Reference · 6 min read
🌐 The 10 Largest Countries in the World (By Area)
Russia, Canada, USA, China — but also a few that surprise people. Here's the real top 10.
1. Russia — 17.1 million km² The undisputed largest country, spanning 11 time zones from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok.
2. Canada — 9.98 million km² Nearly as big as Russia, but with only 40 million people — most clustered within 100 miles of the US border.
3. United States — 9.83 million km² Including Alaska, the US edges out China by a hair.
4. China — 9.6 million km² Roughly the same size as the US, with 4× the population.
5. Brazil — 8.5 million km² Covers nearly half of South America.
6. Australia — 7.7 million km² A continent that's also a single country — a rare combination.
7. India — 3.3 million km² Smaller than you'd guess given its population (1.4 billion).
8. Argentina — 2.78 million km² Stretches from tropical north to subantarctic Tierra del Fuego.
9. Kazakhstan — 2.72 million km² The largest landlocked country on Earth. Often forgotten on this list.
10. Algeria — 2.38 million km² Africa's largest country since South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011.
Together, these 10 countries make up 49% of Earth's land area — half the world's territory in just 10 nations.