The countries of the world are diverse in terms of language, in terms of wealth, in terms of culture–they’re also very diverse in terms of size. The smallest countries measure just a couple of square miles.
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The biggest is absolutely massive. The world’s largest countries are listed in order of total area. You might also be interested in our list of the most populous countries (which is other metric people often mean by “largest countries”).
Boundaries of the world are changing in a continuous manner. As the Earth is a dynamic planet, it is changing both inside and outside. We know that 71% of the earth’s surface is covered with water and the rest of the 29% is covered by landmass. There are 198 countries in the world that constitute this 29% of the earth’s crust.
The following list of the top 10 countries in terms of area is prepared in view of the data collected by the end of the year 2019. Each and every country has its own specific boundaries that define its geographical area.
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Top 10 largest countries in the world
The top 10 largest countries along with their area in square kilometers and capital cities are given below in descending order.
- Russia
Russia is the largest country in terms of area. The area covered is 17,125,000 square kilometers. The capital city of Russia is Moscow.
- Canada
Canada is the second largest country in the world. The area covered is 9,984,670 square kilometers. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa.
- China
China is the third largest country and is part of the Asiatic landmass. The area covered by the country is 9,572,900 square kilometers. The capital city of China is Beijing.
- United States of America
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world. The area covered by the USA is 9,525,067 square kilometers. The capital city is Washington, D.C.
- Brazil
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world. The area covered by Brazil is 8,515,767 square kilometers. Its capital city is Brasilia.
- Australia
Australia is the sixth largest country and the smallest continent on earth. The area covered by the country is 7,692,202 square kilometers. The capital city of Australia is Canberra.
- India
India is the seventh largest country in the world. The area covered by the country is 3,166,391 square kilometers. New Delhi is the capital city of India.
- Argentina
Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world. The area covered by the country is 2,780,400 square kilometers. The capital city of Argentina is Buenos Aires.
- Kazakhstan
The ninth largest country in the world is Kazakhstan. Its total area coverage is 2,724,900 square kilometers. The capital city of Kazakhstan is Nur-Sultan.
- Algeria
The tenth-largest country in the world in terms of area is Algeria. It covers a total of 2,381,741 square kilometers. The capital city of Algeria is Algiers.
The above list of the top 10 countries of the world in terms of the area coverage can change since planet earth is dynamic in nature. The boundaries of the countries are always undergoing a process of contraction and/or expansion with the movement of the earth’s tectonic plates.
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Moreover, changes in international policies too can alter the size of a country. Hence, every year, experts come up with a new set of data indicating the latest area coverage of the countries. Accordingly, the list keeps changing. Till the next set of data arrives, here are the top 10 largest countries!
