The 10 Biggest Countries in the World by Area

Together, the ten biggest countries cover roughly half of the planet's land surface. Their sheer scale shapes everything from climate zones to time zones. Here they are, from colossal to merely enormous.

1. Russia — about 17.1 million km²

Russia is so large it defies intuition: eleven time zones, two continents, and a landmass bigger than the surface of Pluto. From the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad to the Bering Strait, the country spans nearly half the globe's longitudes. Despite its size, most Russians live in the European west of the country.

2. Canada — about 9.98 million km²

Canada holds the world's longest coastline and more lakes than every other country combined. The vast majority of Canadians live within 160 kilometres of the US border, leaving the enormous northern territories almost empty.

3. China — about 9.6 million km²

China's territory runs from tropical Hainan island to the frozen border with Siberia, and from the Pacific coast to the deserts and high plateaus of Central Asia. Uniquely for its size, the entire country officially uses a single time zone.

4. United States — about 9.5 million km²

Alaska alone would rank among the world's twenty largest countries. Add the "lower 48" states, Hawaii and far-flung territories, and the US spans arctic tundra, deserts, rainforests and tropical islands.

5. Brazil — about 8.5 million km²

The giant of South America contains around 60% of the Amazon rainforest and shares a border with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. It is the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere.

6. Australia — about 7.7 million km²

A country that is also a continent. Australia is the flattest and driest inhabited continent, with most of its population hugging the eastern and southern coasts while the vast Outback dominates the interior.

7. India — about 3.3 million km²

Less than half the size of Australia but home to more than fifty times as many people, India is the world's most populous country. Its territory runs from Himalayan peaks to tropical backwaters in Kerala.

8. Argentina — about 2.8 million km²

Stretching from subtropical jungles in the north to the sub-Antarctic islands of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina covers a staggering range of climates. Its name comes from the Latin word for silver, argentum.

9. Kazakhstan — about 2.7 million km²

The largest landlocked country in the world, Kazakhstan is a land of endless steppe. The Baikonur Cosmodrome here has launched more spacecraft than any other site on Earth, including the first human ever to reach space.

10. Algeria — about 2.4 million km²

The biggest country in Africa is more than four-fifths Sahara Desert. Nearly all Algerians live along the Mediterranean coast, leaving the vast desert south to oases, oil fields and sand seas.

Size is not everything

Notice what is missing from this list: most of the world's economic and cultural heavyweights. Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France would not come close. Meanwhile Kazakhstan, ninth on this list, has fewer people than the city of Shanghai. Land is only one way to measure a country — which is why every guide on spinacountry.com covers population, languages and culture too.