World geography
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World facts. (2026). In Q-files Encyclopedia, Geography, World geography. Retrieved from
https://www.q-files.com/geography/world-geography/world-facts
"World facts." Geography, World geography, Q-files Encyclopedia, 1 Apr. 2026.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/world-geography/world-facts.
Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.
World facts 2026. Geography, World geography. Retrieved 7 August 2026, from
https://www.q-files.com/geography/world-geography/world-facts
Geography, World geography, s.v. "World facts," accessed August 7, 2026.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/world-geography/world-facts
World facts
Facts about the world
Circumference at the Equator 40,075 km
(24,901 miles)
Land area 148,328,100 sq km
(57,270,000 sq miles)
Ocean area 361,741,000 sq km
(139,670,000 sq miles)
Population 7,042,600,000
Highest point Mt Everest (Nepal and Tibet, China) 8848 m (29,032 ft)
Greatest depth Challenger Deep, Mariana
Trench (Pacific Ocean) 10,924 m (35,840 ft)
Lowest point on land Dead Sea (Israel/Jordan)
423 m (1388 ft) below sea level
Longest river Nile (Africa) 6670 km (4145 miles)
Largest lake Caspian Sea 371,000 sq km
(143,000 sq miles)
Largest country Russia 17,075,400 sq km
(6,592,800 sq miles)
Largest population India 1,425,775,850 people
Largest city Jakarta, Indonesia 41,900,000 people
The world's oceans
1 Pacific Ocean area 155,557,000 sq km (60,060,700 sq miles);
average depth 4028 m (13,215 ft);
deepest point Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench 10,924 m (35,840 ft)
2 Atlantic Ocean area 76,762,000 sq km (29,637,900 sq miles);
average depth 3926 m (12,880 ft); deepest point Puerto Rico Trench 8605 m (28,231 ft)
3 Indian Ocean area 68,566,000 sq km (26,469,900 sq miles);
average depth 3963 m (13,002 ft) deepest point Java Trench 7258 m (23,812 ft)
4 Southern Ocean area 20,327,000 sq km (7,848,300 sq miles);
average depth 4000–5000 m (13,000–16,400 ft);
deepest point South Sandwich Trench 7235 m (23,737 ft)
5 Arctic Ocean area 14,056,000 sq km (5,427,000 sq miles);
average depth 1205 m (3953 ft); deepest point Fram Basin 4665 m (15,305 ft)
The world's
highest mountains
1 Mount Everest 8849 m (29,032 ft)
2 K2 8611 m (28,251 ft)
3 Kangchenjunga 8586 m (28,169 ft)
4 Lhotse 8516 m (27,940 ft)
5 Makalu 8485 m (27,838 ft)
6 Cho Oyo 8188 m (26,864 ft)
7 Dhaulagiri I 8167 m (26,795 ft)
8 Manaslu 8163 m (26,781 ft)
9 Nanga Parbat 8126 m (26,667 ft)
10 Annapurna I 8091 m (26,545 ft)
The world's
longest rivers
1 Nile (Africa) 6670 km (4145 miles)
2 Amazon (South America) 6451 km (4008 miles)
3 Yangtze (China) 6300 km (3910 miles)
4 Mississippi-Missouri (USA) 5970 km (3710 miles)
5 Yenisei (Russia) 5539 km (3441 miles)
6 Yellow River / Huang He (China), 5464 km
(3395 miles)
7 Ob-Irtysh (Russia) 5410 km (3361 miles)
8 Paraná (South America) 4880 km (3032 miles)
9 Congo (Africa) 4700 km (2920 miles)
10 Amur (Russia / China) 4444 km (2762 miles)
The world's
largest lakes
1 Caspian Sea 371,000 sq km
(143,000 sq miles)
2 Superior 83,270 sq km (32,150 sq miles)
3 Victoria 68,800 sq km (26,560 sq miles)
4 Huron 60,700 sq km (23,440 sq miles)
5 Michigan 58,020 sq km (22,400 sq miles)
6 Tanganyika 32,900 sq km (12,700 sq miles)
7 Baikal 31,500 sq km (12,160 sq miles)
8 Great Bear 31,080 sq km (12,000 sq miles)
9 Malawi 30,044 sq km (11,600 sq miles)
10 Great Slave 28,930 sq km (11,170 sq miles)
The world's
highest waterfalls
1 Angel, Venezuela 979 m (3212 ft) 979
2 Tugela, South Africa 947 m (3110 ft)
3 Utigord, Norway 800 m (2625 ft)
4 Monge, Norway 774 m (2540 ft)
5 Gocta Cataracts, Peru 771 m (2532 ft)
6 Mutarazi (Mtarazi), Zimbabwe 762 m (2499 ft)
7 Yosemite, California, USA 739 m (2425 ft)
8 Espelands, Norway 703 m (2307 ft)
9 Lower Mar Valley, Norway 655 m (2151 ft)
10 Tyssestrengene, Norway 647 m (2123 ft)
The world's
largest islands
1 Greenland 2,130,800 sq km (822,700 sq miles)
2 New Guinea 785,753 sq km (303,381 sq miles)
3 Borneo 748,168 sq km (288,869 sq miles)
4 Madagascar 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq miles)
5 Baffin Island 507,451 sq km (195,928 sq miles)
6 Sumatra 443,065 sq km (171,068 sq miles)
7 Honshu, Japan 225,800 sq km (87,200 sq miles)
8 Victoria Island, Canada 217,291 sq km (83,897 sq miles)
9 Great Britain (209,331 sq km) 80,823 sq miles)
10 Ellesmere Island, Canada 196,236 sq km (75,767 sq miles)
The world's largest countries
1 Russia 17,075,400 sq km (6,592,800 sq miles)
2 Canada 9,984,700 sq km (3,855,100 sq miles)
3 China 9,640,000 sq km (3,722,000 sq miles)
4 United States 9,629,100 sq km (3,717,800 sq miles)
5 Brazil 8,514,900 sq km (3,287,600 sq miles)
6 Australia 7,692,000 sq km (2,970,000 sq miles)
7 India 3,287,300 sq km (1,269,200 sq miles)
8 Argentina 2,780,400 sq km (1,073,500 sq miles)
9 Kazakhstan 2,724,900 sq km (1,052,100 sq miles)
10 Algeria 2,381,740 sq km (919,590 sq miles)
The world's most
populous countries (2025)
1 India 1,425,775,850
2 China 1,408,280,000
3 United States 340,110,988
4 Indonesia 282,477,584
5 Pakistan 241,499,431
6 Nigeria 230,842,743
7 Brazil 212,583,750
8 Bangladesh 168,220,000
9 Russia 143,679,916
10 Mexico 131,946,900
The world's most
populous cities* (2025)
1 Jakarta, Indonesia 41,900,000
2 Dhaka, Bangladesh 36,600,000
3 Tokyo, Japan 33,400,000
4 Delhi, India 30,200,000
5 Shanghai, China 29,600,000
6 Guangzhou, China 27,600,000
7 Cairo, Egypt 25,600,000
8 Manila, Philippines 24,700,000
9 Kolkata, India 22,500,000
10 Seoul, South Korea 22,500,000
* figures are for metropolitan areas
Consultant: Lloyd Jenkins
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