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The World’s Biggest Countries by Total Area
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Key Takeaways
- Russia is the world’s biggest country by a huge margin, stretching across Europe and Asia and nearly matching the entire continent of South America
- Canada is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere, covering nearly 10 million km², making it second only to Russia globally
- Australia stands out as the biggest country in Oceania with over 7.6 million km²
The world’s countries vary massively in size, from continental giants to tiny island nations.
In this visualization, we rank every country by its total area, which is calculated as land area plus water bodies (e.g. lakes, reservoirs, and rivers).
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from Worldometer. Figures in both kilometers and miles are listed below.
| Rank | Country | Total Area (km2) | Total Area (mi2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 17,098,242 | 6,601,665 |
| 2 | Canada | 9,984,670 | 3,855,101 |
| 3 | China | 9,706,961 | 3,747,877 |
| 4 | U.S. | 9,372,610 | 3,618,783 |
| 5 | Brazil | 8,515,767 | 3,287,955 |
| 6 | Australia | 7,692,024 | 2,969,906 |
| 7 | India | 3,287,590 | 1,269,345 |
| 8 | Argentina | 2,780,400 | 1,073,518 |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | 2,724,900 | 1,052,089 |
| 10 | Algeria | 2,381,741 | 919,595 |
| 11 | DRC | 2,344,858 | 905,354 |
| 12 | Greenland | 2,166,086 | 836,330 |
| 13 | Saudi Arabia | 2,149,690 | 830,000 |
| 14 | Mexico | 1,964,375 | 758,449 |
| 15 | Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 735,358 |
| 16 | Sudan | 1,886,068 | 728,215 |
| 17 | Libya | 1,759,540 | 679,362 |
| 18 | Iran | 1,648,195 | 636,371 |
| 19 | Mongolia | 1,564,110 | 603,906 |
| 20 | Peru | 1,285,216 | 496,224 |
| 21 | Chad | 1,284,000 | 495,755 |
| 22 | Niger | 1,267,000 | 489,191 |
| 23 | Angola | 1,246,700 | 481,353 |
| 24 | Mali | 1,240,192 | 478,841 |
| 25 | South Africa | 1,221,037 | 471,445 |
| 26 | Colombia | 1,141,748 | 440,831 |
| 27 | Ethiopia | 1,104,300 | 426,372 |
| 28 | Bolivia | 1,098,581 | 424,164 |
| 29 | Mauritania | 1,030,700 | 397,955 |
| 30 | Egypt | 1,002,450 | 387,048 |
| 31 | Tanzania | 945,087 | 364,900 |
| 32 | Nigeria | 923,768 | 356,669 |
| 33 | Venezuela | 916,445 | 353,841 |
| 34 | Pakistan | 881,912 | 340,508 |
| 35 | Namibia | 825,615 | 318,772 |
| 36 | Mozambique | 801,590 | 309,496 |
| 37 | Turkey | 783,562 | 302,535 |
| 38 | Chile | 756,102 | 291,932 |
| 39 | Zambia | 752,612 | 290,585 |
| 40 | Myanmar | 676,578 | 261,228 |
| 41 | Afghanistan | 652,230 | 251,827 |
| 42 | Somalia | 637,657 | 246,201 |
| 43 | Central African Republic | 622,984 | 240,535 |
| 44 | South Sudan | 619,745 | 239,285 |
| 45 | Ukraine | 603,500 | 233,013 |
| 46 | Madagascar | 587,041 | 226,658 |
| 47 | Botswana | 582,000 | 224,711 |
| 48 | Kenya | 580,367 | 224,081 |
| 49 | France | 551,695 | 213,011 |
| 50 | Yemen | 527,968 | 203,850 |
| 51 | Thailand | 513,120 | 198,117 |
| 52 | Spain | 505,992 | 195,365 |
| 53 | Turkmenistan | 488,100 | 188,456 |
| 54 | Cameroon | 475,442 | 183,569 |
| 55 | Papua New Guinea | 462,840 | 178,703 |
| 56 | Sweden | 450,295 | 173,860 |
| 57 | Uzbekistan | 447,400 | 172,742 |
| 58 | Morocco | 446,550 | 172,414 |
| 59 | Iraq | 438,317 | 169,235 |
| 60 | Paraguay | 406,752 | 157,048 |
| 61 | Zimbabwe | 390,757 | 150,872 |
| 62 | Japan | 377,930 | 145,920 |
| 63 | Germany | 357,114 | 137,882 |
| 64 | Philippines | 342,353 | 132,183 |
| 65 | Congo | 342,000 | 132,047 |
| 66 | Finland | 338,424 | 130,666 |
| 67 | Vietnam | 331,212 | 127,882 |
| 68 | Malaysia | 330,803 | 127,724 |
| 69 | Norway | 323,802 | 125,021 |
