The British Empire in 1924


The inter-war years period was something of a theoretical highpoint of Empire. Britain had been on the winning side of World War One and had been awarded a number of German and Turkish Colonies as League of Nations Mandates to govern. Of course, Britain had been fundamentally weakened by the four year long devastating war, but the relative decline in British power had not yet been fully appreciated by most people. Indeed, Britain held a huge British Empire exhibition in 1924 to celebrate the power and opportunities within the Empire. On paper, the British Empire appeared at its zenith, in reality it was going to be all down hill from here.

Colony Name Square Miles Population Annual Revenue
(in Pounds Sterling)
United Kingdom 94,285 44,095,601 910,775,000
Aden 10,387 66,923 38,235
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1,014,000 5,850,000 3,880,000
Ascension 34 200 -
Australia 2,974,600 5,510,229 64,897,046
Bahamas 4,404 53,000 470,987
Bahrain 250 110,000 -
Barbados 166 155,800 340,815
Basutoland 11,700 498,781 209,800
Bechuanaland 275,000 152,980 84,980
Bermuda 20 20,127 201,380
Brunei 4,000 25,454 18,800
Cameroons 191,130 2,550,000 52,000
Canada 3,603,336 8,788,480 78,512,435
Ceylon 25,480 4,574,550 4,707,839
Cyprus 3,580 310,709 658,375
Falkland Islands 7,500 3,240 71,588
Fiji 7,083 157,266 752,083
Gambia 4,130 208,800 183,201
Gibraltar 2 17,160 249,133
Gold Coast 80,000 2,080,208 3,016,520
Guiana 89,500 307,391 968,957
Honduras 8,598 45,317 227,409
India 1,802,629 318,942,480 135,633,000
Iraq 143,250 2,849,280 3,437,000
Irish Free State 26,593 3,160,000 27,000,000
Jamaica 4,431 2,807,000 1,920,807
Kenya 246,800 2,807,000 2,979,000
Leeward Islands 715 122,240 304,100
Malta 118 213,024 1,063,750
Mauritius 809 385,000 2,678,000
Newfoundland and Labrador 162,734 263,000 1,734,000
New Guinea 89,770 417,600 91,644
New Zealand 103,568 1,250,940 26,250,000
Nigeria 336,700 18,500,000 4,876,746
Norfolk Island 13 717 -
North Borneo 31,000 208,000 372,119
Nyasaland 39,600 1,200,000 267,970
Palestine 9,000 757,180 2,269,000
Papua Territory 90,540 275,900 68,138
Rhodesia, Northern 281,000 931,500 235,000
Rhodesia, Southern 149,000 806,600 1,485,000
Samoa 1,250 37,791 135,569
Sarawak 42,000 600,000 331,000
Seychelles 158 25,000 41,317
Sierra Leone 31,660 1,541,311 638,315
Somaliland 68,000 300,000 80,270
South Africa 473,000 6,928,580 28,884,270
South West Africa 322,500 227,430 806,800
St Helena 47 3,600 7,000
Straits Settlements 52,000 2,788,000 10,966,119
Swaziland 6,678 133,560 87,104
Tanganyika 365,000 4,124,447 1,262,844
Togoland 33,600 1,030,000 127,444
Tonga 11,450 205,000 201,512
Uganda 109,000 3,066,327 803,173
Windward Islands 516 165,000 225,914
Zanzibar 1,020 200,000 455,773


Full List of Colonies


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by Stephen Luscombe