Moscow is almost twice as large as the entire continent of Australia, yet it’s just one city inside a country that spans eleven time zones. That country, Russia, holds the title of the biggest country in the world by a staggering margin — but the exact ranking changes depending on whether you count lakes, rivers, and coastal waters.

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Largest country by area: Russia – 17,098,242 km² ·
Second-largest country: Canada – 9,984,670 km² ·
Third-largest country: United States – 9,833,517 km² ·
Total world land area (approx.): 148,940,000 km² ·
Russia’s share of world land: 11%

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Exact total areas vary slightly between sources (e.g., US: 9.83 vs 9.37 million km²) due to different measurement methods
  • China vs USA land ranking depends on inclusion of coastal waters
  • Antarctica is larger than all countries but is not a sovereign state
3Timeline signal
  • 1991: USSR dissolution split 22.4 million km² into 15 countries
  • 2011: South Sudan independence reduced Sudan’s area
  • No recent territorial changes among top 10 countries
4What’s next
  • UN Statistics Division may update standard area measurements (next revision expected 2025)
  • Climate change could affect coastline-based area calculations
Key facts at a glance
Fact Value
Largest country (total area) Russia – 17,098,242 km²
Largest country (land area) Russia – 16,376,870 km²
Smallest country Vatican City – 0.44 km²
Most populous country India – ~1.43 billion
Percentage of world land in top 3 ~13.2%

What is the top 10 biggest country?

The ten largest countries by total area cover more than half of Earth’s land surface. One striking pattern: the top three alone account for over 21% of the world’s land, yet the difference between first and third is nearly twice Canada’s entire size.

Rank Country Total Area (km²) Land Area (km²)
1 Russia 17,098,242 16,376,870
2 Canada 9,984,670 9,093,507
3 United States 9,833,517 9,147,420
4 China 9,596,960 9,326,410
5 Brazil 8,515,770 8,358,140
6 Australia 7,692,024 7,682,300
7 India 3,287,263 2,973,190
8 Argentina 2,780,400 2,736,690
9 Kazakhstan 2,724,900 2,699,700
10 Algeria 2,381,741 2,381,741

Sources: World Atlas geography reference, Worldometer data aggregator, Britannica encyclopedia

Overview of the ten largest countries by total area

  • Russia dominates with more than 17 million km² — almost 1.8 times Canada.
  • China and the United States swap positions depending on whether coastal waters are counted.
  • Brazil and Australia are the only Southern Hemisphere entries in the top six.

Detailed list including land and water area figures

Total area includes inland water bodies (lakes, rivers, reservoirs). Land area excludes them. For most countries, the difference is small, but Canada’s thousands of lakes shave nearly 900,000 km² off its land total — that’s roughly the size of Nigeria underwater.

Bottom line: The top 10 list is stable across major reference works, but small variations in measurement push the US above China in some rankings and below it in others. Readers checking multiple sources will see minor discrepancies that typically amount to less than 2% of total area.

Which is the largest 3 country in the world?

The top three countries — Russia, Canada, and the United States — are so large that each could fit the entire European Union inside its borders. Yet their internal geography differs wildly: Russia is continuous land, Canada is a maze of coastlines, and the US packs both arctic Alaska and tropical Hawaii.

Russia: the largest by a wide margin

  • Spans 11 time zones — from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka.
  • Total area: 17,098,242 km² (Worldometer data aggregator).
  • Land area: 16,376,870 km² (Worldometer data aggregator).

Canada: the second-largest with extensive coastlines

  • Total area: 9,984,670 km² (World Atlas geography reference).
  • Land area: 9,093,507 km² — the biggest gap between total and land in the top 10.
  • Coastline: over 202,000 km, the longest of any country.

United States: the third-largest including Alaska and Hawaii

  • Total area: 9,833,517 km² (Britannica encyclopedia).
  • Has the largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the world at 11.35 million km².
  • Alaska alone accounts for about 1.7 million km².
Bottom line: The gap between first and third is roughly the size of Australia. No other country comes within 1 million km² of the top three. For travellers, that means crossing Russia by train takes a full week; crossing Canada takes five days.

Which are the 20 biggest countries in the world?

The list from 11 to 20 is dominated by Africa and Asia, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Saudi Arabia leading the second tier. One thing stands out: the land area of the 11th largest (DRC) is less than one-sixth of Russia’s.

List of countries ranked 11 to 20

Rank Country Total Area (km²)
11 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,344,858
12 Saudi Arabia 2,149,690
13 Mexico 1,964,375
14 Indonesia 1,904,569
15 Sudan 1,861,484
16 Libya 1,759,540
17 Iran 1,648,195
18 Mongolia 1,564,110
19 Peru 1,285,216
20 Chad 1,284,000

Comparison of land area vs. total area for the top 20

The most striking gap is Canada’s, but many inland countries (like Mongolia and Chad) have nearly identical total and land figures. Coastal nations such as Indonesia and Sudan lose significant area to water.

