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Largest Countries in the World by Area 2026

All 195 countries ranked by total area. Russia is largest at 17,098,242 km² — 12.8% of world land, roughly twice the size of Canada. Top 10 cover 55% of all national land.

Last updated · Area: CIA World Factbook · Population: UN WPP 2024

#1 largest
Russia
17.10M km²
12.8% of world · CIA Factbook
#2 largest
Canada
9.98M km²
7.5% of world · CIA Factbook
#3 largest
United States
9.83M km²
7.3% of world · CIA Factbook
World total
All 195 countries
133.89M km²
Sum of CIA Factbook figures

📋 Data Sources & Methodology

Area figures

Total area (land + inland water) from the CIA World Factbook. Includes inland water bodies (lakes, rivers, reservoirs).

Population & density

Population from UN WPP 2024. Density = population ÷ total area.

Countries included

193 UN member states + 2 observer states (Holy See, Palestine). Antarctica, dependencies (Greenland, Puerto Rico), and EEZs excluded.

Disputed territories

Attributed per CIA Factbook conventions (de facto control). India, China, Pakistan, Israel, Morocco, Argentina have notable disputed claims affecting figures by small amounts.

World Land Area Map 2026

Color shows land area. Hover any country for details · Click to open.

Source: CIA World Factbook · Boundaries: Natural Earth
Hover for details · Click to open · Scroll to zoom
Land area:No data<100K100K–500K500K–1M1M–3M3M–10M>10M km²
Tiny island nations (Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, Tuvalu, Marshall Is., etc.) are below the 110-meter resolution of the base map and don't appear here. See the full ranking table below for every country.

Top 10 Countries by Land Area

Source: CIA World Factbook
Top 10 Countries by Land Area#1Russia17.10M km²12.8% of world#2Canada9.98M km²7.5% of world#3United States9.83M km²7.3% of world#4China9.60M km²7.2% of world#5Brazil8.52M km²6.4% of world#6Australia7.69M km²5.7% of world#7India3.29M km²2.5% of world#8Argentina2.78M km²2.1% of world#9Kazakhstan2.72M km²2.0% of world#10Algeria2.38M km²1.8% of world03M6M9M12M15M18MTotal area in millions of km² (land + inland water)
These 10 countries cover roughly 55% of all national land area on Earth — fewer than 5% of countries hold more than half of all land.

Top 10 Largest Countries

Source: CIA World Factbook
#CountryArea (km²)% worldPopulation 2024
1Russia17,098,24212.8%144.8M
2Canada9,984,6707.5%39.7M
3United States9,833,5177.3%345.4M
4China9,596,9617.2%1.42B
5Brazil8,515,7676.4%212.0M
6Australia7,692,0245.7%26.7M
7India3,287,2632.5%1.45B
8Argentina2,780,4002.1%45.7M
9Kazakhstan2,724,9002.0%20.6M
10Algeria2,381,7411.8%46.8M
Top 10 combined73,895,48555%—

Geographic Profile of the Top 10

Climate, coastline, distinguishing features
CountryClimate zonesCoastlineDistinguishing feature
RussiaSubarctic, continental, humid subtropicalLongest after Canada (mostly arctic)11 time zones — wider than London to Tokyo
CanadaBoreal forest, tundra, temperateLongest in the world (~200,000 km)8% inland water — highest share globally
United StatesArctic to tropical (Alaska to Hawaii)~19,924 kmMississippi-Missouri = 3rd longest river system
ChinaSubarctic to tropical~14,500 km14 land borders — most of any country with Russia
BrazilTropical (mostly Amazon)~7,491 km60% of Amazon rainforest is in Brazil
AustraliaArid (Outback), temperate coastal~25,760 kmOnly country occupying an entire continent
IndiaTropical, monsoon, alpine (Himalaya)~7,000 kmDensest populated country in the top 10 largest
ArgentinaSubtropical to subantarctic~4,989 kmReaches to ~55°S — nearest country to Antarctica
KazakhstanContinental steppe and semi-desertLandlocked (Caspian Sea border)Largest landlocked country in the world
Algeria90% Sahara desert~998 km MediterraneanLargest country in Africa since South Sudan separation (2011)
Source: CIA World Factbook (coastline, climate); Natural Earth (terrain).

