All Races (Nations) in Attack on Titan, Ranked by Importance

The story of Attack on Titan takes place in an alternative universe inhabited by humans. There are theories that their world looks like ours, only mirrored and upside down, but that is just speculation, as we have never seen a full map of Isayama’s world, only part of it. But the politics of the world of Attack on Titan are extremely important, so we decided to discuss them.

And while the concept of race is not really relevant for Attack on Titan, the term can be applied to the known nations that have been introduced over the course of the series, which is why we have decided to talk about each of them and reveal some information for you to enjoy. Our goal in this article is going to be to rank the nations (or races) from Attack on Titan based on how important they are for the plot and the overall lore while – at the same time – providing you with some information that you can always use as a point of reference. Here we go!

6. Yelena’s country of origin

Yelena is the leader of the Anti-Marley Volunteers and a close ally of the Eldians of Paradis. She is a physically tall woman with blond hair in a bob and is Zeke Jeager’s right arm and faithful follower of her orders from him, which she carries out with fanaticism and ruthlessness towards anyone. She appears for the first time during Willy Tybur’s conference in the Liberio ghetto, when, following the indications of Levi and Hange, she disguised herself as a male soldier with a false beard. She distances Pieck and Porco from the main scene, luring them into an anti-giant formed by a deep, circular pit where the two Marleyan Warriors fall from a trapdoor operated personally by Yelena. After the destruction of the ghetto at the hands of Eren and Armin, she flees with them aboard the airship, returning to Paradis Island.

Back on the island, Yelena takes Eren’s side and helps the Yeagerists in their revolutionary intent. Her true goal has always been to implement Zeke’s plan for euthanasia. Still, when he is overwhelmed by Eren’s newfound power, she is arrested by Floch and sentenced to death along with Onyankopon. However, she is saved by Pieck’s Cart Titan and taken to safety in the forest together with Jean and Onyankopon.

During the night, Magath unmasks her in front of Hange and the others, revealing that she is actually a full-fledged Marleyan. To justify herself, Yelena recalls the atrocities committed by all those present up to that moment, thus allowing the Eldians of Paradise and the survivors of the Marleyan army to confront each other on a psychological level.

Yelena doesn’t come from Eldia or from Marley. That much is certain, but absolutely nothing about her country of origin is known. We do not know where it is located, its name, or what the people from that country look like, as we won’t really know whether Yelena is a typical representative of her people. Based on her name, she could be coming from a country that would fit real-life Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), but we simply don’t know at this point.

5. Onyankopon’s country of origin

Onyankopon is a soldier of a nation defeated and subjugated by Marley, forced to serve in the ranks of the victorious power. For this reason, he joins the Anti-Marley Volunteers, a secret group in the Marleyan armed forces, led by Yelena and formed by foreign soldiers who make up part of the armed forces of the continental power, whose aim is to overthrow Marley’s power and restore freedom both to their countries of origin and to Eldia.

He is a black man, one of the few who appeared in history, and has a mild, tolerant, religious, and sometimes ironic character, like when he replies to Sasha about the origin of his dark skin. He possesses numerous engineering and mechanical knowledge, as well as being an expert aircraft pilot. In fact, Onyankopon drives the airship used by the Survey Corps to return to Paradis after the raid against Marley. His name comes from an Ashanti language word (an African ethnic group from Ghana) which means “creator of all things,” to highlight his religiosity and tolerance.

As far as Onyankopon is concerned, we know that he comes from a pseudo-African country located in the world of Attack on Titan, but we do not know anything about it. Based on the little we do know, Onyankopon is more or less a typical representative of his people, and we have actually seen the country once during the Rumbling event. Still, it was only for a brief moment, and nothing was revealed about it.

4. Mid-East Allied Forces

The Mid-East Allied Forces were a military organization formed by a coalition of several countries. They were enemies of Marley, which they declared war on after the warriors failed to take the Founding Titan. For a long time, they were the most powerful enemies of Marley until the end of a war between both sides that lasted four years.

Given their need to confront the Titans of Marley, the coalition was forced to focus on developing weapons that would allow them to protect themselves from such a threat. Thanks to this, they managed to be a technologically advanced military power. Although, at first sight, the weapons of the men of the Allied Forces are similar to Marley’s, the truth is that they had a higher technological level.

These guys never played a major role in the story, although they could never really be completely disregarded. As enemies of Marley, they were important for developing and evolving political intrigues from the world of Attack on Titan. The major issue with them in this article is that they were not a nation per se but rather a military alliance with some political authority, but we still had to mention them.

3. Hizuru

Asian country Hizuru maintains diplomatic relations with Marley and Paradis. The Azumabito family, who are descended from the former Shogun clan, and whose matriarch Kiyomi Azumabito served as Hizuru’s ambassador to Marley in 854, are the current reigning family. Hizuru had a partnership with the Eldian Empire a century ago.

The Shogun’s son was good friends with the royal family of Eldia and stayed on the island of Paradis in the aftermath of the Great Titan War. After the war was lost, Hizuru’s situation became tense as they allied with those who lost it. In the course of the next few years, however, they established diplomatic contacts with Marley.

And while the existence of Hizuru and its people – who are, of course, modeled on Japan (and China, in a way) – was a secret for some time, they have proven themselves to be quite important for both the present events in the series, as well as its history. In that aspect, Hizuru is one of the more important nations in the series, and it had an important role in the political intrigues of the series.

2. Marley

Marley is a nation that populates the mainland state of the same name as its state people. These territories were formerly under the control of the Eldian Empire until they withdrew to Paradis as part of the Great Titan War, leaving the rest on the mainland a minority from then on.

It was difficult to choose between Marley and Eldia, but since most of the action revolves around Eldia and Paradis, we chose to place Marley in second place. But Marley is basically as important as Eldia, and there is really not much to elaborate on here. Marley plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the plot and is one of the most important nations in the whole series; basically, save for Marley and Eldia, all the other nations are mostly unimportant, if not completely irrelevant.

1. Eldia (Eldian Empire)

Eldia was an ancient empire that flourished a thousand years ago. The citizens or the people of this empire and their descendants are also referred to as Eldians. The empire fell apart, and the Eldia was mainly divided between the areas of Paradis and Liberio. Additionally, the Eldians live in restricted zones throughout Marley lands and, as can be understood from Udo’s testimony, in other countries as well.

The Eldians can be transformed into Titans by the Titan Serum. Because of this ability, they are feared around the world. They are an ethnic group descended from Ymir Fritz and are the only “race” that could become Titans. Beginning with Ymir and her three daughters, the bloodline and genes eventually extended to most of the Eldian race. In the manga, they are also called Ymir’s people.

Eldia was chosen for the top spot because it is crucial for understanding the lore of Attack on Titan. Eldia is a pivotal nation in the series; without it, there would be no Attack on Titan. It is the core of most problems and solutions in the series, one of the most powerful nations in the series, and the most relevant.