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Medieval Sourcebook:
Tables on Population in Medieval Europe
No complete population censuses were taken until the 18th century,
thus estimates of population levels are notoriously unreliable.
Estimated levels vary as a number of "multiplier" factor
often have to be taken into account - estimated population density,
ages of marriage, and perhaps most importantly the number of people
denoted by a "hearth" in those medieval tax surveys
that do provide hard numbers. Other expansions of the few hard
figures we have are frequently done by using actuarial data from
modern world societies with population structures like that of
medieval Europe, for instance figures derived from Indian population
surveys earlier in the 20th century. Josiah Russell is the historian
who has stuck his neck out and made the estimates we have. The
following tables are, then, quite speculative, but not insane.
Population Estimates (in millions) at specified times 500-1450
AREA 500 650 1000 1340 1450
Greece/Balkans 5 3 5 6 4.5
Italy 4 2.5 5 10 7.3
Spain/Portugal 4 3.5 7 9 7
Total - South 13 9 17 25 19
France/Low countries 5 3 6 19 12
British Isles 0.5 0.5 2 5 3
Germany/Scandinavia 3.5 2 4 11.5 7.3
Total - West/Central 9 5.5 12 35.5 22.5
Slavia. 5 3
---Russia 6 8 6
---Poland/Lithuania 2 3 2
Hungary 0.5 0.5 1.5 2 1.5
Total -East 5.5 3.5 9.5 13 9.3
TOTAL EUROPE 27.5 18 38.5 73.5 50
The information here is taken from Josiah C. Russell, "Population
in Europe:, in Carlo M. Cipolla, ed., The Fontana Economic
History of Europe, Vol. I: The Middle Ages, (Glasgow : Collins/Fontana,
1972), 25-71
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.
(c)Paul Halsall Jan 1996
halsall@murray.fordham.edu
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© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 20 Oct 2025 [CV]
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