Territorial Purchases and Transfers: A Global History of Countries Buying Land

01Global Territorial Purchases: An Overview

• Largest Purchase: Louisiana Purchase (1803) - 827,987 sq mi for $15 million (roughly $323 million in 2025 dollars, CPI-adjusted)
• Best Deal Per Acre: Alaska Purchase (1867) - $7.2 million for 586,412 sq mi (~2 cents per acre)
• Most Expensive Per Square Mile: the Virgin Islands purchase (1917); the 1940 Destroyers-for-Bases deal cost more per square mile but was a 99-year lease, not a purchase, so it is left out of the price rankings
• Most Recent Sale in This Database: Gwadar (1958), which Oman sold to Pakistan; the last US purchase was the Virgin Islands (1917), from Denmark for $25 million
• Colonial Era Dominance: European powers bought, sold, and traded territories across Africa, Asia, and the Americas

02Interactive World Map of Territorial Purchases

Click on markers to view details about each territorial purchase. Zoom and pan to explore.

03Purchase Prices Comparison (Inflation-Adjusted)

Largest Territorial Purchases (Inflation-Adjusted)

Outright purchases and paid war cessions since 1800 with a recorded dollar price. Leases, annexations, colonial treaty claims and pre-1800 prices are left out of this ranking and the price-per-square-mile ranking because they are not comparable.

Price (Millions, 2025 USD, CPI-adjusted).

04Territory Sizes Comparison

Largest Territorial Acquisitions by Area

Area (Square Miles).

05Price Per Square Mile (2025 USD)

Most Expensive Purchases Per Square Mile

Price Per Square Mile (2025 USD).

06Database: Territorial Purchases and Transfers (1626-1999)

Not every row is a sale. The Type column separates outright purchases (7) and war cessions that came with a payment (2) from leases, annexations, exchanges, colonial treaty claims, independence, returns and plebiscites.

07Major Historical Transactions by Era

Colonial Era (1494-1799)

1626	Manhattan Island: Dutch West India Company purchased from Lenape people for ~60 guilders ($24) - worth ~$1,100 in 2025 dollars, but land now valued at $1+ trillion
1667	New Amsterdam → New York: Dutch ceded to England in exchange for Suriname (Treaty of Breda)
1762	Louisiana to Spain: France secretly transferred Louisiana to Spain (Treaty of Fontainebleau)
1783	Florida to Spain: Britain returned Florida to Spain after American Revolution

Expansion Era (1800-1899)

1800	Louisiana to France: Spain returned Louisiana to France (Third Treaty of San Ildefonso)
1803	Louisiana Purchase: France sold to US for $15 million - 828,000 sq mi doubling US size
1819	Adams-Onís Treaty: Spain ceded Florida to US for $5 million in assumed claims
1848	Mexican Cession: Mexico ceded California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, etc. for $15 million
1853	Gadsden Purchase: US bought southern Arizona/New Mexico from Mexico for $10 million
1867	Alaska Purchase: Russia sold Alaska to US for $7.2 million (2¢ per acre)
1898	Treaty of Paris: Spain ceded Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico to US for $20 million
1899	German Samoa: Germany purchased Western Samoa rights for $250,000

Modern Era (1900-1945)

1914	Palau, Mariana, Caroline Islands: Japan seized the islands from Germany early in WWI (no purchase) and held them under a League of Nations mandate from 1920
1917	Danish West Indies: Denmark sold Virgin Islands to US for $25 million in gold
1940	Destroyers-for-Bases: US acquired 99-year leases on British bases in exchange for destroyers

Contemporary Era (1946-Present)

1946	Philippine Independence: US granted independence, retained military bases
1958	Gwadar: Oman sold the Gwadar enclave on the Arabian Sea coast to Pakistan; the purchase took effect on September 8, 1958
1977	Panama Canal Zone: US agreed to transfer to Panama (completed 1999)
1997	Hong Kong: UK returned Hong Kong to China when the 99-year New Territories lease expired (Hong Kong Island and Kowloon had been ceded outright in 1842 and 1860)
1999	Macau: Portugal returned to China
2019	Greenland Inquiry: US inquired about purchasing from Denmark (rejected)
2025- 2026	Greenland Push and Defense Deal: President Trump revived US interest in acquiring Greenland in January 2025 and again in January 2026; Denmark and Greenland said the island was not for sale. Instead of a purchase, the US announced a defense agreement with Denmark and Greenland on September 18, 2026 that lets the US expand Pituffik Space Base and build new bases at Narsarsuaq and Mestersvig, bars non-NATO military installations on the island, and reaffirms Danish sovereignty

08Purchases by Decade

Territorial Transactions by 50-Year Period

Number of Transactions per 50-year period; hover a bar for its total value in 2025 dollars.

09Data Sources & Methodology

Data Sources & Methodology: Historical territorial purchase data compiled from: U.S. National Archives, Library of Congress, British National Archives, French National Archives, Treaty collections from Yale Law School's Avalon Project, World Bank historical data, academic historical research, and verified Wikipedia sources.

Inflation Adjustments: Dollar prices from 1800 onward are converted to 2025 dollars with the Minneapolis Fed historical Consumer Price Index (1967=100; 2025 annual average 967.5); the 1884 sterling price is converted at $4.8665 per pound first. Colonial-era purchases use estimated equivalents based on gold/silver standards and relative economic output.

Note on "Purchases": Many territorial transfers involved complex negotiations including debt assumptions, trade concessions, military agreements, and political arrangements beyond simple cash payments. Values shown represent primary monetary components where documented.

Last Updated: October 2026