The World's Twenty Largest Countries
There are thirty countries in the world which have a landmass of more than one million square kilometers.
There are several other territories which are not included in this list which may well be larger, but we have listed only sovereign states ranked by area.
We have also listed populations, but all these figures are an approximation only.
Of the following countries not one of them is located in the continent of Europe and only one of them is an island nation.
THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
With a land mass of 17,098,242 square kilometers and a population of 143,420,300 people, Russia is the world's largest sovereign state by land area and one of only two countries in the world which straddle two continents. The other is the Republic of Turkey.
Russia has the longest land border in the world at 20,241,500 kilometers, which it shares with fourteen other countries,
the largest amount in the world, a record it shares with China.
It's 37,653 kilometer coastline, which is not the longest in the world, is bordered by the most bodies of water in the
world, at ten.
CANADA
Covering an area of 9,984,670 square kilometers and with a population of 32,805,000 people, Canada is the world's second largest country and the largest sovereign state located in the Americas. Canada also has the world's longest coastline at 202,080 kilometers and the world's longest contiguous international border, at 8,891 kilometers, which it shares with the U.S.A.
Geographically, Canada is home to the world's archipelago with the most number of islands, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, with 36,500 islands, and the world's largest river estuary, at 236,000 square kilometers and the world's largest salt marsh, at 250,000 square kilometers, both of which are located on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
CHINA
Covering a landmass of 9,706,961 square kilometers the People's Republic of China is the largest country situated in the continent of Asia and with a population of 1,306,313,800 people, the world's most populated country.
Not surprisingly, China's official language, Mandarin, has the highest number of speakers in the world at eight hundred
million.
Politically, China has the most land borders of any country in the world, a record it shares with Russia, at fourteen.
Geographically, China is home to the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest, at 8,848 meters high.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Covering a landmass of 9,629,091 and with a population of 295,734,100 people, the U.S.A is the world's largest English speaking nation.
The United States has two unique borders, it shares the world's longest contiguous international border with Canada, at 8,891 kilometers and the most frequently crossed border in the world with Mexico.
BRAZIL
Covering an area of 8,515,877 square kilometers and with a population of 186,112,800 people, Brazil is the largest country located in South America, the world's largest Portuguese speaking nation (Lusophone), the only Portuguese speaking country in South America, the world's only nation whose area rank and population rank correspond, as Brazil has both the world's fifth largest land area and the world's fifth largest population, and the world's only nation which lies along the Equator but also has contiguous territory outside of the tropics.
Geographically, Brazil is home to the world's largest tropical rain forest, the Amazonian Rain Forest, at 4,100,000 square kilometers, and the world's largest freshwater marsh, the Pantanel, at 53, 000 square kilometers.
AUSTRALIA
Covering an area of 7,692,024 square kilometers and with a population of 20,090,400 people, Australia is the largest sovereign state located in Oceania, the largest sovereign state which is situated solely within the southern hemisphere and the only sovereign state in the world which is also classified as a continent and an island.
Geographically, Australia is home to the world's largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, at 2,600 square kilometers and the world's largest number of national parks at 685.
INDIA
Covering an area of 3,166,414 square kilometers and with a population of 1,080,264,400, this Asian nation is politically classified as the world's largest democracy.
ARGENTINA
Covering an area of 2,780,400 square kilometers and with a population of 39,537,900 people Argentina is home to Mount Aconcagua (6,960 meters), the highest peak of the Andes Mountain Range, which is also the highest peak in South America, the highest peak in the western hemisphere and the highest peak in the southern hemisphere.
KAZAKHSTAN
With a landmass covering 2,724,900 square kilometers and a population of 15,185,000 people, this central Asian nation is the world's largest land locked country.
ALGERIA
Covering an area of 2,381,741 square kilometers and with a population of 32,531,900 people this North African nation is the largest country on the African continent by land area.
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Covering an area of 2,344,858 square kilometers and with a population of 60,085,800 people, this African nation is the largest land locked country located on the African continent.
MEXICO
The United States of Mexico, to give it it's official title, covers a land area of 1,964,375 square kilometers, making it the largest country in central America, and with a population of 106,202,900 people, making it the world's largest Spanish speaking (Hispanophone) nation.
SAUDI ARABIA
Covering a land area of 2,149,690 square kilometers and with a population of 26,417,600 people, this middle eastern country is the world's largest monarchy and the world's largest Islamic theocracy, by land area.
Geographically, Saudi Arabia is situated on the world's largest peninsula, the Arabian Peninsula, and has the longest coastline of all the countries which border the Red Sea.
INDONESIA
Covering a land area of 1,904,569 square kilometers and with a population of 241,973,900 people, this south east Asian nation is the world's largest archipelagic (made up entirely of islands) sovereign state.
Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world and the second largest number of national languages in the world, at 742.
SUDAN
Covering a land area of 1,861,484 square kilometers and with a population of 40,187,500 people.
Until 2010, this African nation was the largest on the African continent before it was divided into the sovereign states of Sudan and South Sudan.
The rivers White Nile and Blue Nile flow through Sudan before merging to become the River Nile proper, the world's longest river, in the country's capital city Khartoum.
LIBYA
Covering a land mass of 1,759,540 square kilometers, ninety per cent of which is desert as seen in the above picture, and with a population of 5,765,600 people, this North African nation has the longest coastline in Africa which borders the Mediterranean Sea, at 1,770 kilometers.
IRAN
Covering an area of 1,648,195 square kilometers and with a population of 68,017,900 people, this middle eastern nation is home to the world's largest and only, Shia theocracy.
MONGOLIA
Covering an area of 1,564,110 square kilometers and with a population of just 2,791,300 people, Mongolia is the world's least populated sovereign state for it's size.
Geographically, this central Asian country is home to the world's largest steppe, or grassland plain, at 40,000 hectares.
PERU
Covering an area of 1,285,216 square kilometers and with a population of 27,925,600 people.
Geographically, this South American nation is home to the world's largest mountain lake, Lake Titicaca, at 8,372 square kilometers, and the world's highest sand dunes, located in the Sechura Desert, which reach a height of 1,176 meters high.
CHAD
Covering a land mass of 1,284,000 and with a population of 9,826,400 people, this Central African nation is the world's twentieth largest country and Africa's fifth largest country by land area.
Chad is home to the 380 kilometer long, Tibetsi Mountain Range, the longest chain of mountains in the Sahara Desert, and the volcano, Emmi Koussi, which at 3,445 meters high is the highest peak in the Sahara Desert.
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