Largest Countries in Europe 2022

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With a total area of 10,186,000 km² (3,932,836 mi²), Europe is actually smaller than every other continent except Australia/Oceania. However, it is also one of the most densely populated and contains at least 50 countries (depending upon how one counts) as well as several dependent territories. One of those countries, in fact, is the largest in the world. What are the largest countries in Europe? Let's find out:

Top 10 Largest Countries in Europe (by total area):

  1. Russia - 17,098,246 km² (6,601,670 mi²)
  2. Ukraine - 603,500 km² (233,000 mi²)
  3. France - 543,940 km² (210,020 mi²)
  4. Spain - 505,992 km² (195,365 mi²)
  5. Sweden - 450,295 km² (173,860 mi²)
  6. Germany - 357,114 km² (137,882 mi²)
  7. Finland - 338,425 km² (130,667 mi²)
  8. Norway - 323,802 km² (125,021 mi²)
  9. Poland - 312,696 km² (120,733 mi²)
  10. Italy - 301,339 km² (116,348 mi²)

The largest country in Europe is easily Russia, and by a large margin. This ranking is made more impressive by the fact that Russia is a transcontinental country, with land in both Europe and Asia. In fact, in terms of land area, Russia is also the largest country in Asia and also the largest country in the world. Russia’s population is more than 145.9 million people, which puts it in ninth place on the list of the world's most populous countries.

Territories and transcontinental countries

Russia is not the only country to straddle the line between Europe and Asia. Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cyprus, Turkey, and even Kazakhstan are all considered European by some agencies and Asian by others. When counted as European, Kazakhstan ranks as the second-largest country in Europe at 2,724,900 (1,052,100). Dependent territories are another gray area. Many European countries embraced expansionist policies during the Age of Exploration, and some of those countries oversee external territories to this day. The most relevant of these territories in terms of area is Greenland, whose actual size isn't quite what it appears to be on most maps, but which would still add 2,166,086 km² (836,330 mi²) of area to tiny Denmark 43,094 km² (16,639 mi²). this would make Denmark the second- or third-largest country in Europe (depending upon whether Kazakhstan was included)—despite the fact that Greenland is actually located in North America. However, territories are typically left out of official measurements of a country's area. Europe is also home to many of the world's smallest countries. While most continents include tiny island nations, none but Europe have so many land-locked and/or coastal micronations.

Top 11 Smallest Countries in Europe (by total area):

  1. Vatican City/Holy See - 0.49 km² (0.19 mi²)
  2. Monaco - 2.02 km² (0.78 mi²)
  3. San Marino - 61 km² (24 mi²)
  4. Liechtenstein - 160 km² (62 mi²)
  5. Malta - 316 km² (122 mi²)
  6. Andorra - 468 km² (181 mi²)
  7. Luxembourg - 2,586 km² (998 mi²)
  8. Cyprus - 9,251 km² (3,572 mi²)
  9. Kosovo (partially recognized) - 10,887 km² (4,203 mi²)
  10. Montenegro - 13,812 km² (5,333 mi²)
  11. Slovenia - 20,273 km² (7,827 mi²)

The smallest country in Europe is Vatican City, which is .44 km² (.169 mi²). Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, located in Rome, Italy, and has a population of about 1,000 people. Also notable on this list is Kosovo, a territory that has been recognized by more than 100 United Nations members, but has thus far been stonewalled by Russia and China, whose recognition it needs to separate from its parent country, Serbia, and attain full sovereign nation status.

Largest Countries in Europe 2022

CSV JSON
Rank Country Area Area (mi²) % of Earth's Area
1Russia17,098,242 km²6,599,921 mi²11.52%
2Ukraine603,500 km²232,951 mi²0.41%
3France551,695 km²212,954 mi²0.37%
4Spain505,992 km²195,313 mi²0.34%
5Sweden450,295 km²173,814 mi²0.30%
6Germany357,114 km²137,846 mi²0.24%
7Finland338,424 km²130,632 mi²0.23%
8Norway323,802 km²124,988 mi²0.22%
9Poland312,679 km²120,694 mi²0.21%
10Italy301,336 km²116,316 mi²0.20%
11United Kingdom242,900 km²93,759 mi²0.16%
12Romania238,391 km²92,019 mi²0.16%
13Belarus207,600 km²80,134 mi²0.14%
14Greece131,990 km²50,948 mi²< 0.1%
15Bulgaria110,879 km²42,799 mi²< 0.1%
16Iceland103,000 km²39,758 mi²< 0.1%
17Hungary93,028 km²35,909 mi²< 0.1%
18Portugal92,090 km²35,547 mi²< 0.1%
19Serbia88,361 km²34,107 mi²< 0.1%
20Austria83,871 km²32,374 mi²< 0.1%
21Czech Republic78,865 km²30,442 mi²< 0.1%
22Ireland70,273 km²27,125 mi²< 0.1%
23Lithuania65,300 km²25,206 mi²< 0.1%
24Latvia64,559 km²24,920 mi²< 0.1%
25Croatia56,594 km²21,845 mi²< 0.1%
26Bosnia And Herzegovina51,209 km²19,767 mi²< 0.1%
27Slovakia49,037 km²18,928 mi²< 0.1%
28Estonia45,227 km²17,458 mi²< 0.1%
29Denmark43,094 km²16,634 mi²< 0.1%
30Netherlands41,850 km²16,154 mi²< 0.1%
31Switzerland41,284 km²15,936 mi²< 0.1%
32Moldova33,846 km²13,065 mi²< 0.1%
33Belgium30,528 km²11,784 mi²< 0.1%
34Albania28,748 km²11,097 mi²< 0.1%
35Slovenia20,273 km²7,825 mi²< 0.1%
36Montenegro13,812 km²5,331 mi²< 0.1%
37Cyprus9,251 km²3,571 mi²< 0.1%
38Luxembourg2,586 km²998 mi²< 0.1%
39Faroe Islands1,393 km²538 mi²< 0.1%
40Isle of Man572 km²221 mi²< 0.1%
41Andorra468 km²181 mi²< 0.1%
42Malta316 km²122 mi²< 0.1%
43Liechtenstein160 km²62 mi²< 0.1%
44San Marino61 km²24 mi²< 0.1%
45Gibraltar6 km²2 mi²< 0.1%
46Monaco2 km²1 mi²< 0.1%
47Vatican City1 km² mi²< 0.1%

Largest Countries in Europe 2022

  1. Land Area - United Nations FAOSTAT 2019
  2. List of the total areas of the world's countries, dependencies, and territories - Britannica
  3. Countries JSON Database
  4. Surface Area - United Nations Statistical Yearbook 2012
  5. Countries and dependencies by area - Wiki

Sources