Area vs Population: A Major Mismatch

Land size doesn't predict population. The world's biggest countries are mostly empty.

Biggest, but not most populated
Russia: #1 area, #9 population (8/km²)
Canada: #2 area, #38 population (4/km²)
Australia: #6 area, #55 population (3/km²)
In top 10 of both
China: #4 area, #2 population
USA: #3 area, #3 population
Brazil: #5 area, #7 population
India: #7 area, #1 population
Most populated, but not biggest
Indonesia: #4 pop, #14 area
Pakistan: #5 pop, #33 area
Bangladesh: #8 pop, #92 area
Nigeria: #6 pop, #32 area

Land Area by Region

Source: CIA World Factbook · sum across 195 countries
Americas40.26M km² · 30.1% · 35 countries
Asia31.96M km² · 23.9% · 48 countries
Africa30.02M km² · 22.4% · 54 countries
Europe23.15M km² · 17.3% · 44 countries
Oceania8.49M km² · 6.3% · 14 countries

Recent Ranking Changes

The top 10 has been stable for decades. Notable shifts:

1991
USSR dissolution
World's largest country (22M km²) breaks into 15 successor states. Russia inherits 17M km² and remains #1. Kazakhstan instantly becomes the 9th largest country.
2011
South Sudan separates from Sudan
Sudan loses ~25% of its area. Algeria displaces Sudan as Africa's largest country.
1993
Eritrea independence
Ethiopia loses its coastline and becomes Africa's largest landlocked country.
2006
Montenegro independence
Last major European border change; Serbia's area shrinks but rank unchanged.

Source: UN treaty records; CIA Factbook historical revisions.

Putting These Sizes in Perspective

17.1M km²
Russia is roughly...
the size of Pluto's surface. Larger than Antarctica's ice-free land. Spans 11 time zones.
9.98M km²
Canada is roughly...
the size of all of Europe (including European Russia). Its province of Nunavut alone is bigger than Mexico.
8.52M km²
Brazil could fit...
the continental US inside it with ~600,000 km² to spare. Holds 60% of the Amazon rainforest.
7.69M km²
Australia is roughly...
80% the size of the continental US — yet has a population smaller than Texas.

Sources: CIA World Factbook (areas); UN WPP 2024 (populations).

