What if the Mexican Empire Reunited Today?

At its height in 1821, just after gaining independence from Spain, the First Mexican Empire was one of the most significant empires in the world in its time and is still today known as one of the largest in history. It controlled a huge portion of the American continent and practically dominated North America, stretching all the way from Costa Rica, in Central America, all the way to Oregon, in the United States. However, like all empires, this one was short-lived and gradually began to lose the power and influence it once had previously, until in 1823, when the first and last emperor of the empire abdicated, finally marking the end of the First Mexican Empire. But what if it reunited today?

The first thing we need to think about a reunite Mexican Empire is the population and land it would control. To start off, a total of 8 different modern-day countries would lose all or some of their territory to the empire: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico definitely unexpected, Nicaragua and the United States, which would all be located in North America. This may not seem that much, at a glance, but would not stop the empire from having a big land area if you take into consideration how big these countries actually are.

Altogether, the Mexican Empire would have a huge land area of 1,710,000 Square miles (4,429,000 Sq km), or 3.29% of the entire world's surface area. This would be enough to make it the 7th largest country in the world, significantly larger than other massive countries like India (3,287,000 Sq km) and Argentina (2,780,000 Sq km), but also significantly smaller than the 6th and 5th place contenders, Australia (7,692,000 Sq km) and Brazil (8,515,000 Sq km).

Despite this, however, the empire would have nearly 10x Australia's population standing at around 255 Million. This would easily boost the empire up to the 5th most populous country in the world, well ahead of other very populated countries like Pakistan (221 Million) and Brazil (212 Million), but behind Indonesia (273 Million) and an independent United States (331 Million). Mexico would be the most populous modern-day country in the empire, with a massive population, even on its own, of 128 Million.

A reunited Mexican Empire would also boast some massive cities within its borders, with lots to show for. Its capital city would most likely be Mexico City as not only was it already the historic capital of the empire back in 1821, but is also still one of the most significant cities in the region today. Mexico City would also be the most populous city in the empire, too, with a huge population of 24,500,000, which is actually the 9th biggest city in the world already. Here would be the rest of the top 10 most populous urban-areas within the empire:

As well as a big population and land area, a reunited Mexican Empire would also have a massive economy. In total, the Nominal GDP of the empire would stand at a whopping $7.695 Trillion, which would easily be enough to put it in 3rd place, in terms of nominal GDP, steaming ahead of other huge economies like Japan ($5.378 Trillion), Germany ($4.319 Trillion) and the United Kingdom ($3.124 Trillion), and only behind the 1st and 2nd place juggernauts, China ($16.642 Trillion) and an independent United States ($22.675 Trillion).

Due to a huge GDP, the Mexican Empire's GDP Per Capita would also be high, standing at $30,176, which would put it in 41st place, in terms of Nominal GDP Per Capita, well above the Global Average of $11,339 and ahead of 155 other countries like the Bahamas ($30,070) and Kuwait ($25,290), but just slightly behind the conditions in Spain ($30,996) and Taiwan ($32,123).

The empire would also control a small portion of the world's oil reserves, located in parts of Texas and California, which would probably be its biggest export around the world.

The next thing we need to think about a reunited Mexican Empire is the religious and ethnic groups prevalent within its borders.

Starting with religion, Catholics would be the most followed faith within the empire, at a significant 60%, just over half of the entire population adhering to it. Protestants would be the largest minority at 19%, which would be followed by Islam at a big drop down to 0.9%. Atheists and irreligious people would make up the final block at a huge 20.1% of the population.

Now focusing on Ethnic Groups, people who identify as exclusively White would be the largest ethnicity in the empire's borders at 35% of the population. Mestizos, meaning people of mixed Amerindian and European heritage, would be not far behind at 31%, while people who identify as exclusively Amerindian or indigenous would make up a further 17%. Finally, the remaining 17% of the population would be a mix of various other small ethnicities within the empire.

The languages spoken within a reunited Mexican Empire would also be similar to its religious and ethnic groups, bringing us to the next topic. Spanish would be the most spoken language in its borders, with a significant 69% of the population able to speak it. This would be followed by English, mainly spoken in the north of the empire, at 21%. The final 10% of the population would be made up of other small languages spoken.

One specific official language of the Mexican Empire would be a hard choice to hypothesize but I predict that there would be two official languages, English and Spanish, as they would both be the two most spoken within its borders.

The final thing we need to think about a reunited Mexican Empire is its military, which of course would be no disappointment. Starting with manpower, the empire would possess 681,410 active-duty personnel, which would be the 6th largest force in the world, ahead of other huge militaries like Pakistan (653,800 troops) and South Korea (625,000), but remaining behind Russia (900,000 troops) and North Korea (1,280,000). In addition to this, the empire would also possess an extra 260,500 troops placed in reserves bringing its army to a total of 941,910.

The budget to fund this military would also be huge standing at a whopping $107.4 Billion, making it the 3rd highest in the world, significantly larger than other countries' like India ($71.1 Billion) and Russia ($65.1 Billion), but still less than half the size of the budgets of China ($261 Billion) and an independent United States ($732 Billion).

The Mexican Empire would also be a Nuclear Power, inheriting a portion of the United States' arsenal. A clear amount would be impossible to predict but an estimation would be between 0 and 4000 nukes at its disposal. But would the US allow this to happen?