Largest Countries in the World by Area
Russia covers 17.1 million km² — almost the surface scale of Pluto. The top 10 largest countries together account for about one-third of Earth’s total land area. Here is the complete ranked list with size comparisons, geographic facts, and everything you need to know.
Quick Answer: The Top 10 Largest Countries
The largest country in the world is:
Largest country by land area
Russia is so large that when it is midnight in Moscow, it can already be morning in the far east of the country.
The top 10 largest countries in the world by area:
- 1. 🇷🇺 Russia17,098,242 km²
- 2. 🇨🇦 Canada9,984,670 km²
- 3. 🇺🇸 United States9,833,517 km²
- 4. 🇨🇳 China9,596,960 km²
- 5. 🇧🇷 Brazil8,515,767 km²
- 6. 🇦🇺 Australia7,692,024 km²
- 7. 🇮🇳 India3,287,263 km²
- 8. 🇦🇷 Argentina2,780,400 km²
- 9. 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan2,724,900 km²
- 10. 🇩🇿 Algeria2,381,741 km²
These 10 countries together cover 73.9M km² — approximately 49.6% of Earth’s total land area of about 148.9 million km².
Complete Top 20 Largest Countries by Area
The full ranked list — with area in km², percentage of Earth’s land, and one key fact about each country’s size.
Russia — The World’s Largest Country
17,098,242 km². 11 time zones. 14 land borders. One country that defies easy comprehension.
Russia (Russian Federation)
Russia’s size is the result of centuries of territorial expansion from a base around Moscow across Siberia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Pacific edge of Eurasia. The result is a country whose map is less like a single region and more like a continental system.
Russia contains the Siberian taiga, Lake Baikal, Arctic coastline, volcanic Kamchatka, the Ural Mountains, European plains, and the highest peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus. It is larger than Antarctica and almost the same size as South America.
Its population is surprisingly modest for its area. Most Russians live west of the Ural Mountains, while Siberia covers a vast share of the country with relatively few people. That gap between physical size and human settlement is one of the defining facts of Russian geography.
Russia is nearly Pluto-sized
Russia’s 17.1 million km² land area is comparable to Pluto’s surface area, though current New Horizons-based estimates put Pluto slightly larger. The comparison still shows the scale: one country approaches the surface area of a dwarf planet.
Russia spans 11 time zones
No other country has more official time zones. When it is midnight in Moscow, it can already be morning in Russia’s far east.
Russia has more forest than any other country
Its boreal taiga is the largest national forest zone on Earth and stores an enormous share of global forest carbon.
Lake Baikal holds about one-fifth of unfrozen surface fresh water
Baikal is the world’s deepest lake and one of the oldest, clearest, and most biologically distinctive lakes on Earth.
Russia sold Alaska in 1867
The United States purchased Alaska for $7.2 million. If Russia still held Alaska, its area would be roughly 1.7 million km² larger.
How Big Is Russia? Size Comparisons
17,098,242 km² is almost impossible to visualize. Here are comparisons that make it real.
Russia vs Pluto
- → Russia: 17,098,242 km²
- → Pluto’s surface: roughly 17.7 million km² by current radius estimates
- → Russia is not larger than Pluto, but it is astonishingly close in scale.
Russia vs the United States
- → Russia is about 1.74× larger than the United States.
- → Russia is larger than Antarctica, but not larger than the USA and Canada combined.
- → Its Asian portion alone is larger than the contiguous United States.
Russia vs South America
- → South America is about 17.84 million km².
- → Russia is almost the same size as the entire continent.
- → South America is only about 4% larger.
Russia’s time zones
- → Russia spans 11 official time zones.
- → Its far east sits near Alaska across the Bering Strait.
- → The country’s east-west scale is a timekeeping challenge.
Russia vs Europe
- → Russia is about 1.6× larger than Europe’s total area.
- → European Russia alone is larger than India.
- → Asian Russia is larger than all of Europe.
Russia’s forest
- → Russia contains the world’s largest national forest area.
- → The Siberian taiga covers millions of square kilometers.
- → Its forests are a global carbon reservoir.
Russia’s coastline
- → Russia’s coastline is about 37,653 km.
- → That is close to Earth’s equatorial circumference of 40,075 km.
- → It touches Arctic and Pacific waters plus European seas.
Russia’s population density
- → About 144 million people across 17.1 million km².
- → Density is roughly 8.4 people per km².
- → Most people live in European Russia, leaving Siberia very sparsely populated.
Area Comparison Bars
The Top 5 Largest Countries — In Depth
Beyond the numbers — what makes each of these giants geographically extraordinary.
🇨🇦 Canada
9,984,670 km²
38.2 million
Ottawa
3.9 people/km²
Canada is the world’s second-largest country and the largest in the Western Hemisphere, yet it has fewer people than California. Its northern territories are vast, cold, and sparsely populated, while most Canadians live close to the US border. Canada’s geographic identity is shaped by lakes, boreal forest, Arctic coastline, prairie, and mountains.
- · World’s longest coastline
- · Huge share of global lake area
- · 6 time zones
- · Most people live near the US border
- · Second largest country but far from second most populous
🇺🇸 United States
9,833,517 km²
335 million
Washington, D.C.