All 195 Countries Ranked by Area

Source: CIA World Factbook
#CountryRegionArea (km²)Population 2024Density /km²
1RussiaEurope17,098,242144.8M8.5
2CanadaAmericas9,984,67039.7M4.0
3United StatesAmericas9,833,517345.4M35.1
4ChinaAsia9,596,9611.42B147.9
5BrazilAmericas8,515,767212.0M24.9
6AustraliaOceania7,692,02426.7M3.5
7IndiaAsia3,287,2631.45B441.4
8ArgentinaAmericas2,780,40045.7M16.4
9KazakhstanAsia2,724,90020.6M7.6
10AlgeriaAfrica2,381,74146.8M19.7
11Democratic Republic of the CongoAfrica2,344,858109.3M46.6
12Saudi ArabiaAsia2,149,69034.0M15.8
13MexicoAmericas1,964,375130.9M66.6
14IndonesiaAsia1,904,569283.5M148.8
15SudanAfrica1,861,48450.4M27.1
16LibyaAfrica1,759,5407.4M4.2
17IranAsia1,648,19591.6M55.6
18MongoliaAsia1,564,1103.5M2.2
19PeruAmericas1,285,21634.2M26.6
20ChadAfrica1,284,00020.3M15.8
21NigerAfrica1,267,00027.0M21.3
22AngolaAfrica1,246,70037.9M30.4
23MaliAfrica1,240,19224.5M19.7
24South AfricaAfrica1,221,03764.0M52.4
25ColombiaAmericas1,141,74852.9M46.3
26EthiopiaAfrica1,104,300132.1M119.6
27BoliviaAmericas1,098,58112.4M11.3
28MauritaniaAfrica1,030,7005.2M5.0
29EgyptAfrica1,001,450116.5M116.4
30TanzaniaAfrica945,08768.6M72.5
31NigeriaAfrica923,768232.7M251.9
32VenezuelaAmericas916,44528.4M31.0
33PakistanAsia881,913251.3M284.9
34NamibiaAfrica825,6153.0M3.7
35MozambiqueAfrica801,59034.6M43.2
36TurkeyAsia783,56287.5M111.6
37ChileAmericas756,10219.8M26.1
38ZambiaAfrica752,61821.3M28.3
39MyanmarAsia676,57854.5M80.6
40AfghanistanAsia652,23042.6M65.4
41FranceEurope643,80166.5M103.4
42SomaliaAfrica637,65719.0M29.8
43Central African RepublicAfrica622,9845.3M8.6
44South SudanAfrica619,74511.9M19.3
45UkraineEurope603,62837.9M62.7
46MadagascarAfrica587,04132.0M54.5
47BotswanaAfrica581,7302.5M4.3
48KenyaAfrica580,36756.4M97.2
49YemenAsia527,96840.6M76.9
50ThailandAsia513,12071.7M139.7
51SpainEurope505,99247.9M94.7
52TurkmenistanAsia488,1007.5M15.4
53CameroonAfrica475,44229.1M61.3
54Papua New GuineaOceania462,84010.6M22.9
55SwedenEurope450,29510.6M23.6
56UzbekistanAsia447,40036.4M81.3
57MoroccoAfrica446,55038.1M85.3
58IraqAsia438,31746.0M105.0
59ParaguayAmericas406,7526.9M17.0
60ZimbabweAfrica390,75716.6M42.6
61NorwayEurope385,2075.6M14.5
62JapanAsia377,975123.8M327.4
63GermanyEurope357,11484.6M236.8
64CongoAfrica342,0006.3M18.5
65FinlandEurope338,4245.6M16.6
66VietnamAsia331,212101.0M304.9
67MalaysiaAsia330,80335.6M107.5
68Côte d'IvoireAfrica322,46331.9M99.0
69PolandEurope312,69638.5M123.2
70OmanAsia309,5005.3M17.1
71ItalyEurope301,34059.3M196.9
72PhilippinesAsia300,000115.8M386.1
73EcuadorAmericas283,56118.1M64.0
74Burkina FasoAfrica272,96723.5M86.3
75New ZealandOceania270,4675.2M19.3
76GabonAfrica267,6682.5M9.5
77GuineaAfrica245,85714.8M60.0
78United KingdomEurope243,61069.1M283.8
79UgandaAfrica241,03850.0M207.5
80GhanaAfrica238,53334.4M144.3
81RomaniaEurope238,39719.0M79.8
82LaosAsia236,8007.8M32.8
83GuyanaAmericas214,969831.1K3.9
84BelarusEurope207,6009.1M43.6
85KyrgyzstanAsia199,9517.2M35.9
86SenegalAfrica196,72218.5M94.1
87SyriaAsia185,18024.7M133.2
88CambodiaAsia181,03517.6M97.4
89UruguayAmericas176,2153.4M19.2
90SurinameAmericas163,820634.4K3.9
91TunisiaAfrica163,61012.3M75.0
92BangladeshAsia148,460173.6M1,169
93NepalAsia147,18129.7M201.5
94TajikistanAsia143,10010.6M74.0
95GreeceEurope131,95710.0M76.1
96NicaraguaAmericas130,3736.9M53.0
97North KoreaAsia120,53826.5M219.8
