The countries of the world are very different in their area. Their sizes vary widely: from 44 hectares to 17 million square kilometers. Which countries are the largest in the world by area? Look for the answer to this question in our publication!
Countries by area: classification
On the modern political map of the planet, you can see at least two hundred states. The countries of the world are very different in area from each other: among them there are huge, with a territory of several million square kilometers. And there are also quite tiny ones, covering an area of several tens of hectares!
There is a classification of world states based on the size of the territory. So, countries by area are:
- giant (more than 3 million km2);
- large (1-3 million km2);
- significant (0.5-1 million km2);
- medium (0.1-0.5 million km2);
- small (10-100 thousand km2);
- small (1-10 thousand km2);
- dwarf countries (less than 1000 km2).
Giant refers tothere are only seven states of the planet, 21 countries are large and significant, 56 countries are medium and small, 8 are small. The dwarf powers include 24 states, most of which are located in the region called Oceania.
Countries of the world by area: top ten
The largest states of the planet are located on different continents of the Earth. Which country is larger in area than all the others? And which one is the smallest?
The largest country in the world is Russia. It occupies almost 12% of the planetary land. But the smallest state in the world - the Vatican - could easily be located within a few blocks of the Russian capital. Its area is only 44 hectares.
The following are the largest countries by area in the world (list):
- Russian Federation (17.12 million km2).
- Canada (9.98 million km2).
- China (9.60 million km2).
- USA (9.52 million km2).
- Brazil (8.51 million km2).
- Australia (7.69 million km2).
- India (3.29 million km2).
- Argentina (2.78 million km2).
- Kazakhstan (2.72 million km2).
- Algeria (2.38 million km2).
Russia is a country of a thousand records
Russia is sometimes justifiably called the country of a thousand records. And one of them is the size of the territory. The Russian Federation is the largest in the world. Its area is approximately equal to the surface area of Pluto - one of the planets of the solar system.
On the territory of this state is the deepest lake on the planet (Baikal), the largest medieval fortress (the Moscow Kremlin), the world's northernmost million-plus city (St. Petersburg).
The territory of the country from west to east is crossed by the longest railway on the planet - the Trans-Siberian. It is often referred to as the Great Siberian Way. The total length of the highway connecting Moscow with Vladivostok is 9,300 kilometers. An amazing train runs along this railway line. His number: No. 100E (Moscow-Yaroslavskaya - Vladivostok). He stays on the road for 7 days and almost 3 hours! At the same time, this train crosses the channels of 16 rivers and connects 87 Russian cities.
It is curious that Russia is only four kilometers away from another major state of the planet and its eternal ideological opponent, the United States. This is the distance recorded between the Russian island of Rotmanov and the American island of Krusenstern in the Bering Strait.
Conclusion
The political map of the planet is amazing and amazingly diverse! Tiny dwarf countries and huge states, thousands of times larger than them in area, coexist on it. This article introduced you to the top ten largest countries in the world, and also told a little about the records of Russia - the leader in this rating.
