Entries in this list are based on those in the ISO standard ISO 3166-1. Territories that are not integral, such as dependent territories, are listed separately (in italics) or noted as included. Not included in the list are claims to parts of the continent of AntarcticaNote 1 – and entities such as the European UnionNote 2 (4,324,782 km2/1,669,808 sq mi total area) that have some degree of sovereignty but do not consider themselves to be sovereign countries or dependent territories. States with limited recognition that are not listed in the ISO standard ISO 3166-1 are not included, but are noted within the countries they are recognised as part of with areas given.
This list includes three measurements of area:
Total area: is the sum of all land and inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers) delimited by international boundaries or coastlines.
Land area: is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers).
^ The following countries have territorial claims in Antarctica: Argentina (969,000 km2/374,000 sq mi), Australia (5,896,500 km2/2,276,700 sq mi), Chile (1,250,000 km2/480,000 sq mi), France (432,000 km2/167,000 sq mi), New Zealand (450,000 km2/170,000 sq mi), Norway (2,500,000 km2/970,000 sq mi) and United Kingdom (1,395,000 km2/539,000 sq mi), which to some extent overlap. The area from 90°W to 150°W (2,100,000 km2/810,000 sq mi) is currently unclaimed territory. These areas usually have no human inhabitants, excluding scientists.
^ The European Union is a sui generissupranational union. It covers a total area of 4,324,782 km2 (1,669,808 sq mi),1 and would be ranked 7th if it were included (3.0% of world's total land area).
^ The area given is the United Nations official figure for Mainland China, and excludes the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and the province of Taiwan, each shown separately.4 It also excludes the Trans-Karakoram Tract 5,800 km2 (2,200 sq mi), Aksai Chin 37,244 km2 (14,380 sq mi) and other territories in dispute with India. The total area of China is listed as 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) by Encyclopædia Britannica.5 See Territorial changes of the People's Republic of China for further information.
^ The figure given is from Encyclopædia Britannica and includes all states and incorporated territories, as well as 204,083 km2 (78,797 sq mi) of inland waters and the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes 156,049 km2 (60,251 sq mi). It excludes coastal waters 109,362 km2 (42,225 sq mi) and territorial waters 195,213 km2 (75,372 sq mi).6 The figure given by the UN (9,629,091 km2 or 3,717,813 sq mi) includes coastal waters, while the figure currently[update] given by the CIA World Factbook (9,826,675 km2 or 3,794,100 sq mi) additionally includes territorial waters.17
^ The area given is from Encyclopædia Britannica and exlcudes disputed territories not under Indian control. The total area claimed by India, according to the figure given by the United Nations and the Indian government, totals 3,287,263 km2 (1,269,219 sq mi).11
^ A total of 1,755,636 km2 (677,855 sq mi) of land area is covered by ice; the ice-free area amounts to 410,450 km2 (158,480 sq mi).10
^ ab The water area percentage of Sudan prior to the secession of South Sudan was 5.18.
^ Prior to the independence of South Sudan, Sudan's total area as reported by the UN source was 2,505,813 km2 (967,500 sq mi). Updated figure shown is from the CIA.1
^ The area given is from the 2007 data and the CIA World Factbook.91 The UN Demographic Yearbook lists a figure of 1,628,750 km2 (628,860 sq mi), which refers to land area only.
^ Excludes data for Pakistani-held territories of Kashmir, Azad Kashmir (13,297 km2 or 5,134 sq mi) and Gilgit-Baltistan (72,520 km2 or 28,000 sq mi).13 Including these territories would produce an area figure of 881,912 km2 (340,508 sq mi).
^ abcdefg Figures shown in this entry are taken from the CIA.1
^ The figure shown includes the area of Somaliland (137,600 km2 or 53,100 sq mi), which is de facto independent from Somalia.
^ Figure refers to the European area only; exludes the overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte and French Guiana, each shown separately. Using the figures displayed in this table, the areas of these overseas departments total 89,179 km2 (34,432 sq mi), which added to the European area brings the total area for the French Republic to 640,679 km2 (247,368 sq mi); (the CIA reports the total as 643,801 km2 or 248,573 sq mi).1 All figures exclude overseas territories and collectivities, shown separately.
Another source, the French National Institute for Statistice and Economic Studies, gives an area figure of (632,759 km2/244,310 sq mi) as the area of Metropolitan France and overseas departments.15 The CIA gives a water area of Metropolitan France as 1,530 km2 (590 sq mi).
^ Figure shown is from the 2007 data and the CIA World Factbook.91 The UN figure of 435,244 km2 (168,049 sq mi) excludes the three autonomous provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan.
^ Figures shown are from the CIA World Factbook; the UN data refers to mainland area only. All figures exclude Svalbard, Jan Mayen and Bouvet Island, shown separately, and the Antarctic territorial claims of Queen Maud Land and Peter I Island (243 km2 or 94 sq mi).
^ The figure given by the Philippine government is 299,764 km2 (115,740 sq mi).16
^ The government gives the total figure as 266,838 square kilometres (103,027 sq mi).17 CIA World Factbook has total/land area of 267,710 km2 (103,360 sq mi). All figures exclude Niue, the Cook Islands and Tokelau, shown separately, as well as the Antarctic claim of Ross Dependency.