Bottom line: The top 20 countries account for roughly 75% of all land on Earth, yet the bottom 10 in that list together are smaller than Russia alone. For cartographers and geographers, the subtle differences between total and land area matter most when comparing nations with extensive inland water bodies.

What is the largest country in the world by area?

The answer is Russia — by every major measurement. But the definition of “area” changes the margin. When you include lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, Russia’s lead over Canada grows by another 700,000 km².

Russia’s dominance across Europe and Asia

  • Spans two continents, covering 11% of all land.
  • Largest country in Europe and Asia separately — no other nation appears on two continents.
  • Siberia alone (13.1 million km²) would rank as the second-largest country.

How the measurement of ‘total area’ is defined (including water bodies)

  • Total area = land area + inland water bodies (rivers, lakes, reservoirs).
  • Coastal waters (territorial seas) are generally excluded from country area figures.
  • Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) are not counted as sovereign land.

“Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a total area that is almost double that of second-ranked Canada.”

United Nations Statistics Division (geographic data standard)

What is the largest country in the world by population?

Size and population don’t correlate neatly. The largest by area (Russia) ranks ninth by population, while the smallest by area (Vatican City) has fewer residents than a New York City block. The population crown shifted in 2023.

India surpasses China in 2023

  • India: 1.43 billion (as of mid-2023, Worldometer data aggregator).
  • China: 1.41 billion.
  • This is the first time in centuries that China is not the world’s most populous nation.

Population figures for the top 5 most populous countries

Country Population (estimated 2023)
India 1,430,000,000
China 1,410,000,000
United States 331,000,000
Indonesia 273,000,000
Pakistan 220,000,000

“The size of a country’s population does not directly relate to its geographic area. India has less than a fifth of Russia’s land area but more than six times its population.”

CIA World Factbook (global intelligence data)

Why this matters

For policy analysts and investors, the biggest country by area offers natural resource abundance but sparse infrastructure; the biggest by population offers a massive consumer market but intense land pressure. Neither metric alone tells the full story — combining area and population yields population density, which ranges from 8 people per km² in Russia to 464 in India.

Additional sources

en.wikipedia.org

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Frequently asked questions

Is Greenland considered a country in size rankings?

No. Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It is large (2.16 million km²) but not a sovereign state, so it’s excluded from country rankings. If counted as a “country-equivalent,” it would rank 12th.

How does Antarctica compare to the largest countries?

Antarctica covers about 14 million km², making it larger than all countries except Russia. However, it is not a sovereign state — it is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System — and therefore not included in country size lists.

What is the difference between total area and land area?

Total area includes inland water bodies (lakes, rivers, reservoirs). Land area excludes them. Coastal waters (territorial seas) are not counted in either measure for sovereign country rankings.

Why does Canada sometimes appear smaller than the United States?

Canadian total area (9,984,670 km²) is larger than the US total (9,833,517 km²) in most sources. But some lists use land area only, where the US (9,147,420 km²) edges Canada (9,093,507 km²) due to Canada’s vast freshwater coverage.

Which country has the most land area in Asia?

Russia, which spans both Europe and Asia, has the largest Asian land area at approximately 13.1 million km². Among countries entirely within Asia, China is largest at 9.33 million km² land area.

Does the size of a country affect its population density?

Generally no direct correlation. For example, Mongolia (large, low density) and Bangladesh (small, high density) show that climate, geography, and economic development are stronger determinants. However, the six largest countries by area all have below-average population density.

What is the largest country in each continent by area?

Russia (Europe/Asia), Canada (North America), Brazil (South America), Australia (Oceania), Algeria (Africa) — though Russia spans two continents, it is considered part of both for this purpose.

The biggest country in the world is Russia, by a margin that dwarfs any other national boundary. But the question “biggest” is a shape-shifter: change the metric to land area and the US inches ahead of China; switch to population and India takes the crown. For educators, travellers, and data analysts, the takeaway is clear: always verify which “area” is being measured — and remember that Russia’s 17 million km², impressive as it is, is still only 11% of the planet’s land. The other 89% holds the remaining 190-plus countries, each with its own story of size and scale.

Bottom line: Russia is the biggest country in the world by total area and land area, a position it has held since the USSR dissolved in 1991. For map readers: the exact ranking of the US and China flips depending on coastal water inclusion. For travellers: the top three countries are each larger than the entire continent of Europe (excluding Russia). For students: always check whether a source uses total area or land area — the difference can shift a country’s rank by one or two positions.

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