Curated list · 2026
Largest countries in the world
Ranked by total land area (km²), largest first. Click any to see its tax profile.
This ranking orders countries by total land area in square kilometers, using GeoNames and standard geographic data. Russia is by far the largest, followed by Canada, the United States, China and Brazil. For a relocator, sheer size mainly signals internal variety of climate and regions rather than anything about cost or livability, so read it alongside our best-places and cost lists.
| # | Country | Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Russia | 17,100,000 km² |
| 2 |  Canada | 9,984,670 km² |
| 3 |  United States | 9,629,091 km² |
| 4 |  China | 9,596,960 km² |
| 5 |  Brazil | 8,511,965 km² |
| 6 |  Australia | 7,686,850 km² |
| 7 |  India | 3,287,590 km² |
| 8 |  Argentina | 2,766,890 km² |
| 9 |  Kazakhstan | 2,717,300 km² |
| 10 |  Algeria | 2,381,740 km² |
| 11 |  DR Congo | 2,345,410 km² |
| 12 |  Mexico | 1,972,550 km² |
| 13 |  Saudi Arabia | 1,960,582 km² |
| 14 |  Indonesia | 1,919,440 km² |
| 15 |  Sudan | 1,861,484 km² |
| 16 |  Libya | 1,759,540 km² |
| 17 |  Iran | 1,648,000 km² |
| 18 |  Mongolia | 1,565,000 km² |
| 19 |  Peru | 1,285,220 km² |
| 20 |  Chad | 1,284,000 km² |
| 21 |  Niger | 1,267,000 km² |
| 22 |  Angola | 1,246,700 km² |
| 23 |  Mali | 1,240,000 km² |
| 24 |  South Africa | 1,219,912 km² |
| 25 |  Colombia | 1,138,910 km² |
| 26 |  Ethiopia | 1,127,127 km² |
| 27 |  Bolivia | 1,098,580 km² |
| 28 |  Mauritania | 1,030,700 km² |
| 29 |  Egypt | 1,001,450 km² |
| 30 |  Tanzania | 945,087 km² |
| 31 |  Nigeria | 923,768 km² |
| 32 |  Venezuela | 912,050 km² |
| 33 |  Namibia | 825,418 km² |
| 34 |  Pakistan | 803,940 km² |
| 35 |  Mozambique | 801,590 km² |
| 36 |  Turkey | 780,580 km² |
| 37 |  Chile | 756,950 km² |
| 38 |  Zambia | 752,614 km² |
| 39 |  Myanmar | 678,500 km² |
| 40 |  Afghanistan | 647,500 km² |
| 41 |  South Sudan | 644,329 km² |
| 42 |  Somalia | 637,657 km² |
| 43 |  Central African Republic | 622,984 km² |
| 44 |  Ukraine | 603,700 km² |
| 45 |  Botswana | 600,370 km² |
| 46 |  Madagascar | 587,040 km² |
| 47 |  Kenya | 582,650 km² |
| 48 |  France | 547,030 km² |
| 49 |  Thailand | 514,000 km² |
| 50 |  Spain | 504,782 km² |
| 51 |  Turkmenistan | 488,100 km² |
| 52 |  Cameroon | 475,440 km² |
| 53 |  Papua New Guinea | 462,840 km² |
| 54 |  Sweden | 449,964 km² |
| 55 |  Uzbekistan | 447,400 km² |
| 56 |  Morocco | 446,550 km² |
| 57 |  Iraq | 437,072 km² |
| 58 |  Paraguay | 406,750 km² |
| 59 |  Zimbabwe | 390,580 km² |
| 60 |  Japan | 377,835 km² |
| 61 |  Germany | 357,021 km² |
| 62 |  Republic of the Congo | 342,000 km² |
| 63 |  Finland | 337,030 km² |
| 64 |  Malaysia | 329,750 km² |
| 65 |  Vietnam | 329,560 km² |
| 66 |  Norway | 324,220 km² |
| 67 |  Ivory Coast | 322,460 km² |
| 68 |  Poland | 312,685 km² |
