The 10 Largest Countries in the World by Area

The 10 largest countries in the world account for roughly 49% of Earth's total land surface. Their sheer scale shapes climate, biodiversity, economic power, and geopolitics. Here is the full ranking, with the facts that put their size in perspective.

The 10 Largest Countries

1. Russia — 17,098,246 km²

Russia is nearly twice the size of Canada. Spanning 11 time zones and two continents, much of its territory consists of uninhabited Siberian taiga, tundra, and permafrost. Moscow is over 9,000 km from Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.

2. Canada — 9,984,670 km²

Canada has the world's longest coastline (202,080 km) and more lakes than any other country. Despite its vast size, about 90% of its population lives within 160 km of the US border.

3. United States — 9,833,517 km²

Alaska alone is larger than the next three largest US states combined. The contiguous 48 states span from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with extraordinary geographic diversity, from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforest.

4. China — 9,596,960 km²

China and the United States are remarkably close in total area. China spans 5 official time zones (though it operates on one), from the Gobi Desert and Tibetan Plateau to its densely populated eastern coast.

5. Brazil — 8,515,767 km²

Brazil occupies nearly half of South America's land area. It is home to the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical rainforest, containing an estimated 10% of all species on Earth. It borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador.

6. Australia — 7,692,024 km²

The only country that occupies an entire continent, Australia is also the world's flattest. Its population of about 27 million gives it one of the lowest population densities of any large country.

7. India — 3,287,263 km²

Seventh by area but first by population: India surpassed China in 2023 with approximately 1.45 billion people. Its territory stretches from Himalayan peaks in the north to tropical coastlines in the south.

8. Argentina — 2,780,400 km²

The largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, Argentina spans subtropical jungles in the north to Patagonian glaciers in the south. It also claims sovereignty over a slice of Antarctica.

9. Kazakhstan — 2,724,900 km²

The world's largest landlocked country, Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It is rich in oil, gas, and minerals, and borders Russia, China, and three Central Asian nations.

10. Algeria — 2,381,741 km²

The largest country in Africa, Algeria has over 80% of its territory covered by the Sahara Desert. Most of its 46 million people live along the narrow Mediterranean coastal strip in the north.

A Question of Scale

Russia is 39 times larger than France. Canada is larger than all of Europe combined. Brazil is larger than the contiguous United States. Geography at this scale shapes history, culture, and economics in ways that are endlessly fascinating to explore.

The Globe app delivers a daily dose of geography: facts about countries, capitals, landscapes, and world records. Download it and explore the world one swipe at a time.