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World rankings

Countries of the world, ranked

Which countries are the biggest, smallest and most populous — the numbers behind the world, at a glance.

The world's natural records

Longest riversAmazon, Nile, Yangtze… Highest mountain rangesHimalayas, Karakoram… Largest desertsSahara, Gobi, Arabian… Highest waterfallsAngel Falls, Tugela… Largest lakesCaspian, Superior… Largest citiesShenzhen, Guangzhou… Tallest buildingsBurj Khalifa, Merdeka… Tallest towersTokyo Skytree, Canton… Tallest damsRogun, Nurek, Hoover… Deepest & longest cavesVeryovkina, Sac Actun… Great cathedralsNotre-Dame, Cologne… Great mosquesSultan Ahmed, Sheikh Zayed… Hindu templesMeenakshi, Angkor Wat… Historic synagoguesOld-New, Dohány Street… Monasteries & abbeysMont-Saint-Michel, Meteora… Archaeological sitesPompeii, Machu Picchu… GlaciersVatnajökull, Aletsch… Largest power stationsThree Gorges, Itaipu… Longest tunnelsGotthard Base, Seikan… Great librariesLibrary of Congress, Bodleian… Forts & fortressesRed Fort, Masada… Monuments & memorialsArc de Triomphe, Taj Mahal… PalacesVersailles, Forbidden City… Botanical gardensKew, Singapore… Famous squaresRed Square, St Peter's… ReservoirsLake Mead, Kariba… ZoosLondon, San Diego… CanalsPanama, Suez, Venice… Historic prisonsAlcatraz, Robben Island… MinesGold, coal & copper… Amusement parksDisney, Universal… Famous cemeteriesPère Lachaise, Arlington… ObservatoriesGreenwich, Mauna Kea… Ski resortsChamonix, Zermatt… RacecoursesEpsom, Churchill Downs… BreweriesGuinness, Heineken… WindmillsKinderdijk, historic mills… Nature reservesReserves & wildlife sanctuaries… Ports & harboursRotterdam, Shanghai… Railway stationsGrand Central, King's Cross… HospitalsHistoric & teaching hospitals… HotelsGrand & landmark hotels… Shopping mallsDubai Mall, mega malls… AquariumsChuraumi, Georgia Aquarium… Stately homesEnglish & Irish country houses… ChurchesCathedrals, stave & parish churches… GardensVersailles, Japanese & landscape gardens… City parksCentral Park, Hyde Park… SchoolsEton, historic academies… Music venuesCarnegie Hall, Musikverein… ArenasMadison Square Garden, O2… Town hallsMunich Rathaus, Hamburg… CasinosBellagio, Monte Carlo… Fire stationsHistoric firehouses…

Most populous countries

By total population.

  1. 1 People's Republic of China 1,404,890,000people
  2. 2 India 1,326,093,247people
  3. 3 United States 340,110,988people
  4. 4 Indonesia 275,439,000people
  5. 5 Pakistan 223,773,700people
  6. 6 Brazil 213,421,037people
  7. 7 Nigeria 211,400,708people
  8. 8 Bangladesh 171,466,990people
  9. 9 Russia 146,150,000people
  10. 10 Mexico 132,274,416people
  11. 11 Ethiopia 128,691,692people
  12. 12 Japan 123,802,000people
  13. 13 Egypt 114,535,772people
  14. 14 Philippines 112,729,484people
  15. 15 Democratic Republic of the Congo 105,789,731people
  16. 16 Vietnam 96,208,984people
  17. 17 Iran 92,417,700people
  18. 18 Turkey 85,372,377people
  19. 19 Germany 83,577,140people
  20. 20 France 68,605,616people
  21. 21 United Kingdom 67,326,569people
  22. 22 Thailand 66,188,503people
  23. 23 South Africa 62,027,503people
  24. 24 Italy 58,850,717people
  25. 25 Tanzania 57,310,019people

Largest economies

By total GDP (World Bank).

