5 largest countries by. The most interesting facts

Humanity has been living on planet Earth for thousands of years. During this time, both small states and huge countries were formed, occupying millions of square kilometers of the earth's surface. It is the latter that often arouse the greatest interest among ordinary people.

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The total surface area of ​​the planet Earth exceeds 510 million square kilometers.

Land accounts for only 149.1 million square kilometers (29.2%), and the main part of the earth's surface is made up of oceans, which occupy more than 361 million square kilometers. km. There are more than 252 countries in the world.

All countries are divided into several categories:

The political map of the world throughout history has changed quite significantly many times.

But most of the largest states in terms of territory remain so, despite all the changes.

Consider the TOP-7 countries by territory:

Comment. Place in the TOP by territory and place in the list by population quite often do not coincide.

Although Russia is the largest country, it has significantly fewer people than China or India.

Vast Russia

Russia is rightfully the largest state on the planet Earth. Its area after the annexation of Crimea is 17,124,442 square kilometers. It occupies territories both in Eastern Europe and Asia.

For the most part, the state is located in Asia, which accounts for about 77% of the territory of the Russian Federation.

Modern Russia emerged after the collapse Soviet Union on the territory of the former RSFSR, while it was the Russian Federation that acted as the legal successor of the USSR, which allowed it to remain on the list of great powers.

Russia has a semi-exclave outside the main territory - the Kaliningrad region. Only here there are Russian-Polish and Russian-Lithuanian borders.

Only the sea connects the westernmost region of the country with its main territory.

But the population, on the contrary, lives for the most part in the European part of the country, about 78% of the inhabitants of the Russian Federation are concentrated here.

In total, according to the latest official data, the country is inhabited by 142,905,200 people.

This allows it to take first place in terms of the number of inhabitants in Europe, but in the world it is only in ninth place, significantly inferior to such leaders as China or India.

Canada in second place

Canada ranks second in area among all countries in the world. This state is located in North America, and has a unique geographic location.

Canada is washed by the waters of three oceans at once:

1. Atlantic.
2. Quiet.
3. Northern Arctic.

The only land state border runs in the south and northwest of the country between Canada and the United States of America.

Canada also has maritime borders with other states - France and Denmark.

The population of Canada is only 36,048,521 people. Interestingly, most of the population lives within 150-160 km of the border with the United States. There are quite a few immigrants living in the country.

Canada is officially a bilingual state. English and French have equal status in it.

Official documents are published in two languages, and civil servants are required to be able to explain themselves in them.

But most of the residents are English-speaking. Some territories also have other official languages, such as Inuktitut.

Mysterious China

China is a socialist state with the third largest territory in the world (9,598,962 square kilometers).

It is located in East Asia and is unique in its history. The Chinese civilization is considered one of the oldest in the world. According to some estimates, it could have arisen about 3.5-5 thousand years ago.

Over its centuries-old history, China was subject to invasions from other countries, and also repeatedly disintegrated into separate states and re-united.

The rich history and unique preserved cultural heritage attract tourists from all over the world.

Although China ranks only third in terms of territory among all countries in the world, it traditionally ranks first in terms of the number of inhabitants.

The population of the country is more than 1.38 billion people, and it is constantly growing.

Modern China has the first economy in the world, surpassing even the United States in terms of GDP in 2014.

And also, it is this country that has the largest gold and foreign exchange reserves and is the world's largest exporter. Modern China is sometimes also called the "factory of the world."

USA

The United States of America occupies only the 4th place in terms of territory among all countries in the world.

They occupy an area of ​​9,519,431 square kilometers, more than 6.5% of their territory falls on the water surface.

For comparison, in Russia this figure is only about 4.3%. In terms of the number of inhabitants, the United States confidently ranks third in the world, second only to China and India.

In addition to the territory on the mainland under the control of the United States, it also has a number of such island territories as the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, etc.

By land, they border only in the north with Canada and in the south with Mexico. The United States also has a short sea border with the Russian Federation.

