Exploring the Top 20 Largest Countries in Asia: Landscapes, Cultures, and Wonders

Which are the largest countries in Asia by area? Asia makes up approximately one-third of the world’s land area, with a total size of 44.5 million square kilometres. Russia is the largest and the Maldives is the smallest country.

Nevertheless, here are the 20 largest Asian countries by land area.

Russia (16,376,870km²)

Russia is the biggest nation in Asia but also doubles as the biggest nation on Earth. It has a population of 144,463,451 and a total area of 16,376,870 square km (6,612,100 square miles). Moscow serves as the country’s capital. 

There are 11 different time zones inside the nation due to its size. In terms of geography, Russia includes plains, semi-desert, mountains, coastlines, and tundra. A large number of plant and animal species are supported by this diversity of habitats. 

40 places have been designated as UNESCO biosphere reserves in Russia to help preserve this high level of biodiversity.

China (9,326,410km²)

With a total size of over 9.5 million square kilometres (3.7 million square miles), China is the second-largest nation in Asia. The world’s most populous nation is China, which has a population of little over 1.403 billion. Beijing serves as the country’s capital. The country’s Mount Everest, which is the tallest mountain in the world, divides Nepal and China. 

China also has several ecosystems, including the Gobi Desert, the Tibetan Plateau, subtropical forests, and Pacific Ocean shorelines.

China is politically organised into provinces (22) special administrative areas (2), autonomous regions (5), governed municipalities (4), and municipalities under control (4).

India (2,973,190km²)

India is the third-largest country in Asia. Its area exceeds 3.2 million square kilometres (1.269 million square miles). Its population exceeds 1.324 billion people, making it the second-most populous nation in the world. Its shores border the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, and it makes up a great portion of the Indian Peninsula. The Thar Desert, the Himalayan mountain range, and the Indo-Gangetic watershed region are just a few of the diverse ecosystems that can be found there. 

India is also home to several other habitats.

Kazakhstan (2,699,700km²)

With a total area of 2.7 million square kilometres (1,052,100 square miles), Kazakhstan is the fourth-largest nation in Asia. The Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan borders the Caspian Sea, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and China. Nearly 18 million people call the nation home, a great deal of whom are of Kazakh ancestry. 

Kazakstan is the world’s biggest landlocked country and the location of the Kazakh Steppe. With a total area of 310,600 square miles, the desert steppe is the largest in the world.

Saudi Arabia (2,149,690km²)

Saudi Arabia is the fifth-largest nation in Asia and occupies an area of 2,149,690 square kilometres (830,000 square miles) in the Arabian Peninsula. Approximately 33 million people make up its whole population. The majority of the nation is made up of dry, desert areas, and it borders both the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea on its shores.

The petroleum industry plays a significant role in Saudi Arabia’s economy, which is home to the second-largest oil reserve in the world. The nation is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of oil.

Indonesia (1,904,569km²)

Southeast Asia and Oceania’s Indonesia are located between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, as well as portions of Borneo and New Guinea, are among its more than 17,000 islands. Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world and the fourteenth-largest country overall, covering an area of 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). 

With almost 280 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth-most populous nation in the world and the largest Muslim-majority nation. More than half of Indonesia’s citizens live on Java, the island with the highest population in the world.

Iran (1,648,195 km²)

With 1,648,195 km2, Iran is slightly smaller than the US state of Alaska and roughly three times the size of France.

The country’s estimated 2019 population is 82 million, with Tehran as the main city. Other significant cities include Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj (a suburb of Tehran), Tabriz, Shiraz, Ahvaz, and Qom. The spoken language in the country is Persian (officially Farsi), and Shia Islam is the official religion.

Mongolia (1,564,116 km²)

The East Asian landlocked nation of Mongolia is bordered to the north and south by China and Russia. It is the world’s least populous sovereign state, with a land area of 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 square miles) and a population of only 3.3 million. In contrast to the mountains in the north and west and the Gobi Desert in the south, the vast majority of Mongolia is covered with grassland meadows.

It is the biggest landlocked nation in the world that does not have a closed maritime border. 

Roughly half of the nation’s inhabitants reside in Ulaanbaatar, the nation’s capital and largest city.

Pakistan (881,912km²)

Pakistan, a country in South Asia, is the second-largest country in South Asia and the 33^rd-largest country in the world by area, covering 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles). 

With a population of about 249.5 million, Pakistan is the fifth-most populated nation in the world and will have the largest Muslim population in the world by 2023.

Islamabad is the nation’s capital. Karachi is its largest city and financial centre.

