The ten biggest sovereign nations on Earth ranked by total area, from Russia's continent-spanning expanse down to Algeria's Saharan bulk.
This is a ranking of the world's ten largest sovereign countries measured by total area — land plus inland water — in square kilometers. It's for anyone comparing the physical scale of nations, whether for geography study, trivia, or settling an argument about whether Canada or China comes out bigger. The figures come from the UN Statistics Division totals as compiled in the standard countries-by-area reference table, cross-checked against the CIA World Factbook and Britannica. Only fully sovereign states are included; dependencies and overseas territories are excluded from the count.
By far the largest country on Earth, Russia spans roughly 11% of the world's land area across both Europe and Asia. At over 17 million km² it is nearly double the size of the next-largest country.
The largest country in the Western Hemisphere and second largest overall. Canada has the world's longest coastline and enormous expanses of inland lakes and water.
The largest country in Asia by land area, edging out the United States for third place on a total-area basis. Rankings for third and fourth differ by source depending on how disputed territories and coastal waters are counted.
Nearly identical in size to China and effectively tied for third. The CIA World Factbook counts coastal and territorial waters and ranks the US third at about 9.83 million km², while the UN-based total-area figure used here places it fourth.
The largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere, covering nearly half the continent.
The largest country in Oceania and the only nation to occupy an entire continent on its own.
The seventh-largest country by area and the world's most populous, occupying most of the South Asian subcontinent.
The second-largest country in South America and the largest Spanish-speaking nation by area.
The largest landlocked country in the world, straddling Central Asia and a small part of Eastern Europe.
The largest country in Africa and in the Arab world, dominated by the Sahara Desert.
| # | Name | Land area (km²) | Water area (km²) | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | 16376870 | 721380 | Europe / Asia |
| 2 | Canada | 9093507 | 891163 | North America |
| 3 | China | 9326410 | 270550 | Asia |
| 4 | United States | 9147593 | 377424 | North America |
| 5 | Brazil | 8460415 | 55352 | South America |
| 6 | Australia | 7682300 | 58920 | Oceania |
| 7 | India | 2973190 | 314070 | Asia |
| 8 | Argentina | 2736690 | 43710 | South America |
| 9 | Kazakhstan | 2699700 | 25202 | Asia / Europe |
| 10 | Algeria | 2381741 | 0 | Africa |
Countries are ranked by total area — land area plus inland water — in square kilometers, largest to smallest, following the UN Statistics Division figures as compiled in the widely used countries-by-area reference table. Only sovereign states are eligible; dependencies, overseas territories, and non-self-governing regions are excluded. Rank 1 is the country with the greatest total area. Where sources differ (notably the near-tie between China and the United States, and whether coastal and territorial waters are counted), we use the UN-based total-area figure and note the discrepancy: the CIA World Factbook counts US coastal and territorial waters and places the United States third at roughly 9.83 million km², whereas the total-area basis used here ranks it fourth. A reader can reproduce the order by sorting the total-area column of the same reference table.
Russia is the largest country in the world by total area at about 17,098,246 km², spanning both Europe and Asia and covering roughly 11% of the world's land. It is nearly twice the size of Canada, the second-largest country.
It depends on how you measure. On a total-area basis using UN Statistics Division figures, China (about 9,596,960 km²) is slightly larger than the United States (about 9,525,067 km²). However, the CIA World Factbook counts US coastal and territorial waters, which pushes the US total to roughly 9.83 million km² and ranks it ahead of China. The two are effectively tied for third and fourth.
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world at about 2,724,910 km², straddling Central Asia and a small part of Eastern Europe. It ranks ninth among all countries by total area.
Total area here means land area plus inland water (lakes and rivers), in square kilometers, following UN Statistics Division figures. Only sovereign states are included; dependencies and overseas territories are excluded. Some sources instead count coastal and territorial waters, which can change the order of closely ranked countries like China and the United States.