| 70 | Côte d'Ivoire | 322,463 | 124,504 |
| 71 | Poland | 312,679 | 120,726 |
| 72 | Oman | 309,500 | 119,499 |
| 73 | Italy | 301,336 | 116,346 |
| 74 | Ecuador | 276,841 | 106,889 |
| 75 | Burkina Faso | 272,967 | 105,393 |
| 76 | New Zealand | 270,467 | 104,428 |
| 77 | Gabon | 267,668 | 103,347 |
| 78 | Western Sahara | 266,000 | 102,703 |
| 79 | Guinea | 245,857 | 94,926 |
| 80 | United Kingdom | 242,900 | 93,784 |
| 81 | Uganda | 241,550 | 93,263 |
| 82 | Ghana | 238,533 | 92,098 |
| 83 | Romania | 238,391 | 92,043 |
| 84 | Laos | 236,800 | 91,429 |
| 85 | Guyana | 214,969 | 83,000 |
| 86 | Belarus | 207,600 | 80,155 |
| 87 | Kyrgyzstan | 199,951 | 77,201 |
| 88 | Senegal | 196,722 | 75,955 |
| 89 | Syria | 185,180 | 71,498 |
| 90 | Cambodia | 181,035 | 69,898 |
| 91 | Uruguay | 181,034 | 69,898 |
| 92 | Suriname | 163,820 | 63,251 |
| 93 | Tunisia | 163,610 | 63,170 |
| 94 | Bangladesh | 147,570 | 56,977 |
| 95 | Nepal | 147,181 | 56,827 |
| 96 | Tajikistan | 143,100 | 55,251 |
| 97 | Greece | 131,990 | 50,962 |
| 98 | Nicaragua | 130,373 | 50,337 |
| 99 | North Korea | 120,538 | 46,540 |
| 100 | Malawi | 118,484 | 45,747 |
| 101 | Eritrea | 117,600 | 45,406 |
| 102 | Benin | 112,622 | 43,484 |
| 103 | Honduras | 112,492 | 43,433 |
| 104 | Liberia | 111,369 | 43,000 |
| 105 | Bulgaria | 110,879 | 42,811 |
| 106 | Cuba | 109,884 | 42,426 |
| 107 | Guatemala | 108,889 | 42,042 |
| 108 | Iceland | 103,000 | 39,769 |
| 109 | South Korea | 100,210 | 38,691 |
| 110 | Hungary | 93,028 | 35,918 |
| 111 | Portugal | 92,090 | 35,556 |
| 112 | Jordan | 89,342 | 34,495 |
| 113 | Serbia | 88,361 | 34,116 |
| 114 | Azerbaijan | 86,600 | 33,436 |
| 115 | Austria | 83,871 | 32,383 |
| 116 | United Arab Emirates | 83,600 | 32,278 |
| 117 | French Guiana | 83,534 | 32,253 |
| 118 | Czechia | 78,865 | 30,450 |
| 119 | Panama | 75,417 | 29,119 |
| 120 | Sierra Leone | 71,740 | 27,699 |
| 121 | Ireland | 70,273 | 27,133 |
| 122 | Georgia | 69,700 | 26,911 |
| 123 | Sri Lanka | 65,610 | 25,332 |
| 124 | Lithuania | 65,300 | 25,212 |
| 125 | Latvia | 64,559 | 24,926 |
| 126 | Togo | 56,785 | 21,925 |
| 127 | Croatia | 56,594 | 21,851 |
| 128 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 51,209 | 19,772 |
| 129 | Costa Rica | 51,100 | 19,730 |
| 130 | Slovakia | 49,037 | 18,933 |
| 131 | Dominican Republic | 48,671 | 18,792 |
| 132 | Estonia | 45,227 | 17,462 |
| 133 | Denmark | 43,094 | 16,639 |
| 134 | Netherlands | 41,850 | 16,158 |
| 135 | Switzerland | 41,284 | 15,940 |
| 136 | Bhutan | 38,394 | 14,824 |
| 137 | Taiwan | 36,193 | 13,974 |
| 138 | Guinea-Bissau | 36,125 | 13,948 |
| 139 | Moldova | 33,846 | 13,068 |
| 140 | Belgium | 30,528 | 11,787 |
| 141 | Lesotho | 30,355 | 11,720 |
| 142 | Armenia | 29,743 | 11,484 |
| 143 | Solomon Islands | 28,896 | 11,157 |
| 144 | Albania | 28,748 | 11,100 |
| 145 | Equatorial Guinea | 28,051 | 10,831 |
| 146 | Burundi | 27,834 | 10,747 |
| 147 | Haiti | 27,750 | 10,714 |
| 148 | Rwanda | 26,338 | 10,169 |
| 149 | Republic of North Macedonia | 25,713 | 9,928 |
| 150 | Djibouti | 23,200 | 8,958 |
| 151 | Belize | 22,966 | 8,867 |
| 152 | El Salvador | 21,041 | 8,124 |
| 153 | Israel | 20,770 | 8,019 |
| 154 | Slovenia | 20,273 | 7,827 |
| 155 | New Caledonia | 18,575 | 7,172 |
| 156 | Fiji | 18,272 | 7,055 |
| 157 | Kuwait | 17,818 | 6,880 |
| 158 | Eswatini | 17,364 | 6,704 |
| 159 | Timor-Leste | 14,874 | 5,743 |
| 160 | Bahamas | 13,943 | 5,383 |
| 161 | Montenegro | 13,812 | 5,333 |
| 162 | Vanuatu | 12,189 | 4,706 |
| 163 | Falkland Islands | 12,173 | 4,700 |
| 164 | Qatar | 11,586 | 4,473 |
| 165 | Jamaica | 10,991 | 4,244 |
| 166 | Gambia | 10,689 | 4,127 |
| 167 | Lebanon | 10,452 | 4,036 |
| 168 | Cyprus | 9,251 | 3,572 |