Turkey (769,632km²)

Turkey is the tenth largest nation in Asia, with a total size of 783,356 square kilometres (302,455 square miles). Although only a small percentage of its overall size is located in Europe, it is regarded as a transcontinental nation.

79,814,871 people are living in Turkey. 

The Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Marmara all border the majority of the nation. Turkey also includes several geographical characteristics, including mountains and river valleys. The nation is home to more than 80,000 different animal species and has a high biodiversity.

Myanmar (676,578km²)

Southeast Asian nation Myanmar is also referred to as Burma (the name used officially until 1989). With a population of around 54 million in 2017, it is the largest nation in Mainland Southeast Asia by area. To the north and northwest, it is bordered by Bangladesh and India, to the east and southeast by Laos and Thailand, and to the south and southwest by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The main city in the nation is Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon), while Naypyidaw is the capital.

Afghanistan (652,230km²)

Afghanistan is a landlocked nation at the meeting point of Central Asia and South Asia; its official name is the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Often called Asia’s Heart.

The nation, which has 652,864 square kilometres (252,072 square miles) of land, is primarily mountainous, with lowlands in the north and southwest that are divided by the Hindu Kush mountain range. The capital of the nation and its largest city is Kabul. 

40.2 million people are living in Afghanistan as of 2021 (although the official estimate is 32.9 million).

Yemen (555,000km²)

Yemen, also known as the Republic of Yemen, is a nation in Western Asia.

Yemen is the second-largest Arab sovereign state on the Arabian Peninsula, with a landmass of 555,000 square kilometres (214,000 square miles) and a coastline that stretches for almost 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles). 

The capital and largest city of Yemen is Sanaa. As of 2023, 34.2 million people are expected to live in the nation.

Thailand (513,120km²)

Thailand, also known as Siam historically is a nation in Southeast Asia’s Indochinese Peninsula. Its formal name is the Kingdom of Thailand. 

It covers 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 square miles) and has a population of over 70 million.

The largest city and capital of the country is Bangkok.

Turkmenistan (469,930km²)

In Central Asia, Turkmenistan is a landlocked nation. The capital and largest city is Ashgabat. It belongs to the group of six sovereign Turkic states. Turkmenistan is one of the least inhabited countries in Asia with a population of only over six million, the lowest of the Central Asian republics.

Uzbekistan (448,978km²)

Uzbekistan is a member of the Organisation of Turkic States and a member of the Turkic world. In Uzbekistan, the Uzbek language is the one that is most often used, while Russian is also extensively used and understood. Samarkand and Bukhara are the main locations where Tajik is used as a minority language. The majority of Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims, and Islam is the country’s official religion.

The total area of Uzbekistan is 448,978 square kilometres (173,351 square miles). It ranks 40^th in terms of people and is the 56^th-largest country in the world by area.

Iraq (437,072km²)

Iraq is a nation in West Asia and is formally known as the Republic of Iraq.

Baghdad is the country’s largest and capital city. Iraq’s population is diversified, consisting primarily of Arabs but also including Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians, and Shabakis, in addition to a country with a diverse landscape and flora. 

Most people in Iraq are Muslims, but there are also small minority populations of Yazidis, Mandaeans, Yarsans, and Zoroastrians.

Spanning 437,072 km2 (168,754 sq mi), it is the 17^th, largest Asian country and 58^th-largest nation on the planet. It is slightly bigger than Paraguay and about the same size as the US state of California.

Japan (377,975km²)

Japan is an East Asian island nation.

Hokkaido, Honshu (the “mainland”), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa are the five major islands that make up the archipelago that makes up Japan, which is a portion of the Ring of Fire. Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto are the next seven major cities in Japan after the capital and largest city, Tokyo.

Japan’s total area is 377,975.24 km2 (145,937.06 sq mi) as of 2019.

Vietnam (331,212km²)

Southeast Asia’s easternmost nation, Vietnam, or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), has a population of more than 100 million people and a land area of 331,212 square kilometres (127,882 square miles).

Ho Chi Minh metropolis, sometimes known as Saigon, is the country’s largest city and its capital is Hanoi.

Malaysia (330,803km²)

Southeast Asia is home to Malaysia. In the federal constitutional monarchy, which is divided into two sections by the South China Sea, there are thirteen states and three federal territories. Malaysian Peninsula and East Malaysia of Borneo. 

Malaysia’s largest capital city is Kuala Lumpur. The nation has a total area of 330,803 km2 (127,724 sq mi).

Conclusion

Russia tops any ranking of the world’s biggest countries by area, whether it is grouped with Asia or Europe. It is over twice as big as the next closest country.