Countries With the Longest Coastlines in the World, Ranked
8 min read · Published September 28, 2026
Quick answer
Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world, at approximately 202,080 km (125,570 miles) according to the CIA World Factbook — more than three and a half times longer than second-place Indonesia (54,716 km). Canada's total comes almost entirely from its Arctic archipelago of more than 50,000 islands, each of which adds its own perimeter to the national total. Russia, the Philippines, and Japan round out the top five.
Coastline length is notoriously hard to pin down precisely — see the "coastline paradox" section below, including a real example where one country's coastline is measured at three very different lengths depending on the source.
The countries with the longest coastlines (CIA World Factbook data)
| Rank | Country | Coastline length | Why it's this long |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | ~202,080 km (125,570 mi) | Arctic archipelago of 50,000+ islands, plus Hudson Bay and Pacific fjords |
| 2 | Indonesia | ~54,716 km (34,000 mi) | Over 17,000 islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans |
| 3 | Russia | ~37,653 km (23,400 mi) | Arctic, Pacific, Baltic, and Black Sea frontage across eleven time zones |
| 4 | Philippines | ~36,289 km (22,550 mi) | Roughly 7,641 islands packed into a relatively compact area |
| 5 | Japan | ~29,751 km (18,485 mi) | Four main islands plus nearly 6,900 smaller ones |
| 6 | Australia | ~25,760 km (16,010 mi) | A single continental landmass with an extremely irregular coastline |
| 7 | United States | ~19,924 km (12,380 mi) | Combined mainland, Alaska (roughly 54% of the US total on its own), and Hawaii coastlines |
| 8 | New Zealand | ~15,134 km (9,405 mi) | Two main islands plus numerous smaller ones, with deeply indented fjords |
| 9 | China | ~14,500 km (9,010 mi) mainland; ~32,000 km including islands | Long mainland coast plus thousands of coastal islands |
| 10 | Greece | ~13,676 km (8,500 mi) | Thousands of islands packed into the Aegean and Ionian seas |
Figures are CIA World Factbook estimates. As the next section explains, different reputable sources can list the same country's coastline at meaningfully different lengths — this is expected, not an error.
Why Canada's coastline dwarfs everyone else's
Canada's Arctic islands alone contribute the overwhelming majority of its total coastline, since each island's full perimeter is counted separately rather than folded into a single mainland figure. Combined with deeply indented bays like Hudson Bay and countless fjords along the Pacific coast, Canada's total is commonly cited as longer than the next several countries on this list added together — a gap wide enough that no other country is realistically competing for first place.
The coastline paradox: why exact numbers vary so much — and one country that proves it
Measuring a coastline sounds simple but genuinely isn't. This is known as the coastline paradox: the measured length of a coastline increases as the scale of measurement gets finer, because real coastlines are irregular and fractal-like rather than smooth curves. A survey using long, straight measuring segments smooths over small bays and inlets and produces a shorter total; a survey using much shorter segments captures those same small features and produces a longer total — for the same physical coastline.
Norway is the clearest real-world example. Depending on the source and methodology, Norway's coastline has been cited anywhere from roughly 25,148 km up to over 83,000 km, largely because of how — and whether — its thousands of narrow fjords are traced into the total. Straightened out, Norway's fjord-heavy coastline at its longer estimates would stretch far enough to circle the globe more than once. That's not a data error; it's the coastline paradox playing out in a single, dramatic case.
This is also why two major reference datasets — the CIA World Factbook and the World Resources Institute — sometimes rank the same countries differently: they use different scales and different rules for what counts as coastline (mainland only vs. mainland plus overseas territories, for instance).
For more on how a country's geography shapes its economy and daily life, see our guides to island nations of the world, landlocked countries and why it matters, and how ocean currents shape climate around the world.
Countries with surprisingly long coastlines for their size
- Greece — a relatively small country by land area, but its thousands of islands give it roughly 13,676 km of coastline, one of the longest in Europe.
- Norway — even at its more conservative estimates, its fjord-carved coast vastly outstrips what its land area alone would suggest.
- Philippines — at about 36,289 km, its coastline is longer than the entire United States', despite the Philippines being a small fraction of the US's land area.
Common mistakes people make
- Assuming coastline length scales directly with land area — Russia is nearly 30 times larger than Indonesia by land area, yet Indonesia's island-heavy geography gives it a longer coastline.
- Treating coastline figures as exact numbers — because of the coastline paradox, two reputable sources can reasonably disagree on the same country's coastline by thousands of kilometers, as Norway demonstrates.
- Forgetting that landlocked countries have zero coastline by definition — regardless of size; large landlocked countries like Kazakhstan and Mongolia rank at the very bottom of any coastline list.
FAQs
What country has the longest coastline in the world?
Canada, at approximately 202,080 km according to the CIA World Factbook — largely due to its Arctic archipelago of over 50,000 islands.
Why do coastline measurements vary between sources?
Because of the coastline paradox: coastlines are irregular and fractal-like, so measured length increases the finer the measurement scale gets. Norway is the clearest example, with credible estimates ranging from about 25,000 km to over 83,000 km.
Does a bigger country always have a longer coastline?
No. Indonesia's coastline (about 54,716 km) is far longer than much larger countries like Russia, thanks to its more than 17,000 islands.
Which small country has a surprisingly long coastline?
Greece, whose thousands of Aegean and Ionian islands give it about 13,676 km of coastline despite a modest total land area.
How much of Canada's coastline is on the mainland vs. islands?
The overwhelming majority comes from its Arctic Archipelago islands rather than the mainland shore itself — each island's full perimeter counts toward the national total.