| 169 | Puerto Rico | 8,870 | 3,425 |
| 170 | State of Palestine | 6,220 | 2,402 |
| 171 | Brunei Darussalam | 5,765 | 2,226 |
| 172 | Trinidad and Tobago | 5,130 | 1,981 |
| 173 | French Polynesia | 4,167 | 1,609 |
| 174 | Cabo Verde | 4,033 | 1,557 |
| 175 | Samoa | 2,842 | 1,097 |
| 176 | Luxembourg | 2,586 | 998 |
| 177 | Réunion | 2,511 | 970 |
| 178 | Mauritius | 2,040 | 788 |
| 179 | Comoros | 1,862 | 719 |
| 180 | Guadeloupe | 1,628 | 629 |
| 181 | Faeroe Islands | 1,393 | 538 |
| 182 | Martinique | 1,128 | 436 |
| 183 | China, Hong Kong SAR | 1,104 | 426 |
| 184 | Sao Tome and Principe | 964 | 372 |
| 185 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 948 | 366 |
| 186 | Kiribati | 811 | 313 |
| 187 | Bahrain | 765 | 295 |
| 188 | Dominica | 751 | 290 |
| 189 | Tonga | 747 | 288 |
| 190 | Singapore | 710 | 274 |
| 191 | Micronesia | 702 | 271 |
| 192 | Saint Lucia | 616 | 238 |
| 193 | Isle of Man | 572 | 221 |
| 194 | Guam | 549 | 212 |
| 195 | Andorra | 468 | 181 |
| 196 | Northern Mariana Islands | 464 | 179 |
| 197 | Palau | 459 | 177 |
| 198 | Seychelles | 452 | 175 |
| 199 | Curaçao | 444 | 171 |
| 200 | Antigua and Barbuda | 442 | 171 |
| 201 | Barbados | 430 | 166 |
| 202 | Saint Helena | 394 | 152 |
| 203 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 389 | 150 |
| 204 | Mayotte | 374 | 144 |
| 205 | United States Virgin Islands | 347 | 134 |
| 206 | Grenada | 344 | 133 |
| 207 | Caribbean Netherlands | 328 | 127 |
| 208 | Malta | 316 | 122 |
| 209 | Maldives | 300 | 116 |
| 210 | Cayman Islands | 264 | 102 |
| 211 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 261 | 101 |
| 212 | Niue | 260 | 100 |
| 213 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 242 | 93 |
| 214 | Cook Islands | 236 | 91 |
| 215 | American Samoa | 199 | 77 |
| 216 | Marshall Islands | 181 | 70 |
| 217 | Aruba | 180 | 69 |
| 218 | Liechtenstein | 160 | 62 |
| 219 | British Virgin Islands | 151 | 58 |
| 220 | Wallis and Futuna Islands | 142 | 55 |
| 221 | Montserrat | 102 | 39 |
| 222 | Anguilla | 91 | 35 |
| 223 | San Marino | 61 | 24 |
| 224 | Bermuda | 54 | 21 |
| 225 | Saint Martin | 53 | 20 |
| 226 | Sint Maarten | 34 | 13 |
| 227 | China, Macao SAR | 30 | 12 |
| 228 | Tuvalu | 26 | 10 |
| 229 | Nauru | 21 | 8 |
| 230 | Saint Barthélemy | 21 | 8 |
| 231 | Tokelau | 12 | 5 |
| 232 | Gibraltar | 6 | 2 |
| 233 | Monaco | 2 | 1 |
| 234 | Vatican City | 0.4 | 0.2 |
The World’s Giants
The world’s biggest countries include Russia, Canada, China, and the U.S., which collectively account for nearly 30% of the world’s total landmass.
Russia is by far the largest, spanning 11 time zones and stretching across Europe and Asia. Over 65% of the country’s land, however, is classified as permafrost zones.
Canada shares similar characteristics, with vast northern territories covered by tundra, boreal forest, and Arctic climate. According to Statistics Canada, 66% of Canadians live within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of the U.S. border.
The World’s Smallest Countries
At the other end of the spectrum are tiny nations like Monaco and Gibraltar, which have total areas in the single digits.
At just 0.8 mi² (2.1 km²), Monaco is the second-smallest sovereign state in the world (after Vatican City). Despite its tiny size, nearly 39,000 people live within its borders, making it one of the most densely populated areas.
Gibraltar, technically a British Overseas Territory, covers slightly more ground at 2.6 mi² (6.8 km²). Located at the southern tip of Spain, it acts as a maritime chokepoint connecting the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out A Country-level Breakdown of the World’s Forests on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.