Just like Canada, the United States is washed by the waters of three oceans:

Beautiful Brazil

Brazil is a former Portuguese colony. This is the only state in America where Portuguese is the official state.

Although Brazilian Portuguese is quite different from what is used in Portugal itself.

The population of the country also sometimes uses the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples, we don’t have a lot of speakers.

The area is 8,515,770 square kilometers (approximately 5.7% of the total land area on the planet), and the water element accounts for only about 0.5% of the territory.

At the moment, Brazil is the largest state in South America, not only in terms of territory, but also in terms of population. The population of the country is about 206 million people, which corresponds to the sixth place in the world.

The structure of modern Brazil, according to the Constitution of 1988, includes 26 states and 1 Federal District.

Over the years of its existence as an independent state, Brazil has come under the rule of dictators 3 times, and all this happened relatively recently in the 20th century.

Distant australia

Australia is one of the most unique countries. Located in the Southern Hemisphere of the globe, it completely occupies not only the continent of the same name, but also the island of Tasmania, as well as several different islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

But, even in spite of such conditions, in terms of area Australia occupies only the sixth place in the world and is more than twice inferior in this indicator to Russia. The country's territory is 7 692 024 square kilometers.

Although there are no seas on the territory of Australia, it does not apply to countries that are landlocked, since it occupies the entire continent.

Comment. Another continent on which all states have access to the sea is North America.

Australia claims vast territories in Antarctica with a total area of ​​more than 5 million square kilometers.

They are uninhabited, except for the personnel of various research stations, which were also built here by various states. But most countries do not recognize Australia's sovereignty over the AAT.

Video: where are they located

India - seventh in the ranking

As the second largest population in the world, India is only slightly behind China in this indicator. But the same cannot be said for the territory.

Although India is pretty large country and occupies 3,287,263 square kilometers, this is only the seventh figure in the world.

The ownership of part of this territory to India is disputed by China and Pakistan. Both countries claim to separate part the former principality of Jammu and Kashmir.

India has been considered one of the centers of culture and trade throughout history.

Various popular in modern world religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and others.

Despite its centuries-old history, modern India gained independence only in 1947 after years of struggle against the British colonialists.

India's population is over 1.32 billion and it is constantly growing. Although the country has made significant strides in economic development, many of its citizens still live far below the poverty line.

20. Peru is a state in South America. The capital is Lima. Area - 1,285,220 km². This is the third largest country South America.

19. Mongolia is a state in Central Asia. The capital is Ulan Bator. The area is 1,564,116 km².

18. Iran is a state in the southwest of Asia. The capital is the city of Tehran. Area - 1,648,000 km².

17. Libya - a state in North Africa on the coast Mediterranean Sea... The capital is Tripoli. Area - 1,759,540 km².

16. Sudan is a state in East Africa... Khartoum. Area - 1,886,068 km².

15. Indonesia is a state in South-East Asia. The capital is Jakarta. Area - 1 919 440 km².

14. Mexico is a state in North America. The capital is Mexico City. The area is 1,972,550 km².

13. Saudi Arabia- the largest state on the Arabian Peninsula. The capital is Riyadh. Area - 2,149,000 km².

12. Denmark is a state in Northern Europe, a senior member of the commonwealth of states, the Kingdom of Denmark, which also includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The capital is Copenhagen. Area - 2,210,579 km².

The territory of the island of Greenland is 98% of the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark

11. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state in Central Africa... The capital is Kinshasa. Area - 2,345,410 km².

10. Algeria is a state in North Africa in the western Mediterranean basin. The capital is Algeria. Area - 2,381,740 km². Algeria is the largest country in Africa.

9. Kazakhstan is a state located in the center of Eurasia, most of which belongs to Asia, and less to Europe. The capital is Astana. Area - 2 724 902 km².

Kazakhstan is the largest country without access to the World Ocean.

