Talk:List of countries by population in 1500

The population listed now uses the McEvedy and Jones study from 1978, but looking at the Demographic History of Japan article, it looks like there have been three more recent studies that all put the number much lower, anywhere from 12 million to 8 million rather than 17 million. The highest estimate among these three newer studies has the population only reaching 17 million in 1600. This article should probably be updated to reflect these newer studies. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ungeheuerlich (talk • contribs) 05:28, 17 February 2018 (UTC)

Good call and thanks for the update. Jlr3001 (talk) 19:05, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

With a population of 20,000,000 Mali would have a population density comparable to Ming China and HRE, which seems absurd.Surely there exists a more reasonable estimate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:8108:8F80:351C:7DE6:4035:2CA7:DFA7 (talk) 19:57, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Past estimates, like Diane's 40-50 million, have been even higher for the Malian population. The figure of 20 million is both a compromise figure and a traditionally accepted population estimate from what I've read. But yes you are right, 20 million is still a large population for a sub-saharan state, especially considering the Mali empire lost significant chunks of territory since the mid-15th century. Hence why I implied the empire had "less than" 20 million inhabitants. If you manage to get your hands on a better source, please let us know, thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RedStorm1368 (talk • contribs) 23:31, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

According to [1], the population of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Gambia combined was around 15 million in 1950, and that number would have been far lower in 1900. Are you saying that the population of the Mali Empire in 1500 was higher than the western Sahel in 1950? 73.73.127.102 (talk) 00:33, 26 August 2022 (UTC)

Seems like a rather illogical argument to make considering populations grow and shrink throughout history Ireland is a

Prominent example of this as is Central Asia you can’t just claim something is absurd as well if it doesn’t match a preconceived notion about a region WILLIAMSRD33 (talk) 07:22, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

I would rather compare West Africa to Southeast Asia, both areas where the population remained low until the 20th century due to a hostile enviroment. According to Thai historians Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit, Southeast Asia's density was a fifth of that of India and China's until the modern period. Ayutthaya had a population of 1-2.5 million in it's heyday in the 1700s. Taungoo and Konbaung Burma had a similar population number. Vietnam and the Philippines, two countries with similar growth rates to African countries (Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia) each had a population of around 10 million in 1900. Ilffie, whose book "Africans: The History of a Continent" is an r/askhistorians recommended book, argues that most historians don't know the exact population of pre-modern West Africa. I would probably agree with removing Mali from here. Yourlocallordandsavior (talk) 06:32, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

2601:483:300:6300:A9AC:2E6C:961F:2EA7 (talk) 22:29, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Added as Aq Qoyunlu Iran RedStorm1368 (talk) 06:47, 21 August 2022 (UTC)