What is the largest body of water in the world?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on Earth. Wikipedia’s figures put it at 168.7 million square kilometres (about 65.1 million square miles), 46.6% of the world’s ocean area and half of its water by volume [2]. It is bigger than all of Earth’s land put together (our arithmetic: the ocean covers 70.8% of the surface, which leaves roughly 149 million square kilometres of land) [2]. In total, ocean water covers about 361 million square kilometres [2].
Strictly, there is only one global ocean. NOAA describes the five named oceans as regions of a single connected body of salt water [3]. Ranking the “largest bodies of water” therefore means ranking those named regions, then the seas, lakes and rivers within and beside them, which is how the Tower Paddle Boards infographic above groups its 50 entries [1].
The five oceans ranked by size
| Rank | Ocean | Area, km² | Area, sq mi (approx.) | Share of ocean area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pacific | 168,723,000 | 65.1 million | 46.6% |
| 2 | Atlantic | 85,133,000 | 32.9 million | 23.5% |
| 3 | Indian | 70,560,000 | 27.2 million | 19.5% |
| 4 | Southern (Antarctic) | 21,960,000 | 8.5 million | 6.1% |
| 5 | Arctic | 15,558,000 | 6.0 million | 4.3% |
Square miles are our conversion of Wikipedia’s square kilometre figures [2]. Ocean areas vary between sources because there is no agreed line where one ocean ends and another begins, or whether marginal seas count. The infographic, for example, gives 60 million square miles for the Pacific and 41 million for the Atlantic [1]; the order is the same, but the Atlantic figure is well above the 32.9 million in the table. The Southern Ocean, which runs from Antarctica to 60 degrees south, is now recognised by most countries, including the United States, though its limits have not been ratified by the International Hydrographic Organization [3].
The largest seas
Seas are smaller parts of the ocean, usually partly enclosed by land. The largest is the Philippine Sea, at about 2.2 million square miles, followed by the Coral Sea (about 1.85 million) and the Arabian Sea (about 1.49 million) [1]. The rest of the top ten on the infographic are the South China Sea, Weddell Sea, Caribbean Sea, Tasman Sea, Bay of Bengal, Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk, all between roughly 600,000 and 1.35 million square miles [1]. The Gulf of Mexico, at about 600,000 square miles, just misses the top ten.
The largest lakes
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest lake, at about 389,000 square kilometres (150,000 square miles) [4]. It is called a sea because it is salty and so large, but it is completely enclosed by land, bordered by Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Russia. Geologists note that it sits on oceanic crust, which is why some treat it as a small ocean rather than a lake [4].
| Rank | Lake | Area, km² | Area, sq mi | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caspian Sea | 389,000 | 150,000 | Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia |
| 2 | Superior | 82,100 | 31,700 | Canada, US |
| 3 | Victoria | 59,940 | 23,140 | Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya |
| 4 | Huron | 59,570 | 23,000 | Canada, US |
| 5 | Michigan | 57,800 | 22,300 | US |
| 6 | Tanganyika | 32,900 | 12,700 | Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia |
| 7 | Baikal | 31,722 | 12,248 | Russia |
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by surface area. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the largest by volume, holding 23,610 cubic kilometres, and it is also the deepest lake in the world at 1,642 metres [4]. Lake Michigan is the largest lake that lies entirely within one country [4]. The infographic gives Lake Victoria 26,590 square miles [1], an older and larger figure than the 23,140 square miles Wikipedia now uses; either way it ranks third.
The longest rivers
Rivers are measured by length rather than area, and as river systems: the longest chain of connected rivers from the sea to the farthest source. On that basis the Nile is the longest at about 6,650 km (4,130 miles), just ahead of the Amazon at about 6,400 km (3,976 miles) [5]. The Yangtze (3,917 miles) and the Mississippi-Missouri system (3,902 miles) come next, and the infographic’s figures match these [1][5].
The Nile and Amazon order is not settled. Measuring a river depends on which source counts as the start and where the mouth ends, and some studies give the Amazon as the longer river; Wikipedia’s list also shows alternative lengths of 7,088 km for the Nile and 6,575 km for the Amazon [5]. By volume of water there is no contest: the Amazon’s average discharge, about 230,000 cubic metres a second, is far greater than any other river’s [5].
The largest bodies of water in the United States
The largest body of water wholly or partly in the US is Lake Superior, shared with Canada. The largest seas on US coasts are the Bering Sea off Alaska, at about 772,000 square miles, and the Gulf of Mexico, at about 600,000 square miles [1]. Lake Michigan is the largest lake entirely inside the country, and the Mississippi-Missouri is the longest river system in North America [4][5].
Questions about the largest bodies of water
What are the 5 largest bodies of water in the world?
The five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic, in that order [2].
What is the largest body of water that is not an ocean?
The Philippine Sea is the largest sea, at about 2.2 million square miles [1]. The largest enclosed body of water is the Caspian Sea, a lake of about 150,000 square miles [4].
Is the Caspian Sea a lake or a sea?
It is conventionally counted as the world’s largest lake, because it is enclosed by land. Its water is salty and it sits on oceanic crust, so geologists sometimes describe it as a small ocean [4].
What is the largest freshwater lake in the world?
Lake Superior by surface area, at 82,100 square kilometres. Lake Baikal by volume, with 23,610 cubic kilometres of water [4].
How much of the Earth is covered by water?
About 71% of Earth’s surface is covered by ocean, around 361 million square kilometres [2].
Sources
- Tower Paddle Boards, The 50 Largest Bodies of Water Ranked by Size, the original infographic.
- Wikipedia, Ocean (oceans by size table).
- NOAA National Ocean Service, How many oceans are there?.
- Wikipedia, List of lakes by area.
- Wikipedia, List of river systems by length.
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
