Which seven countries occupy the largest areas in the world?

Countries are human-constructed entities with borders defined by human-made institutions. Sometimes these borders are dictated by natural features like rivers, mountain ranges, and oceans, but in other cases, the boundaries are not visible to the naked eye.

Countries vary greatly in size—Russia covers more than 6.6 million square miles (17,098,242 square kilometers), while Vatican City spans just 0.27 square miles (0.43 square kilometers). Additionally, country borders change frequently over time, with many countries shrinking as nations secede from one another: in 1946, there were 76 independent nations, whereas by 2023, there are 195.

Modern estimates indicate that the Earth's total surface area is 196,900,000 square miles (510,072,000 square kilometers), with 71 percent of that covered by ocean. This leaves only 29 percent of the planet's surface as land. While countries measure their land area based on above-sea-level land, they also include parts of the continental shelf that extend into the sea. This can make ranking countries by total area a bit complicated, as you'll discover.

Here are the seven largest countries in the world:

1. Russia - 6,601,668 Square Miles (17,098,242 Square Kilometers)

Russia holds the title of the world's largest country by a significant margin. It is more than twice the size of Brazil (the fifth-largest country). Russia occupies one-tenth of the Earth's total land area, stretches across two continents, spans 11 time zones, and shares borders with 14 other countries.

Russia borders three oceans — the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic — and is home to approximately 100,000 rivers, as well as Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest lake. Its diverse landscape includes deserts, mountain ranges, and expansive deciduous forests. Most of Russia is covered by vast treeless grasslands known as steppes and taiga, or coniferous boreal forests. The country is also home to remarkable wildlife, such as snow leopards, polar bears, arctic foxes, the Siberian tiger, bighorn sheep, and the Eurasian brown bear, Russia's official national animal.

2. Canada - 3,855,103 Square Miles (9,984,670 Square Kilometers)

Spanning across more than half of the Northern Hemisphere, Canada ranks as the second-largest country on Earth. From east to west, it stretches over 4,700 miles (7,560 kilometers) of North America, covering six time zones. Its northern boundary touches the Arctic Ocean, while to the south, it shares a border with the United States.

Despite its vast size, Canada is a remarkably remote nation, home to just half of one percent of the global population. This leaves ample space for wildlife, including beavers, moose, polar bears, bison, orcas, caribou, and grizzly bears.

Canada is renowned for its abundant coastal and territorial waters, with its lakes and rivers holding 20 percent of the world's freshwater. The country is also home to the longest coastline globally, and its interior features the stunning Rocky Mountains, expansive boreal forests, tundras, plains, and the Canadian Shield, an ancient, swampy region rich with some of the world's oldest geological formations.

3. U.S.A. - 3,794,100 Square Miles (9,826,675 Square Kilometers)

The U.S. ranks as the third-largest country, though its landmass is not continuous. Among its 50 states, 48 are connected within North America, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. A significant portion, one-fifth of the country’s total land area, is Alaska, which is detached from the other states and lies on the western side of Canada. Hawaii, another non-contiguous state, is located roughly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away from the mainland, positioned in the central Pacific Ocean.

Due to its size and the non-contiguous nature of its states, the U.S. showcases every climate found around the globe. Hawaii and Florida enjoy tropical climates, while the Southwestern states are home to dry deserts. Alaska experiences polar climates, and the Rocky Mountain West encounters pockets of Arctic weather. Most of the contiguous 48 states, however, are classified as either temperate, with rainy weather, hot summers, and mild winters, or continental, with warm summers and very cold winters.

4. China - 3,747,879 Square Miles (9,706,961 Square Kilometers)

China's size closely mirrors that of the U.S. and Canada, leading some geographers to debate which of the three is the largest. While China has significantly less coastline than its North American counterparts, the inclusion of continental shelf areas extending into the sea technically makes it the fourth-largest country. However, if only the landmass above water were considered, China would be the second-largest, followed by the United States and then Canada.

China shares borders with 14 countries and spans five geographical time zones, although it observes a single standard time, known as Beijing Time. The country boasts a diverse landscape, featuring forests, deserts, grasslands, arid plateaus, humid coastlines, and thousands of rivers, including the Yangtze, the world's third-largest river. About a third of China’s land is mountainous, with Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth, sitting along the border between China and Nepal.

5. Brazil - 3,287,612 Square Miles (8,514,877 Square Kilometers)

Brazil, the largest country in South America, ranks fifth in size globally. It has a distinct wedge-like shape and shares borders with 10 of the 12 countries on the continent. Brazil is home to the Amazon River, the world's largest river by volume, which stretches across thousands of miles in the northern part of the country. While Brazil is known for the Amazon rainforest, it also boasts 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers) of Atlantic coastline, as well as pine forests, wetlands, plateaus, and vast arid grasslands known as pampas.

6. Australia - 2,988,902 Square Miles (7,741,220 Square Kilometers)

Australia ranks as the sixth-largest country globally and is unique in that it occupies an entire continent. Despite having a fertile coastline of 21,126 miles (34,000 kilometers) and lush rainforests, over a third of Australia is covered by desert. The country is also home to some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, including the box jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), among others.

7. India - 1,269,210 Square Miles (3,287,263 Square Kilometers)

India, occupying the seventh-largest spot globally, is the second-largest country in Asia. It is a peninsula, bordered on three sides by the Indian Ocean. While its land area is smaller than some other countries, India has the largest population of any country after China, a distinction it is projected to surpass in 2023.

India's landscape is incredibly diverse, ranging from the arid desert in the west to the lush rainforests in the northeast, along with the fertile floodplain of the Ganges River in the north. The country is also influenced by the Indian monsoon, a seasonal wind system that brings wet air to the subcontinent in the summer and cool, dry air from the Tibetan Plateau in the winter, creating a distinct dry season.