasingly highly skilled and educated workers to out-sell and out-build all others".^[381] Nevertheless, relations with the United States, at least in the medium term, will not take a turn for the worse because China will "avoid any action that will sour up relations with the U.S. To challenge a stronger and technologically superior power like the U.S. will abort their 'peaceful rise.'"^[381] Though Lee believes China is genuinely interested in growing within the global framework the United States has created, it is biding its time until it becomes strong enough to successfully redefine the prevailing political and economic order.^[382]

China is thought to be on the course to becoming the world's largest economy and is making rapid progress in many areas. The United States is seen as a declining superpower, as indicated by factors such as poor economic recovery, financial disorder, high deficits, increasing political polarization, and overregulation forcing jobs overseas in China.^{[383][384][385]} However, after theCOVID-19 pandemic, China's economic growth has greatly stalled, and while the country is still progressing, its rapid rise has been considerably slowed.^{[386][387][388]}

Some consensus has concluded that China has reached the qualifications of superpower status, citing China's growing political clout and leadership in certain economic sectors. Although China's military projection is still premature and untested, the perceived humiliation of US leadership in failing to prevent its closest allies from joining theAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank,^[389] along with theBelt and Road Initiative and China's role in theworldwide groundings of the Boeing 737 MAX,^[390] was seen as aparadigm shift or aninflection point to theunipolar world order that dominated post-Cold War international relations. University Professor Øystein Tunsjø argues that competition between China and the USA will increase, leading to the gap between them decreasing, while the gap between the two countries and the rest of the top ten largest economies will widen.^[391] Additionally, economics correspondent,Peter S. Goodman and Beijing Bureau Chief of China,Jane Perlez further stated that China is using a combination of its economic might and growing military advancements to pressure, coerce and change the current world order to accommodate China's interests at the expense of the United States and its allies.^[392]

Diplomatically, China has seen some success in Africa, becoming the largest trading partner of the continent,^[393] and has made some overtures towards Europe. However, the country's authoritarian rule and controversies such as with theUyghurs have soured relations with the major European powers.

The 2019 Chinese Defense White Paper highlights the growing strategic competition between China and the United States. According toAnthony H. Cordesman, although the paper flags both China and the US as competing superpowers, it was far more moderate in its treatment of the US in contrast to the United States' view on Chinese military developments. Cordesman states that the paper was a warning that will shape Sino-American relations as China becomes stronger than Russia in virtually every aspect other than its nuclear arsenal.^[394]

On 19 August 2019, theUnited States Studies Centre published a report, suggesting that Washington no longer enjoys primacy in the Indo-Pacific. It stresses that thewar on terror has greatly distracted the US response to China's role in the Pacific; that US military force in the region has greatly atrophied whereas Beijing only grew stronger and more capable sincethe September 11 attacks, to the point that China could now actively challenge the United States over the Indo-Pacific.^[395] China's challenging the United States for global predominance constitutes the core issue in the debate over theAmerican decline.^{[396][397][398]}

China's emergence as a global economic power is tied to its large working population.^[399] However, the population in China is aging faster than almost any other country in history.^[399][400] Current demographic trends could hinder economic growth, create challenging social problems, and limit China's capabilities to act as a new global hegemon.^{[399][401][402][403]} China's primarily debt-driven economic growth also creates concerns for substantial credit default risks and a potential financial crisis.

Japan is considered agreat power.^{[194][196][199][200][404]} It is a member of numerous international organizations, including theUnited Nations (since 1956), theOECD, and theGroup of Seven. Although it hasrenounced its right to declare war, the country maintainsSelf-Defense Forces that rank as one of the world's strongest militaries. After World War II, Japan experienced record growth inan economic miracle, becoming thesecond-largest economy in the world by 1990. Japanese economy was the world's second largest economy in terms of GDP until it was surpassed by China in 2010, then Germany in 2023. As of 2024^[update],the country's economy is thefourth-largest by nominal GDP as well as thefifth-largest by PPP. The country is thethird-largest in the world by total wealth. It is also ranked "very high" on theHuman Development Index.

Japan's capitalTokyo is a leadingAlpha + Global city with theGreater Tokyo Area having the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world and a gross metropolitan product estimated at US$2 trillion.^[405] The city is also one of the worlds majorfinancial centres, being the headquarters of many of the world’s largest investment banks and insurance companies. It is also the hub for the country’s telecommunications, electronic, broadcasting, and publishing industries.^[406] The other major economic centres of the country includeOsaka,Yokohama andNagoya.

