Which country has the largest total area of land?

Russia has the largest total area of any country in the world. Its territory covers roughly 17.1 million square kilometres, stretching across northern Eurasia from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean.

Russia is transcontinental: about 40 percent of its territory lies in Europe, while most of the country lies in Asia. It spans 11 time zones and includes environments ranging from Arctic tundra and Siberian taiga to grasslands, mountains, and temperate forests. Its immense size gives it borders with 14 sovereign countries by land.

The wording matters because “total area” includes inland waters such as lakes and rivers. Canada is often confused with Russia because Canada has the world's largest coastline and the largest land area when inland water is excluded. The United States and China are also among the largest countries, but both are substantially smaller by total area.

Russia's size does not mean it is densely populated. Large portions of Siberia and the far north have severe climates and very low population densities, while most residents live in the western part of the country.