Every number on this page is computed from the atlas's open dataset — the same 7,051 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 7,051 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 7,051 most significant castles, fortresses and palaces worldwide: 3,323 castles, 964 palaces & châteaux, 1,457 fortresses and 1,307 ruins, spread across 141 countries.
Which country has the most castles?
Spain leads with 500, just ahead of Germany (476) and France (457). The atlas counts England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately — combined, the United Kingdom holds 605, more than any single country.
Browse all 141 countries → · the most famous castle in each →
Which country has the most castles per person?
Among the 76 countries with at least ten atlas entries, Luxembourg has the most significant castles per capita: 67.2 per million residents — roughly one for every 15,000 people. Malta (34.5) and Ireland (32.1) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Ireland leads with 32.1 per million.
Where are castles densest?
Malta is the most castle-dense country on Earth: 601.3 significant castles per 10,000 km² — about one every 17 km². Among countries larger than a city-state, Wales lives up to its reputation as castle country with 47.6 per 10,000 km², ahead of Switzerland (34.4) and Netherlands (29.6).
| Country | Entries | Per 1M people | Per 10,000 km² |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 500 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 476 | 5.7 | 13.3 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 457 | 6.7 | 7.1 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 416 | 7.1 | 13.8 |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 360 | 9.5 | 11.5 |
| ENG England | 315 | 5.5 | 24.2 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 296 | 2.4 | 7.8 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | 200 | 18.9 | 4.4 |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 184 | 16.9 | 23.3 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 183 | 20.1 | 21.8 |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 170 | 32.1 | 24.2 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 161 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| SCT Scotland | 159 | 28.9 | 20.4 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 142 | 16.0 | 34.4 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | 132 | 12.7 | 14.3 |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 128 | 0.9 | 0.07 |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 127 | 3.4 | 2.1 |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 126 | 23.3 | 25.7 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 124 | 6.9 | 29.6 |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | 124 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 121 | 12.6 | 13.0 |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | 120 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 119 | 11.6 | 9.0 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 113 | 0.08 | 0.1 |
| 🇺🇸 United States | 106 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| WLS Wales | 99 | 31.9 | 47.6 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | 95 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | 86 | 7.3 | 28.2 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 78 | 0.4 | 0.09 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | 59 | 15.1 | 10.4 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 57 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 47 | 8.0 | 10.9 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 45 | 67.2 | 174.0 |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | 41 | 21.6 | 6.3 |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | 38 | 10.3 | 5.5 |
| 🇧🇾 Belarus | 37 | 4.1 | 1.8 |
| 🇸🇾 Syria | 37 | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 36 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 35 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 33 | 15.7 | 16.3 |
| 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 32 | 10.0 | 6.2 |
| NIR Northern Ireland | 32 | 16.8 | 22.6 |
| 🇬🇭 Ghana | 31 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | 28 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 27 | 9.3 | 4.1 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | 26 | 18.6 | 5.7 |
| 🇲🇦 Morocco | 26 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 26 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
| 🇦🇲 Armenia | 25 | 8.3 | 8.4 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | 24 | 2.6 | 10.9 |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | 23 | 9.6 | 8.0 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 23 | 3.6 | 2.1 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 23 | 0.6 | 0.02 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordan | 22 | 1.9 | 2.5 |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 22 | 0.09 | 0.2 |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 22 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | 21 | 3.8 | 0.6 |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 21 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 20 | 3.6 | 0.5 |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | 19 | 34.5 | 601.3 |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 18 | 1.9 | 2.2 |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | 16 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | 15 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 14 | 2.4 | 13.4 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | 14 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 14 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 🇴🇲 Oman | 13 | 2.8 | 0.4 |
| 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 13 | 0.6 | 2.0 |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | 12 | 0.3 | 0.05 |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 12 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| 🇨🇺 Cuba | 11 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 🇮🇶 Iraq | 11 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | 10 | 0.4 | 0.01 |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 10 | 0.08 | 0.05 |
| 🇵🇸 Palestine | 10 | 1.8 | 16.6 |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 10 | 0.10 | 0.3 |
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 4,238 dated entries (60.1% of the atlas), the busiest founding century is the 13th — the high-medieval castle boom — and 47.0% 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 1470. Another 593 entries (14.0%) 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 in Egypt, c. 3000 BC. 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 c. 3000 BC · Egypt
- Kumma 1878 BC · Sudan
- Amman Citadel 1800 BC · Jordan
- Royal Palace of Mari 1799 BC · Syria
- Numantia 1702 BC · Spain
- Qal'at al-Bahrain c. 1450 BC · Bahrain
- Palace of Nestor 1300 BC · Greece
- Dymaean Wall c. 1300 BC · Greece
- Lion Gate 1249 BC · Greece
- Avranlo Fortress 1000 BC · Georgia
See all 4,238 dated castles ranked by age →
Castles by continent
74.7% of the world's great castles stand in Europe — three in every four. Asia follows with 18.5%, led by Japan's 296 and India's 161.
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
- Great Wall of China — 192 Wikipedia editions
- Most-read
- Palace of Versailles — 201,480 views/yr
Fame has its own page: see all 7,051 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 7,051 most significant castles, fortresses and palaces worldwide — 3,323 castles, 964 palaces, 1,457 fortresses and 1,307 ruins across 141 countries. Every statistic on this page is measured within that curated set.
Which country has the most castles?
In the Castlemap atlas, Spain has the most with 500 entries, followed by Germany (476) and France (457). Counted together, the United Kingdom's constituent countries — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — hold 605, more than any single country.
Which country has the most castles per capita?
Luxembourg, with 67.2 significant castles per million residents — roughly one for every 15,000 people. Malta (34.5) and Ireland (32.1) follow. Among countries of more than five million people, Ireland leads with 32.1 per million.
What is the oldest castle in the world?
It depends on the definition. The oldest dated landmark in the atlas is Aniba in Egypt, c. 3000 BC. 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 — 614 dated entries were founded then, and 47.0% of all dated entries were founded between 1000 and 1500. Palaces skew much later, which is why the median dated entry was founded in 1470 — castle-building peaks in the 13th century, palace-building in the 18th.
Are new castles still being built?
Yes — 593 atlas entries (14.0% 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/statistics/), data CC0.