Water against land: how many countries fit inside a lake or a sea
Lay a lake or a sea over the political map and count what it swallows. For 36 of the largest bodies of water on sizeversus, these are the numbers: how many of the 212 countries, how many of the 51 US states and districts and how many of the 31 provinces and regions of China each one is larger than.
Only outlines within 5% of their published area are counted in this table (103 of the 149 lakes and seas on sizeversus; the others are flagged on their own pages). Counts use measured areas, so a body within a few percent of a country’s area can tip either way.
The ladder
Largest first. The bar shows the share of each set; the figure below it is the closest country in area and how close.
- Caribbean Sea2,829,000 km²closest country: Argentina (1.02×)205/212countries51/51US states31/31provinces
- Mediterranean Sea2,521,000 km² · counted from its piecesclosest country: Argentina (0.91×)203/212countries51/51US states31/31provinces
- Bering Sea2,232,000 km²closest country: Algeria (0.97×)201/212countries51/51US states31/31provinces
- Gulf of Mexico1,562,000 km² · counted from its piecesclosest country: Mongolia (1.00×)193/212countries51/51US states30/31provinces
- Barents Sea1,378,000 km²closest country: Peru (1.07×)193/212countries50/51US states30/31provinces
- Greenland Sea1,183,000 km²closest country: South Africa (0.97×)188/212countries50/51US states30/31provinces
- Sea of Japan959,000 km²closest country: Egypt (0.96×)182/212countries50/51US states28/31provinces
- Solomon Sea745,000 km²closest country: Chile (1.01×)174/212countries50/51US states28/31provinces
- 155/212countries49/51US states25/31provinces
- 153/212countries49/51US states25/31provinces
- Baltic Sea381,000 km² · counted from its piecesclosest country: Norway (1.00×)150/212countries48/51US states23/31provinces
- Caspian Sea379,000 km²closest country: Norway (0.99×)150/212countries47/51US states23/31provinces
- Yellow Sea377,000 km²closest country: Japan (1.01×)150/212countries47/51US states23/31provinces
- Great Barrier Reef348,000 km²closest country: Germany (0.97×)148/212countries47/51US states23/31provinces
- Gulf of Carpentaria290,000 km²closest country: Philippines (0.99×)139/212countries45/51US states23/31provinces
- Great Lakes245,000 km² · counted from its piecesclosest country: United Kingdom (1.00×)135/212countries40/51US states23/31provinces
- Persian Gulf243,000 km²closest country: United Kingdom (1.00×)133/212countries40/51US states23/31provinces
- Bay of Biscay216,000 km²closest country: Guyana (1.02×)129/212countries37/51US states22/31provinces
- Adriatic Sea141,000 km²closest country: Tajikistan (0.99×)117/212countries25/51US states10/31provinces
- Gulf of Bothnia120,000 km²closest country: Malawi (1.01×)112/212countries20/51US states8/31provinces
- 105/212countries14/51US states8/31provinces
- 102/212countries13/51US states6/31provinces
- Lake Superior82,300 km²closest country: Austria (0.98×)97/212countries12/51US states5/31provinces
- 96/212countries11/51US states5/31provinces
- Lake Victoria67,000 km²closest country: Ireland (0.97×)90/212countries11/51US states5/31provinces
- Lake Huron59,900 km²closest country: Togo (1.05×)87/212countries10/51US states5/31provinces
- Lake Michigan57,500 km²closest country: Togo (1.01×)87/212countries10/51US states5/31provinces
- Ungava Bay49,600 km²closest country: Slovakia (1.02×)83/212countries10/51US states4/31provinces
- 80/212countries10/51US states4/31provinces
- Sea of Azov37,600 km²closest country: Netherlands (1.01×)77/212countries10/51US states4/31provinces
- Lake Tanganyika32,800 km²closest country: Guinea-Bissau (1.00×)73/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
- Lake Baikal31,500 km²closest country: Belgium (1.03×)73/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
- Great Bear Lake30,900 km²closest country: Belgium (1.01×)73/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
- Gulf of Finland30,400 km²closest country: Belgium (0.99×)72/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
- Lake Malawi28,800 km²closest country: Albania (1.02×)70/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
- Great Slave Lake26,100 km²closest country: Equatorial Guinea (0.98×)65/212countries10/51US states3/31provinces
Two countries in one body of water
Where two well-known countries add up to a lake or a sea within 1%, by measured area. A curiosity, not an equivalence: the outlines do not fit together like tiles.
- Yellow Sea (377,000 km²) is Philippines (293,000 km²) plus Austria (84,000 km²), which together make 377,000 km²: a difference of 0.0%.
- Greenland Sea (1,183,000 km²) is Chile (736,000 km²) plus Sweden (446,000 km²), which together make 1,183,000 km²: a difference of 0.0%.
- Black Sea (422,000 km²) is Vietnam (329,000 km²) plus Hungary (93,200 km²), which together make 422,000 km²: a difference of 0.0%.
- Sea of Japan (959,000 km²) is Kenya (586,000 km²) plus Japan (374,000 km²), which together make 959,000 km²: a difference of 0.1%.
- Barents Sea (1,378,000 km²) is Colombia (1,135,000 km²) plus United Kingdom (244,000 km²), which together make 1,379,000 km²: a difference of 0.1%.
- Gulf of Mexico (1,562,000 km²) is Ethiopia (1,127,000 km²) plus Iraq (437,000 km²), which together make 1,565,000 km²: a difference of 0.2%.
- Adriatic Sea (141,000 km²) is South Korea (98,500 km²) plus Denmark (42,700 km²), which together make 141,000 km²: a difference of 0.2%.
- Solomon Sea (745,000 km²) is Spain (499,000 km²) plus United Kingdom (244,000 km²), which together make 743,000 km²: a difference of 0.2%.
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth 1:10m physical vectors and Admin 0 and Admin 1, public domain. Areas are measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid.
- Published areas
- Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11; a lake or sea is counted in this table only if its outline is within 5% of the published area.
- Counts
- A country, US state or Chinese province is counted if its measured area is smaller than the body of water's. Contested and dependent places are counted like any other; none is named as a match.
- Data built
- 2026-11-11