The 10 biggest lakes on Earth by surface area, from the Caspian Sea (389,000 km² including its Garabogazköl lagoon) to Canada's Great Slave Lake (27,200 km²).
The Caspian Sea, conventionally counted as a lake, is the largest lake on Earth by surface area, at 389,000 km² including its Garabogazköl lagoon. Lake Superior is second at 82,100 km² and Lake Victoria third at 59,940 km². The ranking uses surface area, with Michigan and Huron counted separately, from Wikipedia's conventional List of lakes by area, as of October 2026.
Lakes are ranked here by surface area, the most common way to size them. The list spans an inland sea, the North American Great Lakes, Africa's Rift Valley lakes, Siberia's Lake Baikal and the big lakes of northern Canada. The Caspian Sea is conventionally counted as the world's largest lake, although geologically it sits on a fragment of ocean crust and is sometimes described as a small ocean. It is included here, as it is in the conventional ranking. Each entry also gives maximum depth, volume and shoreline countries, so you can compare a wide, shallow lake with a narrow, deep one.
Conventionally counted as the world's largest lake, the Caspian Sea covers 389,000 km² including the Garabogazköl lagoon, or about 371,000 km² without it. That is more than four times the area of Lake Superior.
The largest of North America's Great Lakes and, counting Michigan and Huron separately, the largest freshwater lake by surface area. It covers 82,100 km² along the Canada-United States border and holds more water than the other four Great Lakes combined.
Africa's largest lake by area and the world's largest tropical lake, and the source of the White Nile. At 59,940 km² it is slightly larger than Lake Huron.
The second-largest Great Lake by area at 59,570 km², just behind Lake Victoria. It is the larger lobe of Lake Michigan-Huron and contains Manitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island.
Covering 57,800 km², Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States and the largest lake by area located entirely in one country. Hydrologically it forms a single lake with Huron, but the two are conventionally counted separately.
The world's longest freshwater lake, covering 32,900 km² across four countries. With 18,750 km³ of water it is the third-largest lake of any kind by volume, after the Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal, and the second-largest freshwater lake by volume.
The deepest lake in the world (1,642 m) and the largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 23,610 km³ of water. Its 31,722 km² surface ranks it seventh by area.
At 31,153 km², the largest lake entirely within Canada, and the largest lake that lies partly inside the Arctic Circle.
At 29,600 km², the third-largest lake in Africa by area, and at 706 m the second-deepest in Africa after Tanganyika. It is home to more fish species than any other lake in the world.
The deepest lake in North America at 614 m, and tenth by area at 27,200 km². It lies in Canada's Northwest Territories.
| # | Name | Max depth (m) | Volume (km³) | Bordering countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caspian Sea | 1025 | 78200 | Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan |
| 2 | Lake Superior | 406 | 12070 | Canada, United States |
| 3 | Lake Victoria | 81 | 2420 | Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya |
| 4 | Lake Huron | 229 | 3520 | Canada, United States |
| 5 | Lake Michigan | 282 | 4930 | United States |
| 6 | Lake Tanganyika | 1470 | 18750 | Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia |
| 7 | Lake Baikal | 1642 | 23610 | Russia |
| 8 | Great Bear Lake | 446 | 2234 | Canada |
| 9 | Lake Malawi (Nyasa) | 706 | 8640 | Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania |
| 10 | Great Slave Lake | 614 | 1115 | Canada |
Every figure (area, maximum depth, volume) comes from one source: the conventional list in Wikipedia's "List of lakes by area" (revision of 2 October 2026), which compiles US EPA and other references and excludes reservoirs, lagoons and seasonal lakes. Lakes are ranked by surface area in square kilometres, largest first. The Caspian Sea is included because that source's conventional list counts it as a lake. Its 389,000 km² figure includes the Garabogazköl lagoon; the source notes the lagoon covers about 18,000 km², so the main body is about 371,000 km². Either way it ranks first. Lakes Michigan and Huron are counted separately, as in the conventional list, even though hydrologically they form one lake (Michigan-Huron), which would be the largest freshwater lake by area. Next below tenth place is Lake Erie at 25,667 km².
It is conventionally counted as the world's largest lake: it is an inland, endorheic body of slightly salty water with no outlet to the ocean. Geologically, though, it sits on a fragment of ancient ocean crust, so some definitions treat it as a small ocean. This list follows the conventional ranking and includes it.
Counting the Great Lakes separately, Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by surface area at 82,100 km². Lakes Michigan and Huron are hydrologically one lake, and together (117,370 km²) they would be larger. By volume, Lake Baikal holds the most fresh water, 23,610 km³.
They are joined at the Straits of Mackinac and share one water level, so hydrologically they are a single lake. By long-standing convention they are counted as two lakes, and this list follows that convention.
By surface area in square kilometres, largest first, using the figures in Wikipedia's List of lakes by area for every lake. The Caspian Sea figure includes the Garabogazköl lagoon.
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