Russia is the largest country in the world by far, with a total area of just over 17 million square kilometers. After Antarctica, the next three countries are Canada, the U.S., and China; all between 9.5 and 10 million square kilometers. The figures given include internal water surface area (such as lakes or rivers) - if the figures were for land surface only then China would be the second largest country in the world, the U.S. third, and Canada (the country with more lakes than the rest of the world combined) fourth. Russia Russia has a population of around 145 million people, putting it in the top ten most populous countries in the world, and making it the most populous in Europe. However, it's vast size gives it a very low population density, ranked among the bottom 20 countries. Most of Russia's population is concentrated in the west, with around 75 percent of the population living in the European part, while around 75 percent of Russia's territory is in Asia; the Ural Mountains are considered the continental border. Elsewhere in the world Beyond Russia, the world's largest countries all have distinctive topographies and climates setting them apart. The United States, for example, has climates ranging from tundra in Alaska to tropical forests in Florida, with various mountain ranges, deserts, plains, and forests in between. Populations in these countries are often concentrated in urban areas, and are not evenly distributed across the country. For example, around 85 percent of Canada's population lives within 100 miles of the U.S. border; around 95 percent of China lives east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line that splits the country; and the majority of populations in large countries such as Australia or Brazil live near the coast.

In 2023, New York led the ranking of the largest built-up urban areas worldwide, with a land area of ****** square kilometers. Boston-Providence and Tokyo-Yokohama were the second and third largest megacities globally that year.

The Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Land and Water Area, Revision 11 consists of two rasters that measure surface areas of land and water in square kilometers per pixel. The Land Area raster provides estimates of the land area, excluding permanent ice and water, within each pixel, and was used to calculate the population density rasters. The Water Area raster provides estimates of the water area (permanent ice and water) within each pixel. The sum of land area and water area of a pixel equals the total surface area of that pixel. The data files were produced as global rasters at 30 arc-second (~1 km at the equator) resolution. To enable faster global processing, and in support of research commUnities, the 30 arc-second data were aggregated to 2.5 arc-minute, 15 arc-minute, 30 arc-minute and 1 degree resolutions.

Arable land (% of land area) in World was reported at 10.69 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Arable land (% of land area) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

United States US: Land Area Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Land Area data was reported at 1.168 % in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.168 % for 2000. United States US: Land Area Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 1.168 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.168 % in 2010 and a record low of 1.168 % in 2010. United States US: Land Area Where Elevation is Below 5 Meters: % of Total Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Land area below 5m is the percentage of total land where the elevation is 5 meters or less.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Weighted Average;

The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 487236 sq. km. The highest value was in Russia: 16376870 sq. km and the lowest value was in Monaco: 2 sq. km. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

United States US: Land Area data was reported at 9,147,420.000 sq km in 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 9,147,420.000 sq km for 2016. United States US: Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 9,158,960.000 sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2017, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9,161,920.000 sq km in 2007 and a record low of 9,147,420.000 sq km in 2017. United States US: Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.; ; Food and Agriculture Organization, electronic files and web site.; Sum;

This dataset provides a structured collection of essential country statistics, including country names, capitals, population figures, total land area, and regional classification. It is useful for demographic analysis, geographic studies, statistical modeling, and visualization purposes.

The dataset is ideal for:

Data analysis and visualization: Create maps, graphs, and reports. Machine learning applications: Use as reference data for clustering or classification tasks. Education and research: Study global population distribution and land area differences.

The Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Land and Geographic Unit Area Grids measure land areas in square kilometers and the mean Unit size (population-weighted) in square kilometers. The land area grid permits the summation of areas (net of permanent ice and water) at the same resolution as the population density, count, and urban-rural grids. The mean Unit size grids provide a quantitative surface that indicates the size of the input Unit(s) from which population count and density grids are derived. Additional global grids are created from the 30 arc-second grid at 1/4, 1/2, and 1 degree resolutions. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank, and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).

Switzerland Urban Land Area data was reported at 7,898.149 sq km in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7,898.149 sq km for 2000. Switzerland Urban Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 7,898.149 sq km from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,898.149 sq km in 2010 and a record low of 7,898.149 sq km in 2010. Switzerland Urban Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Switzerland – Table CH.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban land area in square kilometers, based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Sum;

Land area (sq. km) in Thailand was reported at 510890 sq. Km in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Thailand - Land area (sq. km) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

The average for 2023 based on 18 countries was 6.2 percent. The highest value was in Syria: 24 percent and the lowest value was in Djibouti: 0.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Portugal PT: Urban Land Area data was reported at 12,764.677 sq km in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 12,764.677 sq km for 2000. Portugal PT: Urban Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 12,764.677 sq km from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12,764.677 sq km in 2010 and a record low of 12,764.677 sq km in 2010. Portugal PT: Urban Land Area data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Portugal – Table PT.World Bank: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban land area in square kilometers, based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Sum;

The Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Global Delta Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 1 data set provides country-level estimates of urban, quasi-urban, rural, and total population (count), land area (square kilometers), and built-up areas in river delta- and non-delta contexts for 246 statistical areas (countries and other UN-recognized territories) for the years 1990, 2000, 2014 and 2015. The population estimates are disaggregated such that compounding risk factors including elevation, settlement patterns, and delta zones can be cross-examined. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded that without significant adaptation and mitigation action, risk to coastal commUnities will increase at least one order of magnitude by 2100, placing people, property, and environmental resources at greater risk. Greater-risk zones were then generated: 1) the global extent of two low-elevation zones contiguous to the coast, one bounded by an upper elevation of 10m (LECZ10), and one by an upper elevation of 5m (LECZ05); 2) the extent of the world's major deltas; 3) the distribution of people and built-up area around the world; 4) the extents of urban centers around the world. The data are layered spatially, along with political and land/water boundaries, allowing the densities and quantities of population and built-up area, as well as levels of urbanization (defined as the share of population living in "urban centers") to be estimated for any country or region, both inside and outside the LECZs and deltas, and at two points in time (1990 and 2015). In using such estimates of populations living in 5m and 10m LECZs and outside of LECZs, policymakers can make informed decisions based on perceived exposure and vulnerability to potential damages from sea level rise.

Two datasets provide geographic, land use and population data for US Counties within the contiguous US. Land area, water area, cropland area, farmland area, pastureland area and idle cropland area are given along with latitude and longitude of the county centroid and the county population. Variables in this dataset come from the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the US Census Bureau.

EOS-WEBSTER provides seven datasets which provide county-level data on agricultural management, crop production, livestock, soil properties, geography and population. These datasets were assembled during the mid-1990's to provide driving variables for an assessment of greenhouse gas production from US agriculture using the DNDC agro-ecosystem model [see, for example, Li et al. (1992), J. Geophys. Res., 97:9759-9776; Li et al. (1996) Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 10:297-306]. The data (except nitrogen fertilizer use) were all derived from publicly available, national databases. Each dataset has a separate DIF.

The US County data has been divided into seven datasets.

US County Data Datasets:

1) Agricultural Management 2) Crop Data (NASS Crop data) 3) Crop Summary (NASS Crop data) 4) Geography and Population 5) Land Use 6) Livestock Populations 7) Soil Properties

Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) in United Kingdom was reported at 28.4 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

This dataset provides values for ARABLE LAND PERCENT OF LAND AREA WB DATA.HTML reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Forecast: Global Arable Land Area 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Land area of Kazakhstan remained stable at 2,699,700 sq. km over the last 10 years. Land area is the total area of the country excluding area under inland water bodies.

Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) in Comoros was reported at 33.7 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Comoros - Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.