  1. 1 United States $30.77T
  2. 2 People's Republic of China $19.50T
  3. 3 Germany $5.05T
  4. 4 Japan $4.44T
  5. 5 United Kingdom $4.00T
  6. 6 India $3.96T
  7. 7 France $3.37T
  8. 8 Italy $2.55T
  9. 9 Canada $2.32T
  10. 10 Brazil $2.28T
  11. 11 Spain $1.91T
  12. 12 South Korea $1.87T
  13. 13 Mexico $1.83T
  14. 14 Australia $1.80T
  15. 15 Turkey $1.60T
  16. 16 Indonesia $1.45T
  17. 17 Kingdom of the Netherlands $1.33T
  18. 18 Saudi Arabia $1.28T
  19. 19 Switzerland $1.04T
  20. 20 Poland $1.04T
  21. 21 Taiwan $790.0B
  22. 22 Belgium $725.5B
  23. 23 Ireland $721.7B
  24. 24 Argentina $683.1B
  25. 25 Sweden $669.0B

Richest countries per person

By GDP per capita (World Bank).

  1. 1 Luxembourg $147,252
  2. 2 Ireland $131,592
  3. 3 Switzerland $114,769
  4. 4 Singapore $98,814
  5. 5 Iceland $98,323
  6. 6 Norway $94,594
  7. 7 United States $90,027
  8. 8 Kingdom of the Netherlands $73,684
  9. 9 Australia $65,130
  10. 10 Sweden $63,133
  11. 11 Austria $62,930
  12. 12 Belgium $60,750
  13. 13 Germany $60,496
  14. 14 Israel $60,337
  15. 15 United Kingdom $57,602
  16. 16 Finland $56,149
  17. 17 Canada $55,698
  18. 18 Andorra $54,292
  19. 19 New Zealand $49,591
  20. 20 France $48,986
  21. 21 Malta $47,907
  22. 22 Italy $43,309
  23. 23 Cyprus $41,783
  24. 24 Spain $38,627
  25. 25 Slovenia $37,376

Longest life expectancy

By life expectancy at birth (World Bank).

  1. 1 Monaco 86.5yrs
  2. 2 San Marino 85.8yrs
  3. 3 Kuwait 84.6yrs
  4. 4 Switzerland 84.4yrs
  5. 5 Liechtenstein 84.2yrs
  6. 6 Andorra 84.2yrs
  7. 7 Sweden 84.1yrs
  8. 8 Japan 84.0yrs
  9. 9 Italy 84.0yrs
  10. 10 Spain 83.9yrs
  11. 11 South Korea 83.6yrs
  12. 12 Singapore 83.3yrs
  13. 13 Israel 83.2yrs
  14. 14 Luxembourg 83.2yrs
  15. 15 Norway 83.2yrs
  16. 16 United Arab Emirates 83.1yrs
  17. 17 Australia 83.0yrs
  18. 18 Ireland 83.0yrs
  19. 19 France 83.0yrs
  20. 20 Malta 83.0yrs
  21. 21 Iceland 82.8yrs
  22. 22 Portugal 82.4yrs
  23. 23 Finland 82.3yrs
  24. 24 Belgium 82.3yrs
  25. 25 Slovenia 82.3yrs

Most densely populated

People per square kilometre.

  1. 1 Monaco 19,429/km²
  2. 2 Singapore 8,159/km²
  3. 3 Bahrain 1,995/km²
  4. 4 Malta 1,751/km²
  5. 5 Maldives 1,464/km²
  6. 6 Bangladesh 1,162/km²
  7. 7 Jersey 873/km²
  8. 8 Palestine 868/km²
  9. 9 Guernsey 808/km²
  10. 10 Barbados 691/km²
  11. 11 Nauru 650/km²
  12. 12 Taiwan 644/km²
  13. 13 Mauritius 620/km²
  14. 14 Aruba 589/km²
  15. 15 Lebanon 584/km²
  16. 16 Rwanda 553/km²
  17. 17 San Marino 551/km²
  18. 18 South Korea 513/km²
  19. 19 Burundi 492/km²
  20. 20 Israel 474/km²
  21. 21 Comoros 444/km²
  22. 22 Tuvalu 426/km²
  23. 23 Kingdom of the Netherlands 405/km²
  24. 24 India 403/km²
  25. 25 Haiti 396/km²

Most urbanised countries

Share of people living in cities (World Bank).

