How does water vs land area affect country rankings

The distinction between water and land area is the single most important factor in the rankings of the world's largest countries, especially for Canada.

Canada has the world's largest surface area of freshwater (lakes and rivers), totaling nearly 900,000 km². This is more than the entire land area of Pakistan.

Case Study: Canada vs. China & USA

• By LAND Area Only: As noted before, Canada (~9.1 million km²) ranks 4th, behind Russia, China, and the United States.
• By TOTAL Area (Land + Water): Canada's massive freshwater area is added, bringing its total to 9,984,670 km². This is larger than the total area of China (~9.6 million km²) and the total area of the United States (~9.5 million km²).

The inclusion of its vast inland water area is what propels Canada from the 4th largest country (by land) to the 2nd largest country (by total area) in the world.