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So we all see that stings here and there "Tyranids ate 200 worlds", "Chaos destroyed 150 worlds", "necrons cleared 300 worlds". But how large Imperium is?
I mean there ~400 billions stars in galaxy, 100 with planets of some kind and outside the Galaxy core. Half of them Ork's infested/Orks empires. Let's assume half of the rest is eaten/cursed/cleansed by xenos/chaos or gonna in cicatrix, eye of terror, maelstrom. So we have ~25 000 000 000 systems in Imperium
Or I calculate it's wrong? Or GW don't know how many stars actually in galaxy

The quip is "A million worlds" in some codex. However considering how accurate the administration of the Imperium it could be greater or less than that value.

Plus it won't be static.


So with even 1million worlds losing a few hundred here and there is basically nothing unless they are keystone worlds like the Space Marine Chapter worlds for Chapters like the Ultramarines or Blood Angels.

Don't forget at the same time the Imperium conquers new and reconquers worlds; it reconnects with those lost in warp storms and takes new worlds into its fold.

The Imperium is said, possibly purely poetically, to be a million worlds.

But, they’re not a central cluster or owt. They’re scattered across the galaxy.

That’s not reflective of Earth-like worlds being rare, so much as reliable warp navigation relying on relatively steady warp currents which are mapped.

There are huge swathes of the galaxy which are, for all intents and purposes, entirely unknown and unexplored by The Imperium, if not mankind as a whole across its spacefaring history. Hence Rogue Traders continue the exploration and rediscovery begun during the Great Crusade.

Sometimes contact with a previously entirely unknown human world, or even “pocket” empire is made. Other times it’s just nothing, barren systems with no extent sentient life. Ripe for colonisation and exploitation. Yet other times? Xenos species. Quite often Orks, but can be entirely new and unknown.

In one sense, that far flung nature is a weakness. Being reliant on stable warp routes kinda limits your options to reinforce. Hence some systems, which sit at the crossing of multiple such routes are often massively defended, and act as staging hubs. Not only is that an efficient safe harbour location, but to lose such a hub would have a massive impact on The Imperium as a whole.

But it’s also a strength, of sorts. By having relatively set strongholds, only the most numerous and/or organised of foes can really threaten such a nexus. It also makes it near impossible to launch a single, crippling strike against The Imperium, short of going for Terra itself and nobbling the Astronomicon.

In terms of history? Look to the British Empire at its height. Whilst the various colonies weren’t necessarily in direct contact with one another, trouble in one wouldn’t necessarily impact the others, but the others could, given sufficient time and organisation, send a load of reinforcements to harsh your mellow. Unless (French Navy) you had allies of your own to mess up the ocean routes between them,

Not every world can harbor life, or is worth the trouble of terraforming it. Our own system has eight planets plus a number of minor planets and large moons, yet aside from Earth, only Mars is maaaaybe terraformable (if we pour far more resources into it than we can ever extract from it, over a very long period). I assume that the Imperium has a very low density of inhabited worlds... it's just that those worlds are scattered across the whole galaxy, so a map of the Imperium's "territory" is misleading.

Some sources say the Imperium has a million worlds, though I'm not sure if this is literal or if they mean it as "a great many".

Imperium has options we don’t though.

For instance, it has reliable intrasystem shipping. Sure, terraforming a given planet might be more effort than it’s worth, but it can build reliable Hab-domes to house workers.

The workers can than be equipped with tried and tested hostile environment gear - or just outright made into cyborgs for that job.

As well as intrasystem shipping, getting stuff up to orbit is a doddle by their standard tech.

So even a system devoid of worlds readily capable of supporting human life can still be colonised and exploited, likely starting with orbital stations, and expanding from there as the resources are mined and refined.

It also has time on its side. We kinda expect everything to turn a profit right now. But, The Imperium can afford to invest decades and even centuries in developing such things. Even if an orbital station is a mighty initial sunk cost? Some models can be towed through The Warp to a new location, so reducing the initial setup investment.

You need staff? If there’s one thing the Imperium doesn’t lack? It’s Smelly Hoomans. It’s riddled with us, billions upon trillions. Load up a bunch of mass conveyors, and boom, instant workforce.

Another point is, that those worlds eaten by Tyranids etc. in some cases are only minor colonies with a million something population or even less. And given that Worlds like Praetoria have populations in the hundreds of billions, they can ship of a millions colonists every day without even really noticing it. What I mean is: I assume every day several, maybe dozens of human colonies are founded in the Galaxy. Not all of them make it, but by in large it might well be that the net growth/loss after new foundings and lost colonies is more or less zero

The Imperium is also more like lots of pockets of settled space based on stable (for the Imperium's vessels) warp routes. There might be two "close" regions because they have a very reliable warp route but they could be in realspace terms very distant from each other with Ork Empires and wilderness space full of weird and wacky xenos or non-Imperial human civilisations in between. The Imperium is spread far and wide but is in realspace terms VERY patchy and isn't like a landbased empire at all.

It’s also why Orks are so unpredictable. For the most part? They don’t navigate The Warp.

Instead, it’s everyone aboard, fire up the Geller Field/Equivalent. If you’re lucky, those demon things will provide some entertaining fights. If you’re really lucky it’s everyone aboard a passing Space Hulk for all sorts of interesting fights. Otherwise it’s fight amongst yourselves until you break back into Real Space, ideally where there’s lots of things to fight and nick stuff from.

Which means, sadly for the Imperium? Orks don’t care about your stinking warp routes. They can and will pop up here, there and everywhere with alarming irregularity.

Orks kick ass!

Ork infestations are also insanely resilient - even exterminators won't necessarily wipe them out.