  1. 1 Bahrain 100%
  2. 2 Kuwait 100%
  3. 3 Monaco 100%
  4. 4 Nauru 100%
  5. 5 Singapore 100%
  6. 6 San Marino 97%
  7. 7 Kingdom of the Netherlands 96%
  8. 8 Malta 96%
  9. 9 Uruguay 96%
  10. 10 Luxembourg 95%
  11. 11 Iceland 94%
  12. 12 Jordan 93%
  13. 13 Argentina 92%
  14. 14 Japan 92%
  15. 15 Gabon 92%
  16. 16 Israel 92%
  17. 17 Lebanon 91%
  18. 18 Turkey 90%
  19. 19 Venezuela 89%
  20. 20 Chile 89%
  21. 21 Sweden 89%
  22. 22 Andorra 89%
  23. 23 Brazil 88%
  24. 24 Libya 88%
  25. 25 Australia 88%

Most connected countries

Share of population using the internet (World Bank).

  1. 1 Bahrain 100%
  2. 2 Kuwait 100%
  3. 3 Saudi Arabia 100%
  4. 4 United Arab Emirates 100%
  5. 5 Luxembourg 99%
  6. 6 Monaco 99%
  7. 7 Norway 99%
  8. 8 Liechtenstein 98%
  9. 9 Iceland 98%
  10. 10 Malaysia 98%
  11. 11 South Korea 98%
  12. 12 San Marino 97%
  13. 13 Switzerland 97%
  14. 14 Ireland 97%
  15. 15 Kingdom of the Netherlands 97%
  16. 16 Brunei 96%
  17. 17 Australia 96%
  18. 18 Belgium 96%
  19. 19 Sweden 96%
  20. 20 Spain 96%
  21. 21 Jordan 96%
  22. 22 Chile 96%
  23. 23 United Kingdom 95%
  24. 24 Oman 95%
  25. 25 United States 95%

Most forested countries

Share of land covered by forest (World Bank).

  1. 1 Suriname 94%
  2. 2 Federated States of Micronesia 92%
  3. 3 Gabon 91%
  4. 4 Palau 91%
  5. 5 Solomon Islands 90%
  6. 6 Guyana 87%
  7. 7 Equatorial Guinea 86%
  8. 8 Papua New Guinea 79%
  9. 9 Liberia 78%
  10. 10 Finland 74%
  11. 11 Seychelles 73%
  12. 12 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 73%
  13. 13 Brunei 72%
  14. 14 Bhutan 72%
  15. 15 Laos 71%
  16. 16 Guinea-Bissau 70%
  17. 17 Sweden 69%
  18. 18 Japan 68%
  19. 19 Republic of the Congo 64%
  20. 20 South Korea 64%
  21. 21 Dominica 64%
  22. 22 Timor-Leste 62%
  23. 23 Montenegro 61%
  24. 24 Slovenia 61%
  25. 25 Costa Rica 60%

Largest countries by area

By land area (km²).

  1. 1 Russia 17,098,246km²
  2. 2 Canada 9,984,670km²
  3. 3 United States 9,826,675km²
  4. 4 People's Republic of China 9,596,961km²
  5. 5 Brazil 8,515,767km²
  6. 6 Australia 7,692,024km²
  7. 7 India 3,287,263km²
  8. 8 Argentina 2,780,400km²
  9. 9 Kazakhstan 2,724,900km²
  10. 10 Algeria 2,381,741km²
  11. 11 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,344,858km²
  12. 12 Saudi Arabia 2,250,000km²
  13. 13 Kingdom of Denmark 2,220,930km²
  14. 14 Greenland 2,166,086km²
  15. 15 Mexico 1,972,550km²
  16. 16 Indonesia 1,904,570km²
  17. 17 Sudan 1,886,068km²
  18. 18 Libya 1,759,541km²
  19. 19 Iran 1,648,195km²
  20. 20 Mongolia 1,564,116km²
  21. 21 Peru 1,285,216km²
  22. 22 Chad 1,284,000km²
  23. 23 Niger 1,267,000km²
  24. 24 Angola 1,246,700km²
  25. 25 Mali 1,240,192km²

Smallest countries

The tiniest nations on Earth.

  1. 1 Monaco 2km²
  2. 2 Nauru 21km²
  3. 3 Tuvalu 25km²
  4. 4 San Marino 61km²
  5. 5 Guernsey 78km²
  6. 6 Jersey 118km²
  7. 7 British Virgin Islands 151km²
  8. 8 Liechtenstein 160km²
  9. 9 Aruba 180km²
  10. 10 Marshall Islands 181km²
  11. 11 Cook Islands 236km²
  12. 12 Cayman Islands 264km²
  13. 13 Saint Kitts and Nevis 269km²
  14. 14 Maldives 298km²
  15. 15 Malta 316km²
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