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The century spanned a lot of changes in the balance of power among nations, however the best overall rankings for the most powerful nations of the 19th century are as follows:

1) Great Britain; for it is inarguable with their navy (best in the world at the time), their vast global colonial holdings, and the immense resource wealth that they derive from their colonies.

2) France; it comes in second barely behind Britain in military power and colonial wealth.

3) Germany; Though there is a greater prestige gap with France than there is between France and the U.K., Germany has the world's best land army, holds the 3rd largest share of colonies in Africa (behind U.K. and France) in addition to pacific holdings. However, Germany wasn't entirely united until 1871 and hence was late in the process of competition for strength and stability.

4) Russia; It lacks critically in modernized technology and battle tactics, using methods and weapons 20 years old, and a series of incompetent nobles with no battle experience often lead armies (responsible for Russia's Eastern Front disaster in WW1). Though for what it lacks in technology, industrial output, and economy, it repays for with the world's largest standing army of millions, with millions more civilians able for combat. Also, they have the world's 3rd strongest Navy (courtesy of Peter the Great's ambitions in the 18th century) and is the world's largest empire of direct and absolute control, mastering one-sixth of the Earth's land surface area (Britain is the largest empire in terms of indirect control as they have many Dominions with considerable degrees of self-autonomy). Russia, as holder's of Siberia and Central Asia, have the largest supply of oil, timber, and mineral resources.

5) Japan; though non-European and on the other side of the globe, it actually plays to their advantage as they gain strength from acquired resources in China and Korea, with no non-European nation able to pose a challenge to it, and for the distance it has from Europe which allows it to expand its empire and army without losing any gains to war against powerful countries. They have a small population in comparison to the above five, however, its people's unrelenting loyalty to the Emperor allows Japan to accomplish a lot militarily without debate.

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