What if the German Empire Reunited Today?

At its height in 1911, the German Colonial Empire was one of the most powerful empires in the world at its time, controlling huge portions of the world's surface area, in many different continents, most notably in Europe, Oceania, and the vast majority as colonies in Africa, gained after the Berlin Conference in 1884. However, due to the start of the First World War, the allied powers began to one by one capture parts of the empire's colonies in the world, until it finally surrendered to them in 1918, ending the war and marking the end of the German ambitions to have the world's largest empire in history. But what if the empire reunited today?

So the first thing we need to think about a reunited German Empire is the population and land it would control. To start off, a total of 29 modern-day countries would lose all or some of their territory to the empire: Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Micronesia, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, Nigeria, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Tanzania, and Togo. 1 of these would be located in Asia, 6 would be located in Oceania, 9 would be located in Europe, and 13 would be located in Africa.

Due to so many countries making up the empire, it would also have a huge land area, at a total of 1,215,000 Square miles (3,147,000 sq km)! This would make the empire the 8th largest country in the world, larger than another big countries like Argentina (1,073,000 Sq miles) and Kazakhstan (1,052,000 Sq miles), but slightly smaller than India (1,269,000 Sq miles).

As well as a huge land area, the German Empire would also have a very impressive population, standing at 170 million. This is absolutely gargantuan and would be enough to make the empire the 8th most populous country in the world what a coincidence, ahead of other very populated countries like Bangladesh (164 Million) and an independent Russia (146 Million), but still significantly behind the 7th place contender, Nigeria (206 Million).

A reunited German Empire would also boast some very large and significant cities within its borders. The capital city of the empire would probably be Berlin as it was already the historic capital of the empire in 1911 and today is still a very important hub for Europe and the world, with a moderate population of 4,750,000 people. Of course, however, this would not be the most populous city in the empire, despite having a strong place in the top 10. Instead, Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, would be the most populous city in the empire, with a big population of 6,450,000, slightly larger than Berlin's. Here would be the rest of the top 10 most populous urban-areas within the empire:

The German Empire would also have a gargantuan economy as well as its population and land, able to stand on the world stage. In total, the empire's Nominal GDP would stand at a whopping $4.553 Trillion, which would be enough to put the empire in 3rd place, in terms of Nominal GDP, ahead of other massive economies like France ($3.938 Trillion) and the United Kingdom ($3.124 Trillion), but still significantly behind other economies like Japan ($5.378 Trillion) and China ($16.642 Trillion). Germany, alone, would completely dominate this number as its GDP would account for more than 94% of the imperial empire's entire GDP!

The Nominal GDP Per Capita of a reunited German Empire would also stand at a moderate amount of $25,723. This would not a big thing to show for, but is still enough to sustain the empire as a middle-income country. It would also be enough to put the empire in 52nd place, in terms of Nominal GDP Per Capita, ahead of the living standards in Portugal ($25,065) and Bahrain ($24,294), but behind that of the Czech Republic ($25,732) and Estonia ($26,470).

The next interesting topic we need to think about a reunited German Empire are the religious and ethnic groups which would be prevailing within its borders.

Starting with religion, Christianity would be the largest followed religion in the empire, with the vast majority of 70% of the population adhering to the religion, split between 40% Catholics and 30% Protestants. Islam would be next, represented at 18%, followed by Judaism at 1.1%. The final 10.9% of the population would be a mix of various other small indigenous religions and Atheists.

Focusing on Ethnic Groups now, Germans would be the largest Ethnicity within the empire, at 45% of the population, still not enough to make a clear majority of 50% though. Following closely behind, various tiny African ethnicities, native to the continent, would make up a further 39%. The last major Ethnicity prevalent in the empire would be Polish people at a drop down to 10%, and the final 6% would be a mix of various other small and indigenous ethnicities within the empire, mainly focused around the Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The Languages spoken in a reunited German Empire would also be very diverse, as well as its Religious and Ethnic Groups. German would be the most spoken language within the empire, at 41% of the population, mainly in Germany and small areas of its African territories. Surprisingly, English would be the next most spoken, at a significant 35%. This would mostly be spoken in Tanzania and Namibia. Polish would make up a further 11%, followed by French at 8%. The final 5% would be a mix of various other very small or indigenous languages being spoken in the empire.

The last thing we need to think about a reunited German Empire is its military. This would also be completely no disappointment. Starting with manpower, the empire would possess a modest force of 245,900 total active-duty troops, which would be enough to place it in 21st place, still larger than some other very powerful militaries like Saudi Arabia (227,000 troops) and France (202,700 troops), but slightly smaller than Japan (247,150 troops) and Taiwan's (275,000). In addition to this, the empire would also control an extra 90,000 troops placed in reserves, bringing its army to a total of 335,900.

The budget to fund this military would also be a significant amount, standing at $59.2 Billion, or 1.3% of its entire Nominal GDP, which would be the 6th largest budget in the world, ahead of France ($50.1 Billion) and the United Kingdom's ($48.7 Billion) budgets, but slightly smaller than Saudi Arabia ($61.9 Billion) and Russia's ($65.1 Billion) budgets.

A reunited German Empire wouldn't possess any Nuclear weapons of their own but would share a small arsenal of around 100 nukes with other NATO members who wouldn't have Nuclear weapons of their own.