98MalawiAfrica118,48421.7M182.8
99EritreaAfrica117,6003.5M30.1
100BeninAfrica112,62214.5M128.4
101HondurasAmericas112,49210.8M96.2
102LiberiaAfrica111,3695.6M50.4
103BulgariaEurope110,8796.8M60.9
104CubaAmericas109,88411.0M99.9
105GuatemalaAmericas108,88918.4M169.0
106IcelandEurope103,000393.4K3.8
107South KoreaAsia100,21051.7M516.1
108HungaryEurope93,0289.7M104.0
109PortugalEurope92,09010.4M113.2
110JordanAsia89,34211.6M129.3
111SerbiaEurope88,3616.7M76.2
112AzerbaijanAsia86,60010.3M119.4
113AustriaEurope83,8719.1M108.7
114United Arab EmiratesAsia83,60011.0M131.9
115Czech RepublicEurope78,86510.7M136.1
116PanamaAmericas75,4174.5M59.9
117Sierra LeoneAfrica71,7408.6M120.5
118IrelandEurope70,2735.3M74.8
119GeorgiaAsia69,7003.8M54.6
120Sri LankaAsia65,61023.1M352.1
121LithuaniaEurope65,3002.9M43.8
122LatviaEurope64,5891.9M29.0
123TogoAfrica56,7859.5M167.6
124CroatiaEurope56,5943.9M68.5
125Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope51,2093.2M61.8
126Costa RicaAmericas51,1005.1M100.4
127SlovakiaEurope49,0355.5M112.3
128Dominican RepublicAmericas48,67111.4M234.8
129EstoniaEurope45,2271.4M30.1
130DenmarkEurope43,0946.0M138.7
131NetherlandsEurope41,85018.2M435.6
132SwitzerlandEurope41,2858.9M216.1
133BhutanAsia38,394791.5K20.6
134Guinea-BissauAfrica36,1252.2M60.9
135MoldovaEurope33,8463.0M89.7
136BelgiumEurope30,52811.7M384.5
137LesothoAfrica30,3552.3M77.0
138ArmeniaAsia29,7433.0M100.0
139Solomon IslandsOceania28,896819.2K28.4
140AlbaniaEurope28,7482.8M97.1
141Equatorial GuineaAfrica28,0511.9M67.5
142BurundiAfrica27,83414.0M504.7
143HaitiAmericas27,75011.8M424.2
144RwandaAfrica26,33814.3M541.3
145North MacedoniaEurope25,7131.8M70.9
146DjiboutiAfrica23,2001.2M50.4
147BelizeAmericas22,966417.1K18.2
148IsraelAsia22,0729.4M425.3
149El SalvadorAmericas21,0416.3M301.2
150SloveniaEurope20,2732.1M104.5
151FijiOceania18,272928.8K50.8
152KuwaitAsia17,8184.9M276.9
153EswatiniAfrica17,3641.2M71.6
154Timor-LesteAsia14,8741.4M94.2
155BahamasAmericas13,878401.3K28.9
156MontenegroEurope13,812638.5K46.2
157VanuatuOceania12,189327.8K26.9
158QatarAsia11,5863.0M263.1
159GambiaAfrica11,2952.8M244.4
160JamaicaAmericas10,9912.8M258.3
161LebanonAsia10,4525.8M555.5
162CyprusAsia9,2511.4M146.8
163PalestineAsia6,0205.5M912.9
164BruneiAsia5,765462.7K80.3
165Trinidad and TobagoAmericas5,1301.5M293.9
166Cabo VerdeAfrica4,033524.9K130.1
167SamoaOceania2,842218.0K76.7
168LuxembourgEurope2,586673.0K260.3
169MauritiusAfrica2,0401.3M623.1
170ComorosAfrica1,862866.6K465.4
171Sao Tome and PrincipeAfrica964235.5K244.3
172KiribatiOceania811134.5K165.9
173BahrainAsia7601.6M2,115
174DominicaAmericas75066.2K88.3
175TongaOceania747104.2K139.5
176SingaporeAsia7285.8M8,012
177MicronesiaOceania702526.9K750.6
178Saint LuciaAmericas616179.8K291.8
179AndorraEurope46881.9K175.1
180SeychellesAfrica459130.4K284.2
181PalauOceania45917.7K38.6
182Antigua and BarbudaAmericas44293.8K212.1
183BarbadosAmericas430282.5K656.9
184Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesAmericas389100.6K258.7
185GrenadaAmericas344117.2K340.8
186MaltaEurope316539.6K1,708
187MaldivesAsia298527.8K1,771
188Saint Kitts and NevisAmericas26146.9K179.5
189Marshall IslandsOceania18137.6K207.5
190LiechtensteinEurope16039.9K249.2
191San MarinoEurope6133.6K550.7
192TuvaluOceania269.7K371.2
193NauruOceania2112.0K569.3
194MonacoEurope238.6K19,321
195Vatican CityEurope0.494961,012

