Top 20 Largest Countries by Area
The world's 20 largest countries ranked by total area, meaning land plus inland waters, from Russia and its eleven time zones down to landlocked Chad. Together they cover about 61% of Earth's land surface. The list also shows how much the ordering depends on definition: whether coastal waters are counted decides whether China or the United States takes third place.
Interesting Facts & Summary
Russia alone covers 11.5% of Earth's land, beating second-place Canada by 7.11 million km² — a gap larger than two Indias combined. The top four (Russia, Canada, China, the United States) together exceed the combined area of ranks 5 through 20. The ordering is unusually sensitive to definition: China leads the United States by only about 72,000 km², under 1%, and on the American figure that counts territorial and coastal waters the US moves ahead. Two common misconceptions are worth correcting: Kazakhstan, not Mongolia, is the world's largest landlocked country; and Greenland's 2.17 million km² would place it 12th, except that it is an autonomous territory of Denmark rather than a sovereign state.
| Rank | Country | Continent | Total area (km²) | Share of world land | Geographic note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russia | Europe/Asia | 17098246 | 11.5% | Spans 11 time zones | |
Canada | North America | 9984670 | 6.7% | Longest coastline in the world | |
China | Asia | 9596960 | 6.4% | 14 land neighbours, tied with Russia for the most | |
| 4 | United States | North America | 9525067 | 6.4% | 9,833,517 km² if coastal waters are included |
| 5 | Brazil | South America | 8515767 | 5.7% | Covers nearly half of South America |
| 6 | Australia | Oceania | 7692024 | 5.2% | The only country occupying an entire continent |
| 7 | India | Asia | 3287263 | 2.2% | Official figure includes claimed but uncontrolled territory |
| 8 | Argentina | South America | 2780400 | 1.9% | About 3,700 km from north to south |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | Asia | 2724900 | 1.8% | The world's largest landlocked country |
| 10 | Algeria | Africa | 2381741 | 1.6% | The largest country in Africa |
| 11 | DR Congo | Africa | 2344858 | 1.6% | The largest country in sub-Saharan Africa |
| 12 | Saudi Arabia | Asia | 2149690 | 1.4% | Overwhelmingly desert terrain |
| 13 | Mexico | North America | 1964375 | 1.3% | Third largest country in Latin America |
| 14 | Indonesia | Asia | 1904569 | 1.3% | Made up of roughly 17,000 islands |
| 15 | Sudan | Africa | 1861484 | 1.2% | Lost about a quarter of its area when South Sudan split off in 2011 |
| 16 | Libya | Africa | 1759540 | 1.2% | More than 90% of the land is Sahara desert |
| 17 | Iran | Asia | 1648195 | 1.1% | Dominated by the mountainous, arid Iranian Plateau |
| 18 | Mongolia | Asia | 1564110 | 1.1% | The least densely populated sovereign state |
| 19 | Peru | South America | 1285216 | 0.9% | Combines coastline, the Andes and Amazon rainforest |
| 20 | Chad | Africa | 1284000 | 0.9% | The largest landlocked country in Africa |
Sources
- S1 · United Nations Statistics DivisionDemographic Yearbook — Population, surface area and density
United Nations Statistics Division, Demographic Yearbook — Population, surface area and density, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Accessed: 2026-08-04 - S2 · Central Intelligence AgencyThe World Factbook — Area
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook — Area, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Accessed: 2026-08-04 - S3 · WikipediaList of countries and dependencies by area
Wikipedia, List of countries and dependencies by area, retrieved 2026-08-04.
Accessed: 2026-08-04