Which ocean is the smallest on Earth by surface area?

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth by surface area. It covers roughly 14.06 million square kilometres, making it smaller than the Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Pacific oceans. It is also the shallowest of the five generally recognized oceans.

The ocean surrounds the North Pole and is bordered by Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and Iceland. Its boundaries include the Bering Strait toward the Pacific and the Greenland–Scotland Ridge toward the Atlantic. Much of its surface is covered by sea ice, especially during the long polar winter.

The Arctic is not always treated identically in geographic classifications. The International Hydrographic Organization recognizes it as an ocean, while some oceanographers have described it as the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or as a northern extension of the Atlantic. These terminology differences do not change its ranking as the smallest oceanic division.