| 69 |  Italy | 301,230 km² |
| 70 |  Philippines | 300,000 km² |
| 71 |  Ecuador | 283,560 km² |
| 72 |  Burkina Faso | 274,200 km² |
| 73 |  New Zealand | 268,680 km² |
| 74 |  Gabon | 267,667 km² |
| 75 |  Guinea | 245,857 km² |
| 76 |  United Kingdom | 244,820 km² |
| 77 |  Ghana | 239,460 km² |
| 78 |  Romania | 237,500 km² |
| 79 |  Laos | 236,800 km² |
| 80 |  Uganda | 236,040 km² |
| 81 |  Guyana | 214,970 km² |
| 82 |  Oman | 212,460 km² |
| 83 |  Belarus | 207,600 km² |
| 84 |  Kyrgyzstan | 198,500 km² |
| 85 |  Senegal | 196,190 km² |
| 86 |  Cambodia | 181,040 km² |
| 87 |  Uruguay | 176,220 km² |
| 88 |  Tunisia | 163,610 km² |
| 89 |  Suriname | 163,270 km² |
| 90 |  Bangladesh | 144,000 km² |
| 91 |  Tajikistan | 143,100 km² |
| 92 |  Nepal | 140,800 km² |
| 93 |  Greece | 131,940 km² |
| 94 |  Nicaragua | 129,494 km² |
| 95 |  Eritrea | 121,320 km² |
| 96 |  Malawi | 118,480 km² |
| 97 |  Benin | 112,620 km² |
| 98 |  Honduras | 112,090 km² |
| 99 |  Liberia | 111,370 km² |
| 100 |  Bulgaria | 110,910 km² |
| 101 |  Cuba | 110,860 km² |
| 102 |  Guatemala | 108,890 km² |
| 103 |  Iceland | 103,000 km² |
| 104 |  South Korea | 98,480 km² |
| 105 |  Hungary | 93,030 km² |
| 106 |  Portugal | 92,391 km² |
| 107 |  Jordan | 92,300 km² |
| 108 |  Serbia | 88,361 km² |
| 109 |  Azerbaijan | 86,600 km² |
| 110 |  Austria | 83,858 km² |
| 111 |  United Arab Emirates | 82,880 km² |
| 112 |  Czech Republic | 78,866 km² |
| 113 |  Panama | 78,200 km² |
| 114 |  Sierra Leone | 71,740 km² |
| 115 |  Ireland | 70,280 km² |
| 116 |  Georgia | 69,700 km² |
| 117 |  Sri Lanka | 65,610 km² |
| 118 |  Lithuania | 65,200 km² |
| 119 |  Latvia | 64,589 km² |
| 120 |  Togo | 56,785 km² |
| 121 |  Croatia | 56,542 km² |
| 122 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 51,129 km² |
| 123 |  Costa Rica | 51,100 km² |
| 124 |  Slovakia | 48,845 km² |
| 125 |  Dominican Republic | 48,730 km² |
| 126 |  Bhutan | 47,000 km² |
| 127 |  Estonia | 45,226 km² |
| 128 |  Denmark | 43,094 km² |
| 129 |  Netherlands | 41,526 km² |
| 130 |  Switzerland | 41,290 km² |
| 131 |  Guinea-Bissau | 36,120 km² |
| 132 |  Taiwan | 35,980 km² |
| 133 |  Moldova | 33,843 km² |
| 134 |  Belgium | 30,510 km² |
| 135 |  Lesotho | 30,355 km² |
| 136 |  Armenia | 29,800 km² |
| 137 |  Albania | 28,748 km² |
| 138 |  Equatorial Guinea | 28,051 km² |
| 139 |  Burundi | 27,830 km² |
| 140 |  Rwanda | 26,338 km² |
| 141 |  North Macedonia | 25,333 km² |
| 142 |  Djibouti | 23,000 km² |
| 143 |  Belize | 22,966 km² |
| 144 |  El Salvador | 21,040 km² |
| 145 |  Israel | 20,770 km² |
| 146 |  Slovenia | 20,273 km² |
| 147 |  Fiji | 18,270 km² |
| 148 |  Kuwait | 17,820 km² |
| 149 |  Eswatini | 17,363 km² |
| 150 |  Timor-Leste | 15,007 km² |
| 151 |  Montenegro | 14,026 km² |
| 152 |  Bahamas | 13,940 km² |
| 153 |  Vanuatu | 12,200 km² |
