Our planet is full of geographical extremes — the highest mountains, the deepest oceans, the longest rivers and the most densely populated cities. Here is a comprehensive guide to the world's most remarkable geographical records.

Countries: Size Records

• •Largest country — Russia at 17.1 million km², nearly twice the size of second-place Canada
• •Smallest country — Vatican City at just 0.44 km², smaller than most city parks
• •Smallest island nation — Nauru in the Pacific at just 21 km²
• •Most populated country — India, which surpassed China in 2023 with over 1.4 billion people
• •Least populated country — Vatican City with only about 800 permanent residents
• •Longest coastline — Canada with over 202,000 km of coastline
• •Most land borders — Russia and China, each sharing borders with 14 countries

Russia — the world's largest country by far, spanning 11 time zones

Mountains: Height Records

Mount Everest on the Nepal-China border stands at 8,849 metres and is the world's highest mountain above sea level. However, if measured from the centre of the Earth, Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo is actually the farthest point from Earth's core, due to the Earth's equatorial bulge. If measured from the ocean floor, Hawaii's Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain at over 10,000 metres total height.

• •Highest peak — Mount Everest, Nepal/China, 8,849 metres
• •Second highest — K2, Pakistan/China, 8,611 metres
• •Highest in Africa — Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, 5,895 metres
• •Highest in the Americas — Aconcagua, Argentina, 6,961 metres
• •Highest in Europe — Mount Elbrus, Russia, 5,642 metres
• •Highest in North America — Denali, Alaska USA, 6,190 metres
• •Highest in Oceania — Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, 4,884 metres

Mount Everest — the world's highest point at 8,849 metres

Rivers: Length and Volume Records

The debate between the Nile and Amazon as the world's longest river has gone on for decades. Most geographers accept the Nile at 6,650 km as the longest, though some measurements place the Amazon slightly longer. What is certain is that the Amazon carries far more water — about 20% of all fresh river water that flows into the world's oceans.

• •Longest river — Nile, Africa, approximately 6,650 km
• •Largest by volume — Amazon, South America, 20% of all river water on Earth
• •Longest in Asia — Yangtze, China, 6,300 km
• •Longest in North America — Missouri, USA, 3,767 km
• •Longest in Europe — Volga, Russia, 3,531 km
• •Most countries crossed — Danube, flowing through 10 European countries
• •Deepest river — Congo, Africa, reaching depths of 220 metres

Oceans and Lakes: Water Records

• •Largest ocean — Pacific Ocean, covering more area than all land combined
• •Deepest ocean point — Mariana Trench, Pacific, 11,034 metres deep
• •Saltiest ocean — Atlantic Ocean, the saltiest of the major oceans
• •Largest lake — Caspian Sea (technically a lake) at 371,000 km²
• •Deepest lake — Lake Baikal, Russia, 1,642 metres deep, holding 20% of Earth's fresh water
• •Highest navigable lake — Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia, 3,812 metres above sea level
• •Saltiest lake — Dead Sea, Jordan/Israel, 34% salinity — 10 times saltier than the ocean

Lake Baikal — the world's deepest lake and largest freshwater reservoir

Deserts: Driest Places on Earth

Antarctica is the world's largest desert by area at 14.2 million km². The Sahara is the largest hot desert at 9.2 million km² — about the size of the United States. But the driest non-polar place on Earth is the Atacama Desert in Chile, where some weather stations have never recorded rainfall. Parts of the Atacama receive less than 1 millimetre of rain per year.

Population and Cities: Urban Records

• •Most populated city — Tokyo, Japan, with around 37 million people in the greater metro area
• •Most densely populated country — Monaco at around 26,000 people per km²
• •Least densely populated country — Mongolia with just 2 people per km²
• •Highest capital city — La Paz, Bolivia, at 3,640 metres above sea level
• •Fastest growing city — Dhaka, Bangladesh, adding around 300,000 residents per year
• •Most visited city — Bangkok, Thailand, with around 22 million tourists per year

Island Records

• •Largest island — Greenland at 2.16 million km² (Australia is classified as a continent)
• •Most islands — Sweden with over 220,000 islands
• •Most populated island — Java, Indonesia, with over 150 million people
• •Most remote inhabited island — Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic, 2,787 km from the nearest land
• •Smallest island nation — Nauru in the Pacific at just 21 km²

Many of these records feature in our World Facts quiz — across easy, medium and hard difficulty levels. Test yourself and see how many of these extreme geography facts you already knew!