Geography Glossary

Total area
Combined land plus internal water (lakes, rivers, reservoirs). Used in this ranking.
Land area
Excludes inland water. Differs most for Canada (8% water), the US, and Russia.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
200 nautical miles from coast where a country has special economic rights. France has the largest EEZ.
Continent
One of the seven large landmasses. Australia is the only country occupying an entire continent.
Landlocked
No direct access to the open ocean. Kazakhstan is largest; 44 countries are landlocked.
Doubly landlocked
Surrounded only by other landlocked countries. Just two: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan.
Transcontinental country
Territory in more than one continent. Russia, Turkey, Egypt are the main examples.
Population density
People per km². World average ~60. Top-10-largest countries are mostly low density.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest country in the world?

Russia, at 17,098,242 km² — ~12.8% of world land. (Source: CIA World Factbook)

What are the top 10 largest countries?

1. Russia (17.10M km²), 2. Canada (9.98M km²), 3. United States (9.83M km²), 4. China (9.60M km²), 5. Brazil (8.52M km²), 6. Australia (7.69M km²), 7. India (3.29M km²), 8. Argentina (2.78M km²), 9. Kazakhstan (2.72M km²), 10. Algeria (2.38M km²).

Is the US bigger than China?

By total area, yes (9.83M vs 9.60M km²). By land area only, China is marginally larger. CIA Factbook places the US third.

Why is Russia the largest?

Four centuries of eastward expansion from Muscovy across Siberia (~1700), plus 19th-century expansion into Central Asia. Most of Russia is sparsely populated Siberian taiga.

How much of Earth's land do the top 10 cover?

55% of all national land area.

What is the largest country in Africa?

Algeria, at 2,381,741 km². Africa's largest since South Sudan separated from Sudan in 2011.

What is the largest country in Europe?

Excluding transcontinental Russia, Ukraine at 603,628 km² is entirely European. France is largest in the EU.

What is the largest country in South America?

Brazil, at 8.5M km² — half the continent.

What is the largest landlocked country?

Kazakhstan, 2.72M km² — larger than Western Europe.

How densely populated are the largest countries?

Mostly low density. India is highest at ~440/km²; Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Canada all under 10/km².

Did the Soviet collapse change the rankings?

Yes. The USSR was 22M+ km². Russia kept 17M and stayed #1; Kazakhstan, Ukraine, others became separate countries.

How are disputed territories counted?

Per CIA Factbook conventions (de facto control). India, China, Pakistan, Israel, Morocco, Argentina all have notable claims that affect figures slightly.

Is Australia a country or continent?

Both. Only country occupying an entire continent.

What is total area vs land area?

Total area includes inland water (lakes, rivers); land area excludes them. Differs most for Canada, US, Russia.

When was this page last updated?

2026-05-22. Area data is stable over decades.

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Sources & Further Reading