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19 - Cities and Empires

from Part III - Trends and Interactions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2024

Rein Taagepera  and
Miroslav Nemčok
Rein Taagepera
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Miroslav Nemčok
Affiliation:
University of Oslo, Norway
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Summary

Cities seem to form when state population surpasses 10,000. Over 5000 years, top city populations have remained 0.1−0.5% of world population. The square root law of city population: The largest city population tends to be hundred times the square root of state population. This law held from 3000 BCE to 1800 CE. Constantinople exemplifies it from 400 to 1800. It no longer holds, as the economic reach of major cities surpasses international borders.

Keywords

city formationcity and state populationscity and world populationsConstantinoplesquare root laws
Type
Chapter
Information
More People, Fewer States
The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes
 , pp. 287 - 294
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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