In the 1980s, many political andeconomic analysts predicted thatJapan would eventually accede to superpower status, due to its large population, hugegross domestic product and higheconomic growth at that time. Japan was expected to eventually surpass the economy of the United States, which never happened.^{[407][408][409]} However, Japan is considered acultural superpower in terms of the large-scale influence Japanesefood,music,video games,manga,anime andmovies have on the world.^{[410][411][412][413][414]} In 2023,U.S. News & World Report ranked Japan as the most culturally influential country in Asia and 5th in the world.^[415] Similarly, in 2019 Japan was considered the 8th most powerful country in terms of soft power.^[416]

Japan is also considered to be a technological power, being the leader in theautomotive,^[417]electronics^[418] androbotics industries.^[419][420] As of 2022, 40 of theFortune Global 500 companies are based in Japan.^[421] Japan's most valuable and internationally known brands include:Toyota,Honda,Sony,SoftBank,Subaru,Nissan,Mazda,Canon Inc.,Uniqlo andNintendo.^[422]

Japan was ranked as the world's fourth most-powerful military in 2015.^[423] The military capabilities of theJapan Self-Defense Forces are held back by the pacifist1947 constitution. However, there is a gradual push for aconstitutional amendment. On 18 September 2015, the National Diet enacted the2015 Japanese military legislation, a series of laws that allow Japan's Self-Defense Forces tocollective self-defense of allies in combat for the first time under its constitution.^[424] In May 2017, former Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe set a 2020 deadline for revising Article 9, which would legitimize the JSDF in the Constitution.^[425] However, Article 9 has not yet been revised as of 2024, and Japan's military forces are still only meant for its own defense.

Japan is not the military giant it once was, and its new constitution restrains its power projection to having a single overseas military base,in Djibouti. However, its vast economical strength, alliances, technology and cultural influence over the world still make it one of the world's great powers.

TheFederal Republic of Germany is, sinceits reunification, considered agreat power.^{[194][196][197][199][200]}

Germany hasa strong economy; it has thelargest economy in Europe, the world'sthird-largest economy by nominal GDP, and thesixth-largest by PPP. It is one of the most innovative countries in several industrial,scientific and technological sectors,^[426] and is both the world'sthird-largest exporter andimporter. As adeveloped country, whichranks very high on theHuman Development Index, itoffers social security,a universal health care system, anda tuition-free university education. Germany is a member of theUnited Nations,NATO, theG7, theG20, and theOECD. It has thethird-greatest number ofUNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Germany'ssocial market economy has a highly skilledlabour force, a low level of corruption, and a high level ofinnovation.^{[427][428][429]} Its GDP per capita measured in purchasing power standards amounts to 121% of the EU27 average (100%).^[430] Theservice sector contributes approximately 69% of the total GDP, industry 31%, and agriculture 1% as of 2017^[update].^[427] Its unemployment rate, published byEurostat, amounts to 3.2% as of January 2020^[update], which is the fourth-lowest in the EU.^[431]

Germany is part of theEuropean single market.^[432] In 2017, the country accounted for 28% of theeurozone economy according to theInternational Monetary Fund.^[433] Its monetary policy is set by theEuropean Central Bank, which is headquartered inFrankfurt.^[434][435] Frankfurt is also home to theFrankfurt Stock Exchange, the 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization^[436] and one of the biggest in Europe. Theautomotive industry in Germany is regarded as one of the most competitive and innovative in the world,^[437] and isthe sixth-largest by production.^[438]

Of the world's 500 largest stock-market-listed companies measured by revenue in 2024, theFortune Global 500, 29 are headquartered in Germany.^[231] Well-known international brands includeMercedes-Benz,BMW,Volkswagen,Audi,Siemens,Allianz,Adidas,Porsche,Bosch andDeutsche Telekom.^[439] Berlin is ahub forstartup companies and has become the leading location for venture capital funded firms in the European Union.^[440] Germany is recognised for its large portion of specialisedsmall and medium enterprises, known as theMittelstand model.^[441] These companies represent 48% global market leaders in their segments, labelledhidden champions.^[442]

Research and development efforts form an integral part of the German economy.^[443] In 2018 Germany ranked fourth globally in terms of number of science and engineering research papers published.^[444] Germany was ranked 9th in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2019 and 2020.^[445][446] Research institutions in Germany include theMax Planck Society, theHelmholtz Association, and theFraunhofer Society and theLeibniz Association.^[447] Germany is the largest contributor to theEuropean Space Agency.^[250] While its diplomatic power is limited compared to that of Britain and France, Germany still leads theEuropean Union with France,^[448] formulating variousEuropean sanctions, yet remaineddependent on Russian gas for a time. Germany hasforeign relations with almost every country.

While recent years have seen German overtures towards Russia labeled amistake,^[449] and the German economy has beenstruggling, having the lowest GDP growth among the G7 during recent years,^[450][451] Germany remains one of the largest and most advanced economies, with a strong, slowly recovering military,^[452] and is still considered a great power.

Some nations, while not fitting the criteria to be considered or recognized as a great power yet, are emerging, with afast-growing economy, as major driving forces in the modern world. Examples of such powers includeIndia,Turkey, orBrazil.^{[453][454][455]}

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