By land area, the three largest countries are Russia, Canada, and the United States. Russia, at approximately 17.1 million square kilometers, stretches across Eastern Europe and northern Asia and spans 11 time zones, making it by far the largest nation. Canada follows at about 10 million square kilometers and boasts the longest coastline of any country, around 202,080 kilometers, due in part to its many Arctic islands. The United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks third at about 9.8 million square kilometers, with China being a close competitor depending on the measurement method used. Within individual continents, the largest country in Africa is Algeria at about 2.38 million square kilometers in North Africa along the Mediterranean coast, while Brazil dominates South America with about 8.5 million square kilometers—nearly half of the continent's land area.
Population figures shift the rankings considerably. India surpassed China in 2023 to become the most populous country, with over 1.4 billion people, though China remains close behind. Nigeria leads Africa with more than 220 million residents and is projected to be among the world's top three most populous countries by 2050. Brazil also leads South America in population with over 210 million people, making it the seventh most populous country worldwide. In Europe, Russia is the most populous when European Russia is included, but Germany is the most populous country entirely within the European Union, with about 84 million people.
Some of the most fascinating country records involve the smallest and most extreme cases. Vatican City is the world's smallest country at about 0.44 square kilometers, an independent city-state located within Rome and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. Monaco, also tiny at about 2.02 square kilometers, is the most densely populated country, with around 26,000 people per square kilometer on the French Riviera. Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country at about 2.72 million square kilometers in Central Asia, while Ukraine is the largest country entirely within Europe, covering about 603,500 square kilometers.