17.1million km² · Russia
Short answer: Russia is the largest country in the world, with an area of about 17.1 million km². It is followed by Canada, the United States and China.
Russia stretches from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean and spans eleven time zones. Below is the top 10 largest countries in the world by total area (land and inland water), rounded.
The 10 largest countries in the world
- Russia: about 17.1 million km²
- Canada: about 10.0 million km²
- United States: about 9.8 million km²
- China: about 9.6 million km²
- Brazil: about 8.5 million km²
- Australia: about 7.7 million km²
- India: about 3.3 million km²
- Argentina: about 2.8 million km²
- Kazakhstan: about 2.7 million km²
- Algeria: about 2.4 million km²
Russia
According to Britannica, Russia is the largest country in the world. It lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia; most of the population lives in the European part, while Siberia is vast and sparsely populated.
Canada, the US or China: who comes second?
Canada is the second-largest country. Sources sometimes differ on third place: whether the United States or China is larger depends on whether you include coastal waters and large lakes. By total area, the US usually comes out just ahead of China.
Largest country in Africa and South America
Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Brazil the largest in South America. Australia is both a country and a continent.
Curious about the other end of the list? Read about the smallest countries in the world.
Final edit: Jan Willem Beumer, editor-in-chief of Mindbogglingmedia
