Is Russia the Largest Country in the World? Yes—By a Wide Margin
Yes. Russia is the **largest country on Earth by land area**—and it's not close.
The Numbers
| Rank | Country | Area (km²) | Area (mi²) | % of Earth's Land |
|---|
| 1 | Russia | 17,098,246 | 6,601,670 | 11.5% |
| 2 | Canada | 9,984,670 | 3,855,100 | 6.7% |
| 3 | China | 9,596,961 | 3,705,407 | 6.4% |
| 4 | United States | 9,525,067 | 3,677,649 | 6.4% |
| 5 | Brazil | 8,515,767 | 3,287,956 | 5.7% |
Key Comparisons
- Russia is **1.71× larger than Canada** (2nd).
- Russia is **larger than Pluto** (surface area 17.6M km² vs Pluto 17.7M km² — basically tied).
- Russia spans **11 time zones** (reduced from 11 to 9 in 2010, back to 11 in 2014).
- Covers **~170° of longitude** (Kaliningrad to Big Diomede).
- European Russia (23% of area) holds 75% of population; Asian Russia (77%) is sparsely populated.
What "Largest" Means
- Land area: Russia #1.
- Total area (land + inland water): Russia #1 (Canada has more freshwater lakes).
- Population: Russia #9 (~144M) — not largest.
- Economy (GDP): Russia ~#11 — not largest.
By any standard geographic measure of **sovereign territory**, Russia is the biggest. Period.
Wanderlust World