Largest Country in the World

There are as many as 233 countries around the world! The criteria of being the 'Largest' is a bit ambiguous. By largest one could mean, largest country in the world by area, that is landmass or by population. You will find answers to questions, according to all these criteria. Along the way, you'll also discover some other interesting facts about these countries. So, without further ado, let us get down to answering this question.

By Area - Russia
Yes, the largest country, by land mass is Russia which is the biggest part of what was once the U.S.S.R (United Soviet Socialist Republic) and exists as a semi-presidential republic today. It covers more than a ninth of the Earth's total land mass. It covers a total area of 6,592,800 square miles (17,075,400 square kilometers), which constitutes about 11.5% of the Earth's Total Land Mass! The total land area on Earth is 57,510,000 square miles or 148,940,000 square kilometers. Situated in Eurasia, Russia extends across the whole of Northern part of Asia and about 40% of European land mass. It spans about 11 different time zones, with a variety of land forms and all kinds of climate conditions.

Russia has the world's biggest reserves of energy and minerals! It is still, unarguably a superpower when it comes to energy resources. It also is fortunate enough to have the greatest forest reserves in the world, along with roughly 25% of the world's unfrozen freshwater reserves, in its lakes. About 140 million people inhabit this country and it is the ninth most populous country in the world. Due to the abundant forest reserves in Russia, it is also known as the 'lungs of Europe'.

Russia also has the largest lake in the world by volume, which is Lake Baikal and it is also the deepest lake in the world. Mount Elbrus in Russia is the highest topographical point in the whole of Europe. It also contains about 10% of the world's total arable land. The country has 100,000 rivers, out of which the Volga is the longest river in the whole of Europe. Russia is home to about 266 species of mammals and about 780 species of birds.

By Population - China
If one considers that what really forms a country is the people, then the largest country in the world by population is China, that is 'People's Republic of China', with a total population of 1,334,360,000 people and counting! About 19.62% of the world's population, that is about one fifth of total population, lives in China! With about 3.7 million square miles of land area, China is the second largest country by land area and the fourth largest by total area. Currently, it is the third largest economy in the world! It has a 14,500 km long coastline.

With so much population, China holds the title of the fastest aging country in the world too! The 'Three Gorges Dam' in China is the biggest dam in the world.

Largest area also means larger resources at a country's disposal. More than being the largest, biggest or wealthiest, every country today covets the 'Super Power' status. Only one country has it today and that is USA, but other countries like China and India are catching up!