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Lakes Ranked by Surface area

Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Surface area. Figures can vary with water level and season. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Caspian Sea ranks #1 with 386,400 km². That is 3.3 times Lake Michigan–Huron in second place (117,600 km²). The top five are Caspian Sea, Lake Michigan–Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Tauca and Lake Victoria. The median across all 100 is 3,717 km²; Proper Saimaa is last at 1,490 km².

#1
Caspian Sea · 386,400 km²
Median
3,717 km²
Coverage
100 lakes
Data year
As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Surface areaBar chart of the top 10: 1. Caspian Sea 386,400; 2. Lake Michigan–Huron 117,600; 3. Lake Superior 82,350; 4. Lake Tauca 80,000; 5. Lake Victoria 68,100; 6. Lake Huron 59,600; 7. Lake Michigan 57,750; 8. Lake Tanganyika 32,900; 9. Lake Baikal 31,722; 10. Great Bear Lake 31,153.Caspian Sea386,400Lake Michigan–Huron117,600Lake Superior82,350Lake Tauca80,000Lake Victoria68,100Lake Huron59,600Lake Michigan57,750Lake Tanganyika32,900Lake Baikal31,722Great Bear Lake31,153
Top 10: Surface area (km²). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Caspian Sea 386,400; 2. Lake Michigan–Huron 117,600; 3. Lake Superior 82,350; 4. Lake Tauca 80,000; 5. Lake Victoria 68,100; 6. Lake Huron 59,600; 7. Lake Michigan 57,750; 8. Lake Tanganyika 32,900; 9. Lake Baikal 31,722; 10. Great Bear Lake 31,153.

Full ranking

Lakes Ranked by Surface area
RankLakeLocationSurface area (km²)
1Caspian SeaRussian Federation, Azerbaijan386,400
2Lake Michigan–HuronUnited States, Canada117,600
3Lake SuperiorCanada, United States82,350
4Lake TaucaPeru80,000
5Lake VictoriaKenya, Tanzania68,100
6Lake HuronCanada, United States59,600
7Lake MichiganUnited States57,750
8Lake TanganyikaTanzania, Zambia32,900
9Lake BaikalRussian Federation31,722
10Great Bear LakeCanada31,153
11Lake PtolemySudan30,750
12Lake MalawiTanzania, Malawi29,600
13Lake ErieCanada, United States25,744
14Lake WinnipegCanada24,400
15Lake BalkhashKazakhstan18,740
16Lake OntarioCanada, United States18,529
17Lake LadogaRussian Federation17,700
18Lake MaracaiboVenezuela, RB13,210
19Juyan LakeChina10,000
20Lagoa dos PatosBrazil10,000
21Lake BangweuluZambia9,840
22Lake OnegaRussian Federation9,800
23Kati Thanda–Lake EyreAustralia9,300
24Devils LakeUnited States8,599
25TiticacaPeru, Bolivia8,562
26Lake NicaraguaNicaragua8,264
27Lake AthabascaCanada7,850
28Reindeer LakeCanada6,500
29Issyk-KulKyrgyz Republic6,236
30VänernSweden5,650
31Lake AlbertCongo, Dem. Rep., Uganda5,270
32Lake WinnipegosisCanada5,164
33Poyang LakeChina5,100
34Nettilling LakeCanada5,051
35Lake AğgölAzerbaijan5,000
36Lake MackayAustralia4,737
37Lake MweruZambia, Congo, Dem. Rep.4,650
38Lake ManitobaCanada4,624
39TaymyrRussian Federation4,560
40SaimaaFinland4,400
41Qinghai LakeChina4,400
42Dongting LakeChina4,350
43Lake of the WoodsCanada, United States4,350
44Lake GairdnerAustralia4,350
45Sobradinho ReservoirBrazil4,220
46KhankaChina, Russian Federation4,190
47Arnasai LakesUzbekistan4,000
48Lagoa MirimUruguay, Brazil3,994
49Sarygamysh LakeUzbekistan, Turkmenistan3,955
50Dubawnt LakeCanada3,833
51Lake TanaEthiopia3,600
52Lake PeipusRussian Federation, Estonia3,543
53North Aral SeaKazakhstan3,300
54Amadjuak LakeCanada3,115
55Lake MelvilleCanada3,069
56Aydar LakeUzbekistan3,000
57Lake ThartharIraq2,710
58Lake KivuCongo, Dem. Rep., Rwanda2,700
59Tonle SapCambodia2,700
60Lake AlakolKazakhstan2,650
61Iliamna LakeUnited States2,622
62Lake FromeAustralia2,596
63Rawa Pening LakeIndonesia2,585
64Gowd-e ZerahAfghanistan2,418
65HuuhtijärviFinland2,416
66Hulun LakeChina2,399
67Lake MistassiniCanada2,335
68Lake Mai-NdombeCongo, Dem. Rep.2,300
69Lake TaiChina2,250
70Salar de CoipasaChile, Bolivia2,218
71Southern Indian LakeCanada2,200
72Lake EdwardCongo, Dem. Rep., Uganda2,150
73Lac Courte OreillesUnited States2,039
74Nueltin LakeCanada2,033
75VembanadIndia2,033
76Lake TexcocoMexico2,000
77Lake ChanyRussian Federation2,000
78Chott Ech CherguiAlgeria2,000
79Hongze LakeChina1,960
80NamtsoChina1,920
81VätternSweden1,893
82Lake OkeechobeeUnited States1,890
83Baker LakeCanada1,887
84Lake ZaysanKazakhstan1,860
85Lake General Carrera/Buenos AiresChile, Argentina1,850
86IiruunjärviFinland1,843
87Lake PontchartrainUnited States1,839
88ShalkartenizKazakhstan1,800
89Gødstrup LakeDenmark1,718
90Lac La MartreCanada1,687
91Siling LakeChina1,640
92Sovetskaya1,600
93Lake CowanAustralia1,600
94Lake TengizKazakhstan1,590
95Khar-Us LakeMongolia1,578
96GuhkesjávriNorway1,572
97Lake ChadChad, Cameroon1,540
98Kumpupintil LakeAustralia1,500
99Lake Mweru WantipaZambia1,500
100Proper SaimaaFinland1,490

About the top 10

#1 Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea ranks #1 on this list with 386,400 km².

Countries
Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Islamic Rep., Turkmenistan
Length
1,200 km
Elevation
-28 m
Area
386,400 km²
Maximum depth
211 m

Also ranks #3 in volume · #3 in maximum depth.

Full lake profile

#4 Lake Tauca

Lake Tauca ranks #4 on this list with 80,000 km².

Country
Peru
Elevation
3,770 m
Area
80,000 km²
Maximum depth
100 m

Full lake profile

#5 Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria ranks #5 on this list with 68,100 km².

Countries
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Length
337 km
Elevation
1,133 m
Area
68,100 km²
Maximum depth
83 m

Also ranks #16 in volume.

Full lake profile

#8 Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika ranks #8 on this list with 32,900 km².

Countries
Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, Congo, Dem. Rep.
Length
673 km
Elevation
773 m
Area
32,900 km²
Maximum depth
570 m

Also ranks #2 in maximum depth · #7 in volume.

Full lake profile

Profile facts: Wikidata (CC0).

Related rankings

Source and method

Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Surface area. Figures can vary with water level and season.

Source: Wikidata. Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain). Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

Data: Wikidata (CC0)

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: Wikidata. All licences: Sources & licences.