The world’s largest countries provide a beautiful snapshot of the variety of geography, climate and wildlife on the planet. Here is a listing of the Top 10 Largest Countries On Earth by area, in both square kilometers and square miles.
The world’s ten biggest countries by size are ranked based on information from the CIA World Factbook. The numbers shown are based on the total land size of each country which includes both land and water.
Algeria 2,381,741 Square km (919,595 Square miles)
10
Algeria is the largest country by area in Africa. Before 2011, when South Sudan became independent, Sudan was the largest.
Kazakhstan 2,724,900 Square km (1,052,089 Square miles)
9
Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country by size in the world. It’s a huge place with a very small population of only 16 million people. It is the largest landlocked country in the world, with Russian to its North, China to the West, Uzbekistan down South and the Caspian Sea on its Western Border.
Argentina 2,780,400 Square km (1,073,518 Square miles)
8
By land area Argentina is the 2nd largest country in South America and the 8th largest country in the world.
India 3,287,263 Square km (1,269,219 Square miles)
7
India is the seventh largest country by total area, it is bordered by the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Australia 7,741,220 Square km (2,988,901 Square miles)
6
Australia is the world’s 6th largest country by area. Due to its large size and isolation from the rest of the world, Australia is sometimes known as the ‘island continent’. While it’s huge, the population is only 22.6 million.
Brazil 8,514,877 Square km (3,287,612 Square miles)
5
Brazil is the largest country in South America. Population-wise, it’s the 5th largest in the world.
China 9,596,961 Square km (3,705,407 Square miles)
4
China is the 3rd largest country by are. It has the largest population in the world, with over 1.357 billion people as of Feb 2016. Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.
United States 9,826,675 Square km (3,794,100 Square miles)
3
The United States of America is the third-largest country by size in the world. It has some of the world’s largest lakes, deepest canyons, mightiest rivers, and most populous cities.
Canada 9,984,670 Square km (3,855,102 Square miles)
2
Canada is the world’s second largest country. Without its lakes, Canada would be smaller than the USA. Canada is over 8,850 km (5,500 miles) wide, from Atlantic to Pacific coasts.
Russia 17,098,242 Square km (6,592,735 Square miles)
1
In terms of land area, Russia is the largest country in the world. It is a transcontinental country, extending halfway around the northern hemisphere and covering much of eastern and north-eastern Europe and the whole of northern Asia. Russia is so huge that it is located across 9 time zones.
Just So You Know…
- Find out which the 10 Largest Islands On Earth and the 10 Smallest Countries On Earth are.
