Sea

Caribbean Sea

Natural Earth’s outline of the Caribbean Sea measures about 2,829,000 km² (1,092,000 mi²), the 3rd largest of the 42 seas on sizeversus, and about the same size as Argentina.

In area1.02×the size ofArgentina2,783,000 km² Among US states1.88×the size ofAlaska1,505,000 km²

1,000 km

Caribbean Sea
Argentina

The numbers

2,829,000km²Area, measured1,092,000 mi² · Natural Earth outline
2,754,000km²Area, publishedWikidata · 2.7% below our measure
7,686mGreatest depthWikidata

The area is measured from the outline drawn above, on the WGS84 ellipsoid; the published figure is shown beside it, and a water body is kept only if the two are within 10%.

What the numbers say about the Caribbean Sea

The Arabian Sea, the largest of the 42 seas ranked on sizeversus, is 1.46× the size of the Caribbean Sea; the Caribbean Sea ranks 3rd.
The Caribbean Sea sits between the South China Sea (3,169,000 km²) and the Bering Sea (2,232,000 km²) in the ranking.
Counted as a country, the Caribbean Sea would be larger than 205 of the 212 countries listed on sizeversus and would rank 8th by area, between India (3,151,000 km²) and Argentina (2,783,000 km²).
It is larger than all 51 US states and districts.
It is larger than all 31 provinces and regions of China.
The closest US state is Alaska (1,505,000 km²): the Caribbean Sea is 1.88× the size of Alaska.
Wikidata records a greatest depth of 7,686 m.
The Caribbean Sea lies at 15°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.1×.
Laid out flat, the Caribbean Sea stretches about 1,590 km north to south and 3,110 km east to west.
Our measured 2,829,000 km² is 2.7% above Wikidata’s published figure of 2,754,000 km². Published areas of lakes and seas move with the water level and with what is counted, so a few percent is expected.

About the same size as

Countries

US states

Alaska1,505,000 km² · 1.88×

Chinese provinces

Inner Mongolia1,144,000 km² · 2.47×

Lakes and seas

On the shore

Natural Earth’s outlines of Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, Panama, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Belize and Costa Rica lie within 25 km of the outline of the Caribbean Sea. That is what its geometry says, and it is not a statement about who owns the water or where any border runs in it.

Where the Caribbean Sea ranks

The Caribbean Sea is the 3rd largest of the 42 seas on sizeversus, ranked by measured area.

Ranked seas

All seas, matched to countries

Compare the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea vs Argentina

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Marine Areas (geography_marine_polys), public domain (Marine Areas (geography_marine_polys)). Natural Earth draws marine areas for labels and cuts them at named sub-areas; the outline is kept because its area matches the published one.
Boundary: A lake or a sea has no legal boundary of its own. The outline is a cartographic one, and the page says so by showing the measured area beside the published one.
Area basis: Measured outline: computed on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline and shown rounded. Published figure: Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11. An outline is kept within 10% of the published figure and matched to other places automatically within 5%.
Depth, volume, height: As recorded in Wikidata; a volume that cannot be right for the area and depth is left out.
Shore: Countries whose Natural Earth outline contains or comes close to the water's outline; computed, not a statement of ownership.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method