Countries with the largest lake area
Total surface area of lakes and inland water bodies inside national borders. Canada's lake-heavy interior pushes it far ahead of much larger countries.
Headline finding
Canada leads the world for countries with the largest lake area at 891,163 km² of inland water.
The full top 25: Countries with the largest lake area
Click any country to read its full profile.
- 1 Canada 891,163
- 2 Russia 720,500
- 3 United States 664,709
- 4 India 314,400
- 5 China 270,550
- 6 Brazil 157,630
- 7 Australia 58,920
- 8 Argentina 47,710
- 9 Finland 33,672
- 10 Kazakhstan 25,200
- 11 Sweden 39,960
- 12 Tanzania 61,500
- 13 Norway 19,520
- 14 Nigeria 13,000
- 15 Egypt 6,000
- 16 Uganda 36,330
- 17 Malawi 24,400
- 18 Mongolia 10,560
- 19 Mozambique 13,000
- 20 DR Congo 77,810
- 21 Mexico 20,430
- 22 Bolivia 15,280
- 23 Peru 5,220
- 24 Turkey 13,930
- 25 Iran 12,000
What the numbers show
Canada's lead at the top of this ranking is 23.7% above the second-place country — comfortable but not insurmountable — a credible challenger could plausibly close that gap over a decade.
The five countries leading the table — Canada, Russia, United States, India, China — together set the global benchmark. The next 20 countries fill the rest of the table, with Iran anchoring the list at 12,000.
Figures are drawn from CIA World Factbook 2024. We use this source because it produces a single, internally consistent dataset rather than aggregating from national statistics offices, which makes year-on-year comparison reliable. The next update is expected when the source publishes its next annual release — see the methodology section below for which year of data is currently shown.
Methodology and caveats
- What this measures
- km² of inland water
- Source
- CIA World Factbook 2024
- Coverage
- Top 25 countries shown. Full source dataset covers all 195 sovereign states where data is available.
- Refresh cadence
- Updated annually as the source publishes new figures, typically autumn or spring.
- Known caveat
- Country definitions follow the source: where the UN, the World Bank and the CIA Factbook disagree on borders or recognition, we use the figure as published rather than reconciling between bodies. Comparisons across rankings should be made with this in mind.
Frequently asked
Which country tops the ranking for countries with the largest lake area?
Canada leads with 891,163 km² of inland water. Russia is second at 720,500, with United States in third place. Full top-10 with sources is above.
What's the source for the countries with the largest lake area ranking?
The figures come from CIA World Factbook 2024. We use this source because it publishes a complete country-by-country dataset using consistent methodology — the alternative of mixing national statistics offices would compromise comparability. Updated annually with the latest available vintage of the data.
How often are the countries with the largest lake area figures updated?
Once a year, in line with the source institution's publishing schedule. Major institutions like the World Bank, IMF and UNESCO publish annual updates in different months — typically autumn or spring — and the figures here reflect the most recently published vintage. The source footer on the ranking table shows which year's data is currently displayed.