Every number on this page is computed from the atlas's open dataset — the same 5793 landmarks you can explore on the interactive castle map or download free (CC0). The atlas is curated rather than exhaustive, so these are statistics about the world's significant castles: each entry has a documented story, a real photo and exact coordinates. Cite anything here — a link back is appreciated. Last computed .
The atlas in numbers
Castle statistics: the world's castles in numbers
How many castles there are, where they stand, and when they were built — measured across the 5793 castles, fortresses and palaces of the Castlemap atlas.
How many castles are there in the world?
No one has counted them all. Europe alone holds tens of thousands of castle sites — estimates for Germany alone run to some 25,000 — and most are unnamed ruins, earthworks or private homes. The Castlemap atlas curates the 5793 most significant castles, fortresses and palaces worldwide: 2591 castles, 934 palaces & châteaux, 1180 fortresses and 1088 ruins, spread across 138 countries.
Which country has the most castles?
France leads with 351, just ahead of Italy (350) and Germany (349). The atlas counts England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately — combined, the United Kingdom holds 354, more than any single country.
Browse all 138 countries → · the most famous castle in each →
Which country has the most castles per person?
Among the 68 countries with at least ten atlas entries, Luxembourg has the most significant castles per capita: 62,7 per million residents — roughly one for every 16.000 people. Malta (30,9) and Slovakia (23,3) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Eslovaquia leads with 23,3 per million.
Where are castles densest?
Malta is the most castle-dense country on Earth: 538,0 significant castles per 10,000 km² — about one every 19 km². Among countries larger than a city-state, Switzerland lives up to its reputation as castle country with 34,2 per 10,000 km², ahead of Wales (32,2) and Netherlands (29,6).
| Country | Entries | Per 1M people | Per 10,000 km² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇫🇷 Francia | 351 | 5,1 | 5,5 |
| 🇮🇹 Italia | 350 | 5,9 | 11,6 |
| 🇩🇪 Alemania | 349 | 4,2 | 9,8 |
| 🇯🇵 Japón | 297 | 2,4 | 7,9 |
| 🇪🇸 España | 230 | 4,7 | 4,5 |
| 🇵🇱 Polonia | 217 | 5,7 | 6,9 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 182 | 20,0 | 21,7 |
| 🇨🇿 Chequia | 182 | 16,7 | 23,1 |
| ENG Inglaterra | 182 | 3,2 | 14,0 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 156 | 0,1 | 0,5 |
| 🇨🇭 Suiza | 141 | 15,8 | 34,2 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 132 | 12,7 | 14,3 |
| 🇸🇪 Suecia | 131 | 12,4 | 2,9 |
| 🇷🇺 Rusia | 126 | 0,9 | 0,07 |
| 🇸🇰 Eslovaquia | 126 | 23,3 | 25,7 |
| 🇳🇱 Países Bajos | 124 | 6,9 | 29,6 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 121 | 0,09 | 0,1 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungría | 120 | 12,5 | 12,9 |
| 🇮🇷 Irán | 120 | 1,3 | 0,7 |
| 🇹🇷 Turquía | 120 | 1,4 | 1,5 |
| 🇺🇦 Ucrania | 120 | 3,2 | 2,0 |
| 🇬🇷 Grecia | 114 | 11,1 | 8,6 |
| 🇮🇪 Irlanda | 107 | 20,2 | 15,2 |
| 🇺🇸 Estados Unidos | 98 | 0,3 | 0,10 |
| SCT Escocia | 96 | 17,5 | 12,3 |
| 🇷🇴 Rumanía | 93 | 4,9 | 3,9 |
| 🇧🇪 Bélgica | 83 | 7,0 | 27,2 |
| 🇧🇷 Brasil | 78 | 0,4 | 0,09 |
| WLS Gales | 67 | 21,6 | 32,2 |
| 🇰🇷 Corea del Sur | 56 | 1,1 | 5,6 |
| 🇭🇷 Croacia | 47 | 12,1 | 8,3 |
| 🇩🇰 Dinamarca | 46 | 7,8 | 10,7 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxemburgo | 42 | 62,7 | 162,4 |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | 37 | 10,0 | 5,3 |
| 🇱🇻 Letonia | 37 | 19,5 | 5,7 |
| 🇸🇾 Siria | 37 | 1,5 | 2,0 |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 36 | 0,1 | 0,2 |
| 🇦🇿 Azerbaiyán | 35 | 3,4 | 4,0 |
| 🇧🇦 Bosnia y Herzegovina | 32 | 10,0 | 6,2 |
| 🇬🇭 Ghana | 31 | 0,9 | 1,3 |
| 🇸🇮 Eslovenia | 28 | 13,3 | 13,8 |
| 🇧🇾 Bielorrusia | 27 | 3,0 | 1,3 |
| 🇪🇬 Egipto | 26 | 0,2 | 0,3 |
| 🇦🇲 Armenia | 25 | 8,3 | 8,4 |
| 🇲🇦 Marruecos | 25 | 0,7 | 0,6 |
| 🇱🇹 Lituania | 24 | 8,3 | 3,7 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 24 | 3,6 | 3,1 |
| 🇨🇦 Canadá | 23 | 0,6 | 0,02 |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistán | 23 | 0,09 | 0,3 |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 22 | 9,2 | 7,7 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 22 | 3,4 | 2,0 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | 22 | 2,3 | 10,0 |
| 🇸🇦 Arabia Saudí | 22 | 0,6 | 0,1 |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwán | 21 | 0,9 | 5,8 |
| 🇫🇮 Finlandia | 20 | 3,6 | 0,6 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 19 | 13,6 | 4,2 |
| 🇳🇴 Noruega | 19 | 3,5 | 0,5 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordania | 17 | 1,5 | 1,9 |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | 17 | 30,9 | 538,0 |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | 15 | 0,8 | 0,2 |
| 🇱🇧 Líbano | 14 | 2,4 | 13,4 |
| 🇵🇭 Filipinas | 14 | 0,1 | 0,5 |
| 🇹🇭 Tailandia | 14 | 0,2 | 0,3 |
| 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 13 | 0,6 | 2,0 |
| 🇩🇿 Argelia | 12 | 0,3 | 0,05 |
| 🇹🇳 Túnez | 12 | 1,0 | 0,7 |
| 🇨🇺 Cuba | 11 | 1,0 | 1,0 |
| 🇲🇽 México | 10 | 0,08 | 0,05 |
Countries with ≥ 10 atlas entries. Population: UN 2024 estimates; area: total country figures. Rates measure significant castles in the atlas, not every fortified site.