34 people/km²
The United States is rare because it ranks near the top in both area and population. Including Alaska and Hawaii, it spans Arctic tundra, tropical islands, deserts, temperate rainforests, prairie, major mountain systems, and one of the world’s largest river networks.
- · 3rd largest by area
- · 3rd most populous
- · Alaska is larger than many countries
- · Borders Canada and Mexico
- · Massive climate and biome diversity
🇨🇳 China
9,596,960 km²
1.41 billion
Beijing
147 people/km²
China is the fourth-largest country by area and one of the two population giants of the world. It stretches from Pacific coast to Central Asian borderlands, from tropical south to cold northeast, and includes the Tibetan Plateau, Gobi Desert, Yangtze basin, and major coastal megacities.
- · Borders 14 countries
- · Uses one official time zone
- · Home to part of Mount Everest
- · One of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations
- · Immense coastal and inland contrast
🇧🇷 Brazil
8,515,767 km²
215 million
Brasília
25 people/km²
Brazil is the largest country in South America and the Southern Hemisphere. It borders nearly every South American country and contains the majority of the Amazon rainforest, giving it unmatched importance for biodiversity, climate, river systems, and global conservation.
- · About 47% of South America’s land
- · Contains much of the Amazon rainforest
- · Borders 10 South American countries
- · Largest Portuguese-speaking country
- · Long Atlantic coastline
🇦🇺 Australia
7,692,024 km²
26.5 million
Canberra
3.5 people/km²
Australia is a country, island, and continent-scale landmass. Its vast interior is dry and sparsely populated, while most people live near the coast. Isolation helped produce extraordinary endemic wildlife, from marsupials to reptiles to unique plants and reef ecosystems.
- · Only country occupying an entire continent
- · Most people live near the coast
- · Great Barrier Reef
- · Vast arid Outback
- · High endemic biodiversity
The Largest Country on Each Continent
Every continent has a geographic giant — here are the record-holders.
Key fact: Africa’s largest country; much of it Sahara Desert.
Algeria became Africa’s largest country after Sudan split in 2011. Its populated Mediterranean north contrasts sharply with the vast Saharan south.
Also notable: DR Congo, Sudan, Libya, Chad
Key fact: Largest country entirely within Asia.
Russia spans Europe and Asia. If counting countries entirely within Asia, China is the largest, with 14 land borders and huge geographic diversity.
Also notable: Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran
Key fact: Largest country entirely within Europe.
Russia is Europe’s largest if counted as European, but Ukraine is the largest country entirely within Europe.
Also notable: France, Spain, Sweden, Norway
Key fact: Largest in the Western Hemisphere.
Canada dominates northern North America and has an enormous Arctic coastline, vast forests, and huge lake systems.
Also notable: United States, Mexico
Key fact: Occupies nearly half of South America.
Brazil is so large it borders 10 of South America’s 12 countries and contains much of the Amazon basin.
Also notable: Argentina, Peru, Colombia
Key fact: Only country that occupies an entire continent.
Australia accounts for the overwhelming majority of Oceania’s land area and dwarfs every other country in the region.
Also notable: Papua New Guinea, New Zealand
Largest Countries vs Most Populous — The Surprising Gap
The biggest countries are not always the most populated. The gap between size and population reveals striking geographic facts.
You might expect the world’s largest countries to also be the most populous. The reality is more complicated: the largest countries often contain vast cold, dry, mountainous, or remote regions, while the most densely populated countries cluster around fertile plains and coastlines.
Russia has fewer people than Bangladesh
Russia covers 17.1 million km² and has about 144 million people. Bangladesh is about 147,570 km² but has more people, showing how climate, river plains, and agricultural density matter more than raw size.
Canada is larger than the USA but far less populous
Canada is slightly larger than the United States, but the United States has almost nine times as many people. Much of Canada’s north is cold, remote, and sparsely settled.
Australia is larger than India but has far fewer people
Australia is more than twice India’s size, yet India has over 50 times more people. Australia’s dry interior and coastal settlement pattern explain much of the gap.
Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries
Mongolia is larger than many famous regions but has only a few million people. Its steppe, desert, and nomadic geography produce extremely low population density.
Surprising Facts About the World’s Largest Countries
Big in size, even bigger in stories.
🇷🇺 Russia is nearly the surface area of Pluto
The popular comparison is slightly overstated under current Pluto measurements, but the idea remains useful: Russia’s land area is close to the surface area of a dwarf planet.
🇨🇦 Canada has an astonishing lake landscape
Canada’s lake systems and coastline dominate its map. Freshwater, boreal forest, and Arctic geography shape the country as much as cities do.
🇨🇳 China uses one time zone despite spanning several solar zones
All of China officially uses Beijing time, creating very late sunrises in the far west and showing how time zones can be political as well as geographic.
🇧🇷 The Amazon reshapes the map of Brazil
Brazil’s scale is inseparable from the Amazon basin, whose rivers, rainforest, biodiversity, and climate influence extend far beyond national borders.
🇦🇺 Australia is both country and continent-scale landmass
Australia’s isolation and scale created some of the world’s most distinctive wildlife and one of the most coast-focused settlement patterns among large countries.
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country
Kazakhstan ranks ninth by area but has no ocean access. The Caspian Sea is technically an inland water body, not an open ocean connection.
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This largest countries reference uses the site’s 195-country education standard and corrects common viral geography claims where current measurements disagree.