The countries of the world are very diverse in their area. Their sizes vary widely: from 44 hectares to 17 million square kilometers. Which countries are the largest in size in the world? 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 an area of ​​several million square kilometers. And there are 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 km 2 );
- large (1-3 million km 2 );
- significant (0.5-1 million km 2 );
- medium (0.1-0.5 million km 2 );
- small (10-100 thousand km 2 );
- small (1-10 thousand km 2 );
- dwarf countries (less than 1000 km 2 ).
Only seven states of the planet are classified as gigantic, large and significant - 21 each, medium and small - 56 countries each, and small ones - 8. The dwarf powers include 24 states, most of which are located in the region called Oceania.
Countries of the world by area: first ten
The largest states of the planet are located on different continents of the Earth. Which country is larger than all the rest? And which is the smallest?
The largest country in the world is Russia. It occupies almost 12% of 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.
Below are the largest countries by area in the world (list):
- Russian Federation (17.12 million km 2 ).
- Canada (9.98 million km 2 ).
- China (9.60 million km 2 ).
- USA (9.52 million km 2 ).
- Brazil (8.51 million km 2 ).
- Australia (7.69 million km 2 ).
- India (3.29 million km 2 ).
- Argentina (2.78 million km 2 ).
- Kazakhstan (2.72 million km 2 ).
- Algeria (2.38 million km 2 ).
Russia is a country of thousands of records
Russia is sometimes justifiably called the country of thousands of 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 (Moscow Kremlin), the northernmost million-plus city in the world (St. Petersburg).
The country’s territory from west to east is crossed by the longest railway on the planet - the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is often referred to as the Great Siberian Way. The total length of the highway connecting Moscow with Vladivostok is 9300 kilometers. An amazing train runs on this railway line. His number: No. 100E (Moscow-Yaroslavskaya-Vladivostok). He has been traveling 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 the other major state of the planet and its eternal ideological opponent. This is precisely the distance recorded between the Russian island of Rotmanov and the American island of Kruzenshtern in the Bering Strait.
Conclusion
Amazing and amazingly diverse political map of the planet! Tiny dwarf countries and huge states coexist on it, thousands of times larger in area. This article introduced you to the top ten largest countries in the world, and also told you a little about the records of Russia - the leader in this rating.