Country records

The extremes of all 195 countries — every one of them computed from the same bundled dataset the game's clues are tested against, so a record here and a clue on the board can never disagree. Each note spells out the interpretation the number depends on, because for most of these that is the whole ballgame.

Most land borders

Which country has the most land borders? Russia, at 14 neighbours. Land borders between sovereign states, over integral territory — the same rule the game's border clues use.

  1. 1 Russia14 neighbours
  2. 2 China14 neighbours
  3. 3 France10 neighbours
  4. 4 Brazil10 neighbours
  5. 5 Germany9 neighbours
  6. 6 DR Congo9 neighbours
  7. 7 Austria8 neighbours
  8. 8 Serbia8 neighbours
  9. 9 Turkey8 neighbours
  10. 10 Tanzania8 neighbours

Largest by area

What is the largest country in the world? Russia, at 17,098,242 km². Total area including inland water.

  1. 1 Russia17,098,242 km²
  2. 2 Canada9,984,670 km²
  3. 3 United States9,833,517 km²
  4. 4 China9,596,960 km²
  5. 5 Brazil8,515,770 km²
  6. 6 Australia7,741,220 km²
  7. 7 India3,287,263 km²
  8. 8 Argentina2,780,400 km²
  9. 9 Kazakhstan2,724,900 km²
  10. 10 Algeria2,381,741 km²

Smallest by area

What is the smallest country in the world? Monaco, at 2 km². Total area including inland water.

  1. 1 Monaco2 km²
  2. 2 Nauru21 km²
  3. 3 Tuvalu26 km²
  4. 4 San Marino61 km²
  5. 5 Liechtenstein160 km²
  6. 6 Marshall Islands181 km²
  7. 7 Saint Kitts and Nevis261 km²
  8. 8 Maldives298 km²
  9. 9 Malta316 km²
  10. 10 Grenada344 km²

Most populous

Which country has the largest population? India, at 1,438 million. Rounded estimates — see the note on each country profile.

  1. 1 India1,438 million
  2. 2 China1,411 million
  3. 3 United States335 million
  4. 4 Indonesia279 million
  5. 5 Pakistan241 million
  6. 6 Nigeria227 million
  7. 7 Brazil216 million
  8. 8 Bangladesh173 million
  9. 9 Russia143.8 million
  10. 10 Mexico129.7 million

Most densely populated

Which country is the most densely populated? Monaco, at 20,000 per km². People per km² over total area, so countries with a lot of inland water rank slightly lower than they otherwise would.

  1. 1 Monaco20,000 per km²
  2. 2 Singapore8,206 per km²
  3. 3 Bahrain1,908 per km²
  4. 4 Maldives1,745 per km²
  5. 5 Malta1,741 per km²
  6. 6 Bangladesh1,172 per km²
  7. 7 Barbados651 per km²
  8. 8 Taiwan647 per km²
  9. 9 Mauritius618 per km²
  10. 10 Lebanon555 per km²

Most sparsely populated

Which country is the most sparsely populated? Mongolia, at 2.2 per km². People per km² over total area.

  1. 1 Mongolia2.2 per km²
  2. 2 Namibia3.2 per km²
  3. 3 Australia3.4 per km²
  4. 4 Suriname3.8 per km²
  5. 5 Iceland3.8 per km²
  6. 6 Guyana3.8 per km²
  7. 7 Libya4.0 per km²
  8. 8 Canada4.0 per km²
  9. 9 Botswana4.3 per km²
  10. 10 Mauritania4.8 per km²

Highest peak

Which country has the highest mountain? China, at 8,849 m. Elevation of the highest point within the country's integral territory.

  1. 1 China8,849 m
  2. 2 Nepal8,849 m
  3. 3 Pakistan8,611 m
  4. 4 India8,586 m
  5. 5 Bhutan7,570 m
  6. 6 Tajikistan7,495 m
  7. 7 Afghanistan7,492 m
  8. 8 Kyrgyzstan7,439 m
  9. 9 Kazakhstan6,995 m
  10. 10 Argentina6,961 m

Lowest high point

Which country is the flattest? Maldives, at 5 m. The highest point in the whole country — these are the flattest states on Earth.

  1. 1 Maldives5 m
  2. 2 Tuvalu5 m
  3. 3 Marshall Islands10 m
  4. 4 Gambia53 m
  5. 5 Bahamas63 m
  6. 6 Nauru71 m
  7. 7 Kiribati81 m
  8. 8 Qatar103 m
  9. 9 Bahrain134 m
  10. 10 Monaco161 m

Most time zones

Which country spans the most time zones? France, at 12 zones. Distinct standard (non-DST) UTC offsets across integral territory — overseas territories are excluded, which is why France is not at the top.

  1. 1 France12 zones
  2. 2 Russia11 zones
  3. 3 Canada6 zones
  4. 4 United States6 zones
  5. 5 Mexico4 zones
  6. 6 Brazil4 zones
  7. 7 Indonesia3 zones
  8. 8 Chile3 zones
  9. 9 Australia3 zones
  10. 10 Kiribati3 zones

Most official languages

Which country has the most official languages? Ethiopia, at Amharic, Oromo, Somali, Afar, Tigrinya. Official (or de facto official) languages, truncated to the main four in the dataset.

  1. 1 EthiopiaAmharic, Oromo, Somali, Afar, Tigrinya
  2. 2 SwitzerlandGerman, French, Italian, Romansh
  3. 3 SingaporeEnglish, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil
  4. 4 RwandaKinyarwanda, English, French, Swahili
  5. 5 South AfricaEnglish, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa
  6. 6 BoliviaSpanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani
  7. 7 BelgiumDutch, French, German
  8. 8 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnian, Croatian, Serbian
  9. 9 LuxembourgLuxembourgish, French, German
  10. 10 BurundiKirundi, French, English

Longest names

Which country has the longest name? Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, at 28 letters. Common English short names, counting letters only.

  1. 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines28 letters
  2. 2 Central African Republic22 letters
  3. 3 Bosnia and Herzegovina20 letters
  4. 4 United Arab Emirates18 letters
  5. 5 São Tomé and Príncipe18 letters
  6. 6 Saint Kitts and Nevis18 letters
  7. 7 Antigua and Barbuda17 letters
  8. 8 Dominican Republic17 letters
  9. 9 Trinidad and Tobago17 letters
  10. 10 Equatorial Guinea16 letters

Shortest names

Which country has the shortest name? Iran, at 4 letters. Common English short names, counting letters only.

  1. 1 Iran4 letters
  2. 2 Iraq4 letters
  3. 3 Laos4 letters
  4. 4 Oman4 letters
  5. 5 Chad4 letters
  6. 6 Mali4 letters
  7. 7 Togo4 letters
  8. 8 Cuba4 letters
  9. 9 Peru4 letters
  10. 10 Fiji4 letters

Facts reviewed June 2025.