^ May or may not include the Galápagos Islands (7,880 km2 or 3,040 sq mi). The 2007 data,9 as well as the current data given by the CIA, explicitly includes the Galápagos and gives the figure as 283,561 km2 (109,484 sq mi).1
^ Official figure for total area is 100,210 km2 (38,690 sq mi).19
^ The figure shown includes the area of Kosovo and Metohija, which is de facto independent from Serbia as the Republic of Kosovo (10,887 km2 or 4,203 sq mi). The area of Serbia without Kosovo is 77,474 km2 (29,913 sq mi).1
^ The figure shown includes the area of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (11,458 km2 or 4,424 sq mi), which is de facto independent from Azerbaijan.
^ The figure shown includes the areas of Abkhazia (8,660 km2 or 3,340 sq mi)20 and South Ossetia (3,900 km2 or 1,500 sq mi),21 both de facto independent from Georgia.
^ The UN gives a combined area for Svalbard and Jan Mayen as 62,422 km2 (24,101 sq mi). The separate figures shown are from the CIA World Factbook.1
^ The UN figure includes only the constituent country Denmark; the entire Kingdom of Denmark, including Greenland and Faroe Islands covers 2,220,093 km2 (857,183 sq mi) and would be 12th.
^ abcdef Data for the Netherlands is from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The main figure refers to the European area only.22 The overseas municipalities of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius are shown separately, with data from the same source.23 Using the figures shown in this table, the total area with overseas municipalities included is 41,850 km2 (16,160 sq mi). Adding the constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the total area of the Kingdom of the Netherlands covers 42,508 km2 (16,412 sq mi).
^ The figure from the UN demographic yearbook (41,277 km2 or 15,937 sq mi) excludes the areas of state forests and communanzas, which amount to 7.15 km2 (2.76 sq mi). The figure here is from the 2007 data.9
^ The UN source does not include data for the Republic of China (Taiwan). The figure shown is from the 2009 Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of China. The CIA gives a total area of 35,980 km2 (13,890 sq mi). The total constitutional land area of the Republic of China is 11,420,000 km2 (4,410,000 sq mi), which includes modern-day Taiwan, Mongolia, and Mainland China.24
^ The figure shown includes the area of Transnistria (4,163 km2 or 1,607 sq mi), which is de facto independent from Moldova.
^ Figure shown is from the CIA.1 The UN figure of 22,072 km2 (8,522 sq mi) includes the Golan Heights (1,200 km2/460 sq mi) and East Jerusalem (70 km2/27 sq mi), which are not internationally recognised as part of Israel.
^ The UN source has no data for the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. The figure given here is the total of all areas listed separately in the CIA World Factbook.25
^ Figure shown is from the 2007 data and the CIA World Factbook.91 The UN figure of 1,969 km2 (760 sq mi) excludes the Agalega Islands and Cargados Carajos.
^ Figure shown is from the CIA World Factbook.1 UN figure of 2,235 km (0.863 sq mi) includes Mayotte 374 km2 (144 sq mi), an overseas department of France.
^ Figure shown is from Encyclopædia Britannica.26 The UN figure of 1,705 km2 (658 sq mi) includes the dependencies of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin, which broke off in 2007, and are shown separately in this table.
^ There are some lakes and streams of unknown area.
^ The figure shown is from the CIA World Factbook,1 and refers to land area only. The UN figure excludes 84 km2 (32 sq mi) of uninhabited islands.
^ The figure shown is from the CIA Factbook.1 The UN value of 539 km2 (208 sq mi) refers to habitable area only and excludes the country's central forest reserve.
^ The total area of Saint Helena is 122 square kilometres (47 sq mi), Ascension is 88 square kilometres (34 sq mi), and Tristan da Cunha is 98 square kilometres (38 sq mi).
^ The UN gives no information for the British Indian Ocean Territory. The figure given here was taken from the CIA Factbook, and refers to land area only.1
^ The figure shown is from the CIA Factbook, and includes Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands.1 The UN figure is 5 km2/1.9 sq mi, and only includes area for Pitcairn island itself, the only inhabited island in the group.
^"Countries of the World: 21 Years of World Facts". geographic.org. http://www.theodora.com/wfb/abc_world_fact_book.html. Retrieved 2008-08-17. The CIA has updated the total area of United States a number of times since initial publication of the World Factbook. From 1989 through 1996, the total area of US was listed as 9,372,610 km2 (3,618,780 sq mi) (land area plus inland water only). The listed total area changed to 9,629,091 km2 (3,717,813 sq mi) in 1997 (With the Great Lakes areas and the coastal waters added), to 9,631,418 km2 (3,718,711 sq mi) in 2004, to 9,631,420 km2 (3,718,710 sq mi) in 2006, and to 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,080 sq mi) in 2007 (territorial waters added). Note: From 1989 to 1996, China was listed as the world's third-largest country by total area according to the CIA World Factbook. The United States replaced China in 1997 after additional water spaces were added.
^Central Bureau of Statistics (2009), Statistical Yearbook of the Netherlands Antilles, 2009, Willemstad: Government of the Netherlands, Department of Publication and Information, p. 4
