For this story, the following is considered the population of the Empire:
Reikland is the most populated province of the Empire, with around 5,250,000 inhabitants. It is the political and religious heart of the Empire, home to Altdorf, the imperial capital and the largest city in the Old World. Its central location, riverine wealth, commercial activity, and efficient administration make it the core of human civilization.
Wissenland ranks second, with a population close to 3,780,000 people. This province includes the great city of Nuln, the industrial and academic center of the Empire, famous for its engineering school and powerful artillery. Wissenland is divided between rural areas inherited from old Solland and highly developed urban centers.
Averland, with approximately 3,570,000 inhabitants, is a province of wide agricultural plains, abundant livestock, and chivalric tradition. Although its capital, Averheim, is not as large a city as Altdorf or Nuln, its agricultural wealth sustains much of the southern Empire.
Talabecland has around 3,360,000 inhabitants. It stretches across much of the Empire from west to east, encompassing river valleys and vast forests. Its capital, Talabheim, is built inside a natural crater and is one of the best-defended bastions of the Empire.
Middenland, with about 2,100,000 inhabitants, is a northern province dominated by the dark Drakwald Forest. Its main city is Middenheim, a fortress built atop a rocky mountain. Despite its difficult geography, the people of Middenland are strong, proud, and highly militarized.
Stirland matches Middenland in numbers, with approximately 2,100,000 inhabitants. However, its population is mostly rural and poor, spread across hard-to-reach villages. A significant part of its territory includes the cursed region of Sylvania, which limits its demographic and economic growth.
Ostermark has an estimated population of 1,680,000 inhabitants. Its lands are fertile and open, though lacking large cities. It is organized more like a league of autonomous communities than a centralized province. Its geographic isolation makes it relatively self-sufficient but vulnerable.
Ostland, in the north of the Empire, maintains a population of 1,260,000 people. It is a forested, poor province marked by constant war against Chaos. The city of Wolfenburg is its main urban center, though it has been devastated multiple times. Its people live scattered, armed, and always on alert.
Nordland barely surpasses 1,050,000 inhabitants. It is a coastal, windy, and cold province, exposed to Norscan raids. Salzenmund is its main city, and although the sea offers some trade advantages, its inland territories are rugged and sparsely inhabited.
Hochland, one of the smallest in terms of population, has around 525,000 inhabitants. It is a province covered in deep forests, with isolated villages and few major routes. Its capital city, Hergig, was destroyed during the Storm of Chaos and is only just beginning to be rebuilt.
Westerland, now simply known as Marienburg, is no longer part of the Empire but remains a densely populated region. The city of Marienburg, the largest trading port in the Old World, alone houses about 150,000 inhabitants. Although independent for nearly a century, its imperial legacy remains evident.
Sylvania, officially a territory under Stirland, is practically devoid of humans. At best, some 50,000 peasants survive in isolated villages, enslaved under the rule of the vampire counts. The region is a wasteland of death, superstition, and darkness.
Social Composition of the Empire:
The society of the Empire is structured around a rigid feudal model, deeply influenced by religion, war, and tradition. The majority of the population—between sixty and sixty-five percent—is composed of peasants, who live in villages and work the land under the control of local lords. Some are serfs bound to the land, while others have degrees of freedom or limited property.
Burghers make up between ten and twelve percent of the total. These are merchants, master artisans, bankers, innkeepers, doctors, and lawyers who live in free cities or provincial towns. Many belong to guilds and actively participate in the urban economic and political life.
Around ten percent corresponds to artisans, both urban and rural: blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, millers, glassmakers, and other essential trades. Their lives often revolve around the family workshop and local market, and their living standards can vary widely.
Five percent of the population consists of soldiers and militiamen, whether men-at-arms of the Elector Counts, state troops, town militias, or retired veterans. They are especially numerous in border provinces like Ostland or Nordland, where war is constant.
Nobles, ranging from powerful Elector Counts to lesser barons, landed knights, and their families, make up no more than two or three percent of the total. Despite their small numbers, they concentrate most of the Empire's political and economic power. Their role as rulers, commanders, and patrons of culture is central to the imperial social fabric.
The clergy, composed of priests of Sigmar, Shallya, Verena, Ulric, and other deities of the imperial pantheon, accounts for approximately two percent. However, their influence is disproportionately high, especially in devout provinces such as Reikland or Middenland.
One percent or less consists of state officials, judges, scribes, tax collectors, and bureaucrats, many of whom are trained in Altdorf. This growing class is essential for keeping the Empire unified during times of crisis.
Licensed wizards, that is, those authorized by the Colleges of Magic in Altdorf, are extremely rare—less than one-tenth of a percent. Their existence is highly regulated, and most live in academic centers or under official tutelage.
Finally, around two percent of the population is composed of marginalized and wandering individuals: beggars, vagabonds, refugees, traveling performers, hidden mutants, and other figures outside the established order. They are common along secondary roads and in overcrowded cities.