Intergalactic Summit

According to a recently published census, the Amarr Empire contains a shockingly large number of Caldari. Of the 21.449 Trillion non-slaves in the Empire[1], 3.860 Trillion or 18% of them are Caldari. To put this astonishing number in perspective:

• In the Gallente Federation, the political entity to which the Caldari people once belonged and where relations with the Caldari-minority are still a frequent matter of news and debate, there are only 1.599 Trillion Caldari.
• In the Caldari State itself, there are only 7.654 Trillion Caldari, just twice the number of Caldari in the Empire.

The questions raised by this enormous Caldari presence in the Empire are astounding:

• There is no precedent in Amarr history for such a large ethnic minority that neither joined the Reclaiming voluntarily (as did the Khanid) nor were themselves Reclaimed and conquered (pretty much everyone else). Have these Caldari joined the Reclaiming; have they renounced the worship of meteorological phenomena and accepted God not only as Maker but Lord?
• Amarr society rests also on a hierarchy of Holder, Commoner, and Slave, these stations being hereditary or at least stable over many generations. How has the presence of so many people from a civilization traditionally devoted to the heresy of meritocracy disrupted the social order?
• Although this Caldari minority has been amazingly silent relative to its size, it must be expected that they will some day begin making demands. Or at least requests. What do they want?
• Does this census undermine certain commonly held propositions about Caldari character? I have heard it said that Caldari have a strongly developed sense of place; that one cannot be Caldari just anywhere; that if you want to follow Caldari tradition, you really ought to be in the Caldari State. But apparently 3.860 Trillion people are being Caldari (for some meaning of Caldari)...in the Amarr Empire. Does the Cold Wind blow on Dam-Torsad?
• Do these census results have the effect of cementing present political alignments between Empires in place? Many IGS Caldari would seem to rather have the Minmatar Republic as their ally instead of the Amarr Empire. But would the Caldari State ever stop favoring the Amarr Empire with its 3.860 Trillion Caldari over the Minmatar Republic with its less than a trillion Caldari?
• Finally, where did all these Caldari come from? Do they go all the way back to the era when the Caldari separated from the Gallente? Or are they more recent immigrants?

[1] It is unclear whether these figures include the Khanid Kingdom and Ammatar Mandate.

Corporate takeover. They're already settling into your bureaucracy. The ammarian takeover is near completion...

A census need not include citizens only; a census may include permanent residents, illegal aliens, or whatever. That said, the publication that collected together all this census data was not specific on this point.

I feel the answer is simple really. The Amarr and the Caldari have always been very close allies. While they are extremely different both politically and religiously, their alliance is a necessity or at least it was when it was first created. With the Gallente and the Minmatar forming an equally powerful alliance, the Caldari clung to the massive Amarrian Empire to discourage further Federal aggression and the Amarr clung to the Caldari to help boost their economy after the rebellion deprived them of a major portion of their workforce. So over the past century, Caldari that have found a liking to the way the Empire does things flocked their, or those that stayed in the Empire over a long period of time (probably for business or military) decided to settle down since they liked it so much.

Keep in mind that it was mainly Ex-Executor Heth who wanted to become closer to the Republic. While Im sure many Caldari would like this as well, I don't think anyone in their right mind would be willing to turn their back on their closest ally like that. Especially considering that the alliance with the Caldari and the Amarr has carried on pretty much without a single bump in the road. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Gallente- Minmatar alliance. While you may notice the Federation has gotten closer to the Empire in recent years, it too would not risk the massive instability that would result from turning away from the Republic, especially considering more Minmatar live in the Federation than in the Republic.

All that said, I do have to wonder what agenda or plot you are trying to promote with this information.

But it very clearly states "Percentage of Population Actively Practicing Reilgion: 98%"...under a subheading "Status of Matari within the Empire". So 98% of Matari in the Empire actively practice religion; nothing is said about anyone else.

You are quite right Contessa, I see now that slave census data is listed separately along with free Matari data. My apologies.

EDIT: And it is very strange that the Ealur are wholly unlisted. Their numbers must be small or the data gathers were not interested in providing information past a certain level of detail.

I would imagine that the Caldari population is either immigrants, or personnel working State interests within Empire space.

From what I remember, the Tash-Murkon family has strong Caldari ties, can explain the large Caldari population partially as they might have been very open to Caldari immigrants to increase their own strength and power.

On the corporate presence, considering the huge number of Caldari stations in some regions of Amarr space they did at some point invest heavely in there, bringing along a large wave of immigrants. Aridia region is a good example! Caldari stations everywhere, any Caldari would feel at home when travelling across this part of space.
The large rate of conversion to the Amarr faith is harder to explain, but perhaps many were searching for a more 'solid' belief then the ambigious Winds.
Please don't get me wrong, but for people who seek a more solid belief, the Winds can be a very loose and esotheric belief and then the Amarr provide a solid beleifsystem with their divine faith.

It would be useful if Naupilus could provide a source for these data.

After all, we wouldn't want people thinking that he was trying to deceive them.

The same source that published the MIO YC114 Census data also published Gallente Federation census data. This was interesting in that the population data definitely included non-citizens, because the report listed citizenship data for the Federation a few lines later. The Gallente data looks like this:

Estimated Total Population: 19.991 Trillion

Breakdown of Citizenship Status:
Gallente Citizens: 14.362 Trillion

Now, this does not absolutely, positively mean that the non-slave Amarr Empire population of 21.449 Trillion listed in the OP includes non-citizens. But it is strong indication that it might.

I do not concede that the given statistic for "Percentage of Population Actively Practicing Religion" proves that the provided population figures are citizen-only, as

• The statistic is listed under "Status of Matari within the Empire" in the final version of the publication we are all quoting here.
• "Religion" need not necessarily refer only to the true Amarr relgion, as for example a temporary Caldari expat living in a Caldari station somewhere would be permitted to practice the Way of the Winds in the privacy of his own home, as long as he does not go outside preaching it.