Photo: Pixabay The number may vary depending on the source. But according to the United Nations, there are currently 193 countries across the world. Do you know which of these are the largest countries in the world?Learning more about geography and culture is part of the routine of many people who take language courses. The reason? Get the most information and knowledge about countries in the world for travel and exchanges.
The largest countries in the world have many similarities between them. For example, these large countries are characterized by the heterogeneity of their populations and it is common for more than one language – sometimes dozens – to be spoken within their territory. Intense historical transformations are also part of the processes of formation as a State, which produces a very plural culture.
However, when we look deeper into the characteristics and details of these countries, we realize that there are also many peculiarities between them. In essence, we are talking about quite complex and fascinating nations.
Below, see which are the largest countries in the world and some of their main facts and characteristics.
1. Russia – 17,098,242 km² We often say (and hear) that Brazil is a country of continental proportions and one of the largest in the world, right? None of this is wrong, but the fact is that Russia has twice the territorial size of Brazil. In other words, the country is huge and it is even difficult to imagine its true proportions.
Russia is located in an area that includes the eastern part of Europe and extends to the tip of Asia. For this reason, it is common to say that it is a country that occupies Eurasia. Considering its territorial extension, the country is covered by 11 time zones and has a very significant population, estimated at 145,102,755 inhabitants.
In total, there are more than 120 ethnic groups and, as a result, a huge diversity of languages, dialects, religions, cultures – and inevitably some conflicts. For this reason, the Russian Federation is an entity with several autonomous republics, such as Chechnya, Mordovia, Dagestan and Bashkortostan.
Russia is also a country rich in land and energy resources and is the main supplier of oil and gas to several countries. Despite its enormous size, the Russians still lay claim to several areas. In 2014, they invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, which until then was Ukrainian territory. The country is currently going through a devastating war with neighboring Ukraine, in an attempt to annex even more territories.
2. Canada – 9,984,670 km² Despite occupying second place in the ranking of the largest countries in the world, Canada has only 38 million inhabitants. The country is characterized by many natural landscapes and vast areas of environmental conservation, with forests and other vegetation stretching for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
Inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years, European occupation began at the end of the 15th century, when British, French and Portuguese expeditions occupied the region. The first two left a greater legacy for the country, which is currently divided into regions with predominantly English and French cultures and languages.
Seeking to increase its production capacity, the country is very open to qualified immigrants and has a very flexible economy. Canada is also characterized by its strong investments in education and technology, which guarantees a dynamic market and a high level of quality of life for its residents.
Want more characteristics of this nation? Canada is a reference in urban mobility, the use of clean and renewable energy and cycling as a means of transport. Currently, one of the biggest challenges facing the government is the country's accelerated aging process, given its low birth rates.
3. China – 9,596,960 km² China is the third largest country in the world in terms of territorial expansion – and the second largest in terms of global economy. The population is surprising and reaches almost 1.5 billion inhabitants. For comparison purposes, this number is almost double the population of Brazil, Russia, the United States and Canada combined!
From a practically feudal country devastated by foreign invasions at the turn of the 20th century, China reached the 21st century in an accelerated process of economic and social development, the result of a series of government projects implemented to the letter over decades.
Therefore, some say that the communist nation is fighting a “Cold War 2.0” with the Americans. And indeed, there are ongoing economic, political and military tensions between the two most powerful countries in the world.
One of the main challenges for the Chinese is to limit pollutant emissions and strengthen their domestic consumption market. The country has been a reference in the production and export of industrialized products for decades and is slowly transforming this reality.
To face environmental problems, China has encouraged the creation of green areas and the promotion of the use of clean energy, with a focus on the growing number of electric cars in the country.
4. United States – 9,833,517 km² (or 7,824,535 km²) Here we have a problem. The total territorial expansion of the United States is, as shown above, greater than that of China. However, this calculation takes into account territorial and coastal waters and the Great Lakes regions. If we only talk about territorial area, the real number is 7,824,535 km².
The United States is the greatest economic, military and cultural power in the world. Despite having similarities in their historical-political formation process with Brazil, the two countries had very different destinies.
Like our country, North Americans have a wide variety of ethnicities, populations and cultures. The presence of indigenous, African and European natives is similar to what we see here.
Explaining North America's economic success is a very complex task, but we can say that its strong export power, combined with a solid domestic market, is one of the main reasons.
A curious fact about the country is that, although English is the language most spoken by the population, it is not an official language in the United States. Contrary to popular belief, the Constitution does not identify any language as official.
5. Brazil – 8,510,345 km² Ah, Brazil! Our country needs no introduction, right? After all, we are all Brazilians and we know our little corner. But do you know how Brazil became the fifth largest country in the world?
This is due to its formation during the period of Portuguese colonization. Originally, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, Portugal only had the right to occupy a narrow coastal strip in what we now call Brazil.
However, to exploit its natural resources, Europe's colonists increasingly moved deeper into the continent, through regions that effectively belonged to the Spanish. It turns out that Spain couldn't get into these places because it was too busy exploring the silver and gold available on the Pacific coast of South America. Furthermore, the Andes Mountains, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world, represented an insurmountable obstacle at the time.
Combine this information with the fact that Brazil was owned by Spain through the Iberian Union for several decades, and we have the beginning of the recipe that explains our size. When Portugal regained independence from the Spanish and returned to colonizing Brazil, several agreements were made so that the lands already occupied by Brazilians remained in the possession of the Portuguese crown.
Centuries later, as Brazil became an independent empire, several revolts arose and attempts to separate parts of the national territory to create new countries. However, the Brazilian army and emperors D. Pedro I and D. Pedro II managed to maintain national unity, while Spanish America was fragmented into dozens of small countries.