Inland Waters · Ranked

The Largest Lakes in the World

Natural lakes ranked by surface area, with territory and water-body type. Covers the 50 largest indexed in YearMaps.

How this is ranked: Areas are computed from mapped polygon geometry and are approximate. Several of the largest entries are endorheic — they drain to no ocean — which is why their surface area fluctuates with climate rather than staying fixed.

Entries Ranked: 50
Top Ranked: 425,231 km²
Runner-Up: 84,920 km²
Ranked By: Surface Area

The Largest Lakes in the World
#	Name	Surface Area	Type	Territory	Coordinates
1	Caspian Sea	425,231 km²	Inland Sea / Endorheic Lake	Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran	44.2°, 50.2°
2	Lake Superior	84,920 km²	Lake	—	47.9°, -87.0°
3	Lake Victoria	69,385 km²	Lake	—	-0.8°, 33.2°
4	Lake Huron	64,004 km²	Lake	—	44.7°, -82.4°
5	Lake Michigan	58,387 km²	Lake	—	43.0°, -87.0°
6	Lake Tanganyika	32,896 km²	Lake	—	-5.2°, 29.5°
7	Lake Baikal	32,120 km²	Lake	—	54.2°, 109.0°
8	Great Bear Lake	30,907 km²	Lake	—	66.0°, -120.4°
9	Lake Malawi	28,974 km²	Lake	—	-11.6°, 34.6°
10	Great Slave Lake	27,481 km²	Lake	—	61.3°, -114.8°
11	Lake Erie	25,815 km²	Lake	—	42.2°, -81.2°
12	Lake Winnipeg	25,237 km²	Lake	—	53.4°, -98.5°
13	Lake Ontario	19,732 km²	Lake	—	43.7°, -77.7°
14	Aral Sea	18,580 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	44.8°, 59.7°
15	Lake Ladoga	17,744 km²	Lake	—	60.8°, 31.6°
16	Lake Balkhash	17,551 km²	Lake	—	45.7°, 73.9°
17	Georgian Bay	13,897 km²	Lake	—	45.6°, -81.1°
18	Lake Saimaa	11,134 km²	Lake	—	61.4°, 28.0°
19	Lake Maracaibo	10,367 km²	Tidal Lake / Estuary	Venezuela	9.8°, -71.6°
20	Lake Onega	10,104 km²	Lake	—	61.7°, 35.5°
21	Lago de Nicaragua	8,172 km²	Lake	—	11.4°, -85.2°
22	Lake Eyre North	8,144 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	-28.4°, 137.3°
23	Lago Titicaca	8,135 km²	Lake	—	-15.7°, -69.5°
24	Lake Athabasca	8,047 km²	Lake	—	59.3°, -109.4°
25	Lake Turkana	7,747 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	3.8°, 36.0°
26	Reindeer Lake	6,875 km²	Lake	—	57.7°, -102.2°
27	Issyk-Kul	6,252 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	42.4°, 77.3°
28	Vänern	5,856 km²	Lake	—	59.0°, 13.6°
29	Lake Winnipegosis	5,486 km²	Lake	—	52.7°, -99.9°
30	Nettilling Lake	5,417 km²	Lake	—	66.6°, -70.7°
31	Lake Albert	5,404 km²	Lake	—	1.8°, 31.1°
32	Lake Torrens	5,158 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	-31.3°, 138.0°
33	Lac Moeru	5,057 km²	Lake	—	-9.0°, 28.7°
34	Lake Manitoba	4,820 km²	Lake	—	50.4°, -98.2°
35	Lake Nipigon	4,727 km²	Lake	—	49.8°, -88.4°
36	Lake Taymyr	4,622 km²	Lake	—	74.6°, 100.9°
37	Lake of the Woods	4,618 km²	Lake	—	49.1°, -94.9°
38	Qinghai Hu	4,457 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	36.9°, 100.2°
39	Lake Urmia	4,382 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	37.6°, 45.4°
40	Lake Gairdner	4,241 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	-31.6°, 136.0°
41	Great Salt Lake	4,233 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	41.3°, -112.7°
42	Pijnne	4,189 km²	Lake	—	61.5°, 25.4°
43	Lake Khanka	4,036 km²	Lake	—	45.1°, 132.5°
44	Lagoa Mirim	3,845 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	-32.6°, -52.8°
45	Dubawnt Lake	3,831 km²	Lake	—	63.1°, -101.5°
46	Sarygamysh Köli	3,810 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	41.9°, 57.4°
47	North Channel	3,768 km²	Lake	—	46.1°, -83.2°
48	Lake Mackay	3,594 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	-22.5°, 128.8°
49	Lake Van	3,503 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	38.6°, 42.7°
50	Uvs Nuur	3,302 km²	Alkaline Lake	—	50.3°, 92.7°

Rankings cover entities indexed in YearMaps and are derived from open geospatial data. See data sources.

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