When were castles built?
Of the 3610 dated entries (62,3% of the atlas), the busiest founding century is the 13th — the high-medieval castle boom — and 45,0% were founded between 1000 and 1500. But building never stopped: castle foundings peak in the 13th century, palace foundings in the 18th, and the median dated entry is as late as 1500. Another 539 entries (14,9%) date from 1801 onward — the romantic revival that produced Neuschwanstein.
The oldest castles in the world
The oldest dated landmark in the atlas is Aniba (Nubia) in Egipto, ca. 3000 a. C. A caveat borne of honesty: ancient sites usually carry the date of the first fortification on the spot, not the standing structure — Erebuni Fortress in modern Yerevan, founded by inscription in the 8th century BC, is the textbook case. The purpose-built medieval castle emerged only around the 10th century AD.
- Aniba (Nubia) ca. 3000 a. C. · Egipto
- Palacio de Mari 1799 a. C. · Siria
- Palacio de Néstor 1300 a. C. · Grecia
- Fuerte Dimeo ca. 1300 a. C. · Grecia
- Fortaleza de Avranlo 1000 a. C. · Georgia
- Carteia 939 a. C. · España
- Ciudadela de Kirkuk 800 a. C. · Irak
- Palacio de Ghumdan 800 a. C. · Yemen
- Castillo de Erebuni 781 a. C. · Armenia
- Gran Muralla china 700 a. C. · China
See all 3610 dated castles ranked by age →
Castles by continent
70,5% of the world's great castles stand in Europe — three in every four. Asia follows with 22,1%, led by Japan's 297 and India's 156.
UN geoscheme: Russia counted in Europe; Turkey and the Caucasus in Asia.
Geographic extremes
- Northernmost
- Fort Conger — Canada, 81.7°N
- Southernmost
- Fuerte Bulnes — Chile, 53.6°S
- Most-covered
- Gran Muralla china — 192 Wikipedia editions
- Most-read
- Gran Muralla china — 1.441.865 views/yr
Fame has its own page: see all 5793 castles ranked by fame, with the method explained.
Frequently asked questions
How many castles are there in the world?
No one has counted them all — Europe alone has tens of thousands of castle sites, and estimates for Germany alone run to some 25,000. The Castlemap atlas curates the 5793 most significant castles, fortresses and palaces worldwide — 2591 castles, 934 palaces, 1180 fortresses and 1088 ruins across 138 countries. Every statistic on this page is measured within that curated set.
Which country has the most castles?
In the Castlemap atlas, France has the most with 351 entries, followed by Italy (350) and Germany (349). Counted together, the United Kingdom's constituent countries — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — hold 354, more than any single country.
Which country has the most castles per capita?
Luxembourg, with 62,7 significant castles per million residents — roughly one for every 16.000 people. Malta (30,9) and Slovakia (23,3) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Eslovaquia leads with 23,3 per million.
What is the oldest castle in the world?
It depends on the definition. The oldest dated landmark in the atlas is Aniba (Nubia) in Egipto, ca. 3000 a. C. Ancient sites usually carry the date of the first fortification on the spot — the purpose-built medieval castle only emerged around the 10th century AD.
When were most castles built?
The single busiest century in the atlas is the 13th — 519 dated entries were founded then, and 45,0% of all dated entries were founded between 1000 and 1500. Palaces skew much later, which is why the median dated entry was founded in 1500 — castle-building peaks in the 13th century, palace-building in the 18th.
Are new castles still being built?
Yes — 539 atlas entries (14,9% of dated ones) were founded in 1801 or later, most of them romantic-revival castles and palaces such as Neuschwanstein Castle, begun in 1869.
Cite these statistics
Everything on this page is free to quote and republish. The underlying dataset is CC0 and free to download; it is also citable via DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21322359. A suggested credit:
Source: Castlemap — Castle statistics (https://thecastlemap.com/es/statistics/), data CC0.