Galactic community

The term 'galactic community' referred to the galaxy's sentient populations that were actively involved in politics, trade, crime, business, and warfare on an interstellar scale. Populations that were not yet integrated into galactic politics either through means of isolation or having not yet been discovered were considered not part of the galactic community. By the time of the Imperial Period, at least 10,000 planets considered part of the galactic community, though some figures claimed as low as 4,000. A planet was considered part of the galactic community once it has been either colonized, subjugated, or thoroughly explored and charted by any space-faring population.