8. Argentina is a state located in the southeastern part of the mainland of South America, the eastern part of the Tierra del Fuego island, the nearby Estados islands and others. The capital is Buenos Aires. Area - 2 766 890 km².

7. India is a state in South Asia. The capital is New Delhi. The area is 3,287,263 km².

6. Australia - a state in the Southern Hemisphere, occupying the mainland Australia, the island of Tasmania and several other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The capital is Canberra. Area - 7 692 024 km².

5. Brazil - located in the eastern and central parts of the South America continent. The largest state in terms of area and population in South America. The capital is Brasilia. Area - 8 514 877 km².

The only Portuguese-speaking state on both American continents.

4. USA - a state in North America. The capital is Washington. The area is 9 519 431 km².

3. China is a state in East Asia. The capital is Beijing. The area is 9 598 077 km².

China is the largest country in the world in terms of population - over 1.35 billion.

2. Canada is a state in North America. The capital is Ottawa. The area is 9 984 670 km².

1. Russia is a state in Eastern Europe and North Asia... Moscow the capital. The area of ​​Russia, taking into account the two new regions of Crimea and Sevastopol, in 2014 is 17,126,122 km².

Russia is the largest state in terms of area both in Europe and Asia.

The largest states by area by continent

• Asia - Russia (the area of ​​the Asian part of Russia is 13.1 million km²)
• Europe - Russia (the area of ​​the European part of Russia is 3.986 million km²)
• Africa - Algeria (area 2.38 million km²)
• South America - Brazil (area 8.51 million km²)
• North America - Canada (area 9.98 million km²)
• Australia and Oceania - Australia (area 7.69 million km²)

The largest countries by population

1. People's Republic of China - 1,366,659,000
2. India - 1,256,585,000
3. USA - 317,321,000
4. Indonesia - 249,866,000
5. Brazil - 201,017,953
6. Pakistan - 186,977,027
7. Nigeria - 173,615,000
8. Bangladesh - 156,529,084
9. Russia - 146 048 500 (including Crimea and Sevastopol)
10. Japan - 127,100,000
11. Mexico - 119,713,203
12. Philippines - 99 798 635
13. Ethiopia - 93,877,025
14. Vietnam - 92 477 857
15. Egypt - 85,402,000
16. Germany - 80 523 746
17. Iran - 77 549 005
18. Turkey - 76,667,864
19. Thailand - 70 498 494
20. Democratic Republic of the Congo - 67,514,000

The PRC and India (1st and 2nd places) are home to 33% of the world's population, in the next 15 countries (3rd to 17th places) another 33%

The largest states in terms of population by continent

• Asia - China (1,366,659,000)
• Europe - Russia (population of the European part of Russia - 114,200,000)
• Africa - Nigeria (173,615,000)
• South America - Brazil (201,017,953)
• North America - USA (317,321,000)
• Australia and Oceania - Australia (24,104,000)

You can determine the top ten largest countries in the world by different criteria... Most often, the largest countries are those that occupy the largest space. In this case, the largest country in the world will be Russia. It is sometimes said that the largest country in the world is China. This is also true, as many people live in China as there is nowhere else - 1.2 billion! Finally, the largest countries in the world can be considered the eight economically developed countries of the world, jointly defining their policy, the so-called "Big Eight". It includes Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia, and the USA remains the leader in economic development - the country with the highest GDP in the world.

Let us dwell on the ten largest countries in the world in terms of area. These include states different regions... Half of the dozen participants were delegated by the New World, four countries are located in Eurasia, one in Africa. Moreover, only Russia can be considered a European country. The most spoken language in the largest countries of the world is English. It is spoken in the USA, Canada, Australia and a little in India. The Russian language is widely used in Russia and Kazakhstan.

The top ten is dominated by multinational countries. The country with the most variegated ethnic composition is India. More than 500 peoples, nationalities and tribes live here. Many ethnic groups live on the territory of Sudan, Russia, Canada, Kazakhstan, China, and the USA. But the populations of Argentina, Brazil and Australia mainly belong to the same ethnic group.

