The Han Empire was divided into a series of areas governed by bureaucratic officials, whose appointments were largely based upon merit. This system was so successful that the empire throve and expanded its boundaries, extending from Vietnam in the south to Korea in the north, and far into Central Asia in the West.

The Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE) was the second dynasty of Imperial China (the era of centralized, dynastic government, 221 BCE - 1912 CE) which established the paradigm for all succeeding dynasties up through 1912 CE.

Many Han cities grew large: the Western Han capital, Chang'an, had approximately 250,000 inhabitants, while the Eastern Han capital, Luoyang, had approximately 500,000 inhabitants. The population of the Han Empire, recorded in the tax census of 2 AD, was 57.6 million people in 12,366,470 households.