Which country is the second largest by total area?

Canada is the second-largest country in the world by total area. Its territory covers about 9,984,670 square kilometers, including inland waters and coastal regions; only Russia is larger by this measure.

Canada’s enormous size comes from its position across the northern half of North America. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and Arctic oceans, spanning six time zones. The country includes ten provinces and three territories, with the territories occupying much of the Arctic Archipelago.

A common mix-up involves land area rather than total area. Canada ranks fourth by land area because it contains more lakes than any other country and has an exceptionally large share of freshwater. The United States, China, and Brazil are also among the world’s largest countries, but each has less total area than Canada.

Canada also has the world’s longest coastline, measuring roughly 243,000 kilometers. Its southern and northwestern borders with the United States together form the longest international land boundary on Earth.