If we take into account not the total area of ​​the territory, but the land area, then China will come in second place, after Russia, and Canada will become the "bronze medalist". The fact is that many inland water bodies are included in the territory of Canada - first of all, Hudson Bay, as well as lakes of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Athabasca, Big Slave, etc. China does not have extensive inland water basins.

In the ten largest countries in the world, one can observe serious contrasts in the degree of population density. High population density (over 100 people / km2) in India and China. At the same time, in four countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia), the average population density does not even reach 10 people / km2.

Despite the fact that the largest country in the world is Russia, the length of land borders (but not the number of neighboring countries) is greater in China, and the length of the coastline is in Canada. The fact that the length of the shores is so significant (six equators!) Are to blame for the numerous islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and the heavily indented shores of this country.

29 countries have an area of ​​over 1 million km2.

Name	Area, thousand km 2	Land area, thousand km 2	Population density, people / km 2	Length of land borders, km	Coastline length, km
Brazil
Australia
Argentina
Kazakhstan

* Caspian and Aral seas.

The ten states with the largest area in the world are listed. They are in different parts planets, but economically they are too different.

10. Sudan... With an area of ​​2,505,815 sq. Km. Sudan is the tenth largest country in the world and the largest in. It is located in the northeastern part of the continent, on the shores of the Red Sea. Much of Sudan is occupied by a predominantly dry and barren desert.

ninara

9. Kazakhstan... The former Soviet republic covers an area of ​​2,717,300 sq. Km. in the western part of the continent. The country has access to the Caspian Sea. Most of Kazakhstan is occupied by steppes and deserts.

Despite this, there are large deposits of minerals in the earth's bowels, which turn Kazakhstan into a country with a bright future.

Juanedc.com

7. India... With an area of ​​3,287,263 sq. Km. the seventh largest country in the world. It completely occupies the Indian subcontinent in Asia. The country is surrounded by the waters of the warm Indian Ocean, and in the north it reaches the Himalayas.

Despite its large area, India is an overpopulated state as it is home to over 1 billion inhabitants. India today has one of the richest and most exciting cultures on the planet.

Carsten Frenzl

European Union... Despite the fact that it is not a state, it is a highly integrated community that is united by economic and political principles. The European Union is one of the most influential organizations in the world.

If the EU were a state, it would be the 7th largest country in the world after Australia, and even surpass the United States economically. The EU covers an area of ​​4,325,675 km2, but it continues to expand.

Nam nguyen

6. Australia... With an area of ​​7,682,300 sq. Km. the sixth largest country in the world and at the same time one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. The average population density is about 2 people per square kilometer.

The reason is that the interior of the country is extremely sparsely populated. Australia is the only country that completely covers the territory of one continent.

5. Brazil... With an area of ​​8,574,404 sq. Km. the largest country in the southern hemisphere and Latin America. It occupies the middle of South America, and on its territory is the most abundant river in the world and the most extensive equatorial forest on the planet.

The country has a wide access to the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to its large area and resource wealth, Brazil is now among the fastest growing and most promising economies of the 21st century.

james j8246

2. Canada... With its area from 9,970,610 sq. Km. the second largest country in the world. Similar to the United States, Canada also has access to three oceans. The country is the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and is known throughout the world for its beautiful landscapes.

It is home to some of the most extensive pine forests on the planet. Since Canada is a northern country with a harsh climate, most of the population lives in the southern border regions.

1. Russia... covers an area of ​​17,075,400 sq. km. It is the largest country in the world. Russia occupies vast territories in Asia, and extends from Baltic Sea before The Pacific.

In the north, the coast of the Arctic Ocean stretches for thousands of kilometers. On its vast territory, Russia has inexhaustible natural resources, which are the basis of the Russian economy.

The most extensive coniferous forests on the planet are located here. Huge areas Russian Federation almost uninhabited due to the harsh climatic conditions.