Prussia (Ger. Preussen), by far the largest and most important state in the German empire, is a kingdom embracing nearly the whole of northern Germany. It is bounded N. by the German Ocean, Jutland, and the Baltic; E. by Russia (and Russian Poland); S. by Austria, Saxony, the Thuringian states, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Alsace-Lorraine; W. by Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Prussia owns besides Hohenzollern (q.v.) and about thirteen other smaller exclaves or detached territories lying within the bounds of other German states. The total area is 136,000 sq. m., with (1895) 31,855,123 inhabitants—i.e. nearly two-thirds of the entire German empire, with about three-fifths of the population, equal to about one and one-tenth the size of the United Kingdom, or one-half of the state of Texas. The frontier line has a circumference of 4720 miles, of which 1025 miles are coast-line (770 miles on the Baltic, 255 miles on the German Ocean). The following are the provinces into which Prussia is divided:
| Area in sq. m. | Pop. in 1890. | Pop. in 1890. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Prussia..... | 14,446 | 1,933,936 | 1,958,132 |
| West Prussia..... | 9,964 | 1,405,898 | 1,433,480 |
| Berlin (city)..... | 25 | 1,122,330 | 1,579,244 |
| Brandenburg..... | 15,560 | 2,266,825 | 2,542,401 |
| Pomerania..... | 11,762 | 1,540,034 | 1,521,211 |
| Posen..... | 11,311 | 1,703,397 | 1,752,094 |
| Silesia..... | 15,743 | 4,007,925 | 4,223,507 |
| Saxony..... | 9,863 | 2,312,007 | 2,579,552 |
| Sleswick-Holstein.. | 7,360 | 1,127,149 | 1,217,393 |
| Heligoland..... | 3 | .... | 2,086 |
| Hanover..... | 15,031 | 2,120,168 | 2,280,491 |
| Westphalia..... | 7,892 | 2,043,442 | 2,428,736 |
| Hesse-Nassau..... | 6,123 | 1,554,376 | 1,664,000 |
| Rhenish Prussia... | 10,543 | 4,074,000 | 4,710,313 |
| Hohenzollern..... | 447 | 67,624 | 66,148 |
| Total... | 136,075 | 27,279,111 | 29,959,388 |
Omitting Berlin and Heligoland, the density of population ranges between 131 (Pomerania) and 452 (Rhenish Prussia) per sq. m. About one-fifth of the present area of Prussia has been acquired since 1853, the largest gains being made after the victorious war of 1866. The Prussia of Frederick the Great embraced only 47,800 sq. m. when he ascended the throne, and 75,000 when he died. In 1819 the population was 10,981,934; in 1864, 19,254,649; in 1871, 24,689,252; in 1895, 31,855,123.