| 154 |  Qatar | 11,437 km² |
| 155 |  Gambia | 11,300 km² |
| 156 |  Jamaica | 10,991 km² |
| 157 |  Kosovo | 10,908 km² |
| 158 |  Lebanon | 10,400 km² |
| 159 |  Cyprus | 9,250 km² |
| 160 |  Puerto Rico | 9,104 km² |
| 161 |  Brunei | 5,770 km² |
| 162 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 5,128 km² |
| 163 |  Cape Verde | 4,033 km² |
| 164 |  Samoa | 2,944 km² |
| 165 |  Luxembourg | 2,586 km² |
| 166 |  Mauritius | 2,040 km² |
| 167 |  Hong Kong | 1,092 km² |
| 168 |  Dominica | 754 km² |
| 169 |  Tonga | 748 km² |
| 170 |  Singapore | 692 km² |
| 171 |  Bahrain | 665 km² |
| 172 |  Saint Lucia | 616 km² |
| 173 |  Isle of Man | 572 km² |
| 174 |  Andorra | 468 km² |
| 175 |  Palau | 458 km² |
| 176 |  Seychelles | 455 km² |
| 177 |  Curaçao | 444 km² |
| 178 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 443 km² |
| 179 |  Barbados | 431 km² |
| 180 |  Turks and Caicos | 430 km² |
| 181 |  Grenada | 344 km² |
| 182 |  Malta | 316 km² |
| 183 |  Maldives | 300 km² |
| 184 |  Cayman Islands | 262 km² |
| 185 |  St Kitts and Nevis | 261 km² |
| 186 |  Macau | 254 km² |
| 187 |  Aruba | 193 km² |
| 188 |  Liechtenstein | 160 km² |
| 189 |  British Virgin Islands | 153 km² |
| 190 |  Jersey | 116 km² |
| 191 |  Anguilla | 102 km² |
| 192 |  Guernsey | 78 km² |
| 193 |  San Marino | 61 km² |
| 194 |  Bermuda | 53 km² |
| 195 |  Gibraltar | 6 km² |
| 196 |  Monaco | 1 km² |
| 197 |  Vatican City * | 0.44 km² |
* Residence is not obtainable by ordinary applicants (for example, the Vatican grants residency only to clergy and Holy See employees).
Source: Land area, GeoNames.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest country in the world?
Russia is the largest country by area, covering about 17.1 million square kilometers, roughly 11 percent of the world's land. It spans eleven time zones across Europe and Asia. It is nearly twice the size of the second-largest country, Canada.
What are the top 10 largest countries?
By total area the ten largest are Russia, Canada, the United States, China, Brazil, Australia, India, Argentina, Kazakhstan and Algeria. The top six each exceed 7 million square kilometers. Together they cover roughly half of Earth's land surface.
Is Russia bigger than the United States?
Yes, by a wide margin. Russia covers about 17.1 million square kilometers, while the United States covers roughly 9.8 million, so Russia is nearly 1.7 times larger. The US ranks third or fourth depending on whether total or land-only area is used.
How is a country's size measured?
Country size is measured as total area in square kilometers, which can be split into land area and inland water. Rankings sometimes differ slightly because sources disagree on whether to include lakes, rivers and disputed territories. This list uses land area from standard geographic datasets like GeoNames.