The ten largest lakes on Earth ranked by water volume, from the Caspian Sea to Great Bear Lake.
The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by water volume, holding 78,200 km³ of saline water. Lake Baikal is second at 23,610 km³, the most of any freshwater lake, and Lake Tanganyika third at 18,750 km³. The ranking uses total water volume in cubic kilometers, from Wikipedia's List of lakes by volume, based on The Water Encyclopedia, as of October 2026.
While most people know the largest lakes by surface area, ranking by volume tells a different story. A lake can be vast in area but surprisingly shallow, or relatively compact yet staggeringly deep. Lake Baikal, for instance, holds 23,610 km³ of freshwater, more than the five North American Great Lakes combined (about 22,640 km³ in the same source), despite having well under half of Lake Superior's surface area. This list ranks the ten largest lakes on Earth by total water volume in cubic kilometers, using the figures in Wikipedia's List of lakes by volume. Reservoirs, estuaries and lagoons are excluded.
The world's largest inland body of water by both surface area and volume, the Caspian Sea holds 78,200 km³ of saline water. It borders five countries and is classified as a lake despite its name.
The world's deepest lake and the largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 23,610 km³ — more than the five North American Great Lakes combined. It lies in southern Siberia.
The second-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 18,750 km³. It is shared by four African countries and is one of the African Great Lakes.
The largest of the North American Great Lakes by both volume and surface area, Lake Superior holds 12,070 km³ of freshwater across 82,100 km².
Also known as Lake Nyasa, this African Great Lake holds 8,640 km³ of freshwater, shared by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
The largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, with its surface roughly 4 km beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Its volume is estimated at 5,400 ± 1,600 km³, the least certain figure on this list.
The only one of the Great Lakes entirely within the United States, Lake Michigan holds 4,930 km³ of freshwater. It is joined to Lake Huron at the Straits of Mackinac, and the two are sometimes treated as a single lake.
The third largest of the Great Lakes by volume at 3,520 km³, behind Superior and Michigan, though it has a larger surface area than Michigan.
The largest lake in Africa by surface area but only 9th by volume at 2,420 km³, because it is relatively shallow. It is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
The largest lake entirely within Canada, Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories holds 2,234 km³ of freshwater.
| # | Name | continent | countries | surfaceArea | maxDepth | salinity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caspian Sea | Asia / Europe | Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran | 371,000 km² | 1,025 m | 1.2% (saline) |
| 2 | Baikal | Asia | Russia | 31,722 km² | 1,642 m | Fresh |
| 3 | Tanganyika | Africa | Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia | 32,900 km² | 1,470 m | Fresh |
| 4 | Superior | North America | Canada, United States | 82,100 km² | 406 m | Fresh |
| 5 | Malawi | Africa | Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania | 29,600 km² | 706 m | Fresh |
| 6 | Vostok | Antarctica | Antarctica | 12,500 km² | 510–900 m (estimates) | Fresh |
| 7 | Michigan | North America | United States | 58,030 km² | 281 m | Fresh |
| 8 | Huron | North America | Canada, United States | 59,590 km² | 229 m | Fresh |
| 9 | Victoria | Africa | Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya | 59,940 km² | 81 m | Fresh |
| 10 | Great Bear | North America | Canada | 31,153 km² | 446 m | Fresh |
Lakes are ranked by total water volume in cubic kilometers (km³), largest first, using the figures and order in Wikipedia's "List of lakes by volume" (accessed 2026-10-18), whose base data come from The Water Encyclopedia (2nd ed., 1990), supplemented by more recent surveys where that page cites them. Surface areas are from the same table. The Caspian Sea is included as a lake (it is endorheic, with no outlet to the ocean), though it is saline. Lake Vostok is a subglacial lake beneath Antarctica; its volume is given as 5,400 ± 1,600 km³ and the central figure is used. Reservoirs such as Lake Kariba and Lake Volta are excluded. Michigan and Huron are listed separately (they are joined at the Straits of Mackinac and sometimes treated as one lake, which would hold 8,443 km³). Maximum depths are taken from each lake's own Wikipedia article. Lake volumes are hard to measure and vary from source to source, so figures may differ slightly from other references.
The Caspian Sea, at 78,200 km³ — more than the next seven lakes on this list combined, and roughly two-fifths of the 199,000 km³ estimated total volume of Earth's lakes.
Lake Baikal in Siberia, with 23,610 km³ of freshwater — more than the five North American Great Lakes combined.
Lake Victoria is the largest by surface area (59,940 km²), but Lake Tanganyika is much larger by volume (18,750 km³ vs. 2,420 km³) because it is far deeper.
The Caspian is endorheic: it has no outlet to the ocean. For that reason most geographers and limnologists treat it as a huge inland salt lake, although its size means it is sometimes modeled as a sea.
More like this: all Geography & Earth rankings · browse every topic