Top 10 Largest Countries in the World by Area

RankCountryCapital CityContinentArea (square km)
2CanadaOttawaNorth America9,984,670
3United States of AmericaWashington DCNorth America9,826,675
5BrazilBrasiliaSouth America8,514,877
7IndiaNew DelhiAsia3,287,263
8ArgentinaBuenos AiresSouth America2,780,400

The world's ten biggest countries by size are ranked based on information from the CIA World Factbook.

Russia is the largest country in the world by a wide margin, covering 17,098,242 square kilometers. Russia stretches across Eurasia, spanning nine time zones and covering about an eighth of the inhabited land area of the Earth.

The next largest country is also located in the far north. Canada covers the northern part of the Western Hemisphere, with a total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers. The United States and China are next on the list, so close in size that their positions are sometimes reversed, depending on the inclusion of particular territories and water areas.

Just behind China and the USA is the largest country in South America, Brazil, with an area of 8,514,877 square miles, followed by Australia with an area of 7,692,024 square kilometers. Rounding out the top ten are the much smaller countries of India, Argentina, Kazakhstan and Algeria.

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