Canada has the world’s longest coastline, measured by the CIA World Factbook.
Canada’s coastline is listed at about 202,080 kilometres, a figure that includes the mainland shores and the many islands of its Arctic Archipelago. It borders the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans, giving the country access to three major ocean regions. Its coastline is longer than that of any other country under this commonly cited measurement.
The exact length of a coastline depends on measurement scale. A more detailed measuring method captures more bays, inlets, fjords, and island edges, a problem known as the coastline paradox. For that reason, different references can publish different totals while still agreeing that Canada ranks first.
Canada’s northern coastline includes extensive Arctic sea ice, while its Pacific coast contains deep fjords and mountainous shores. Hudson Bay, an enormous inland sea, reaches far into the country. Russia has the second-longest coastline in many standard comparisons, but it does not exceed Canada’s commonly cited total.