Least developed countries: UN classification | Surface area (sq. km)

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways. Development relevance: Total surface area is particularly important for understanding an economy's agricultural capacity and the environmental effects of human activity. Innovations in satellite mapping and computer databases have resulted in more precise measurements of land and water areas. Population, surface area, income, and output are basic measures of the size of an economy. They also provide a broad indication of actual and potential resources. Land area is therefore used as one of the major indicator to normalize other indicators. Limitations and exceptions: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through annual questionnaires. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. The data collected from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations. Statistical concept and methodology: Total land area includes inland water bodies such as major rivers and lakes. Variations from year to year may be due to updated or revised data rather than to change in area. Including areas of former states; for example, the areas of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) are counted in Russian Federationand other successor states.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source
Least developed countries: UN classification | Surface area (sq. km)
1960
1961 20768411
1962 20768411
1963 20768411
1964 20768411
1965 20768411
1966 20768411
1967 20768411
1968 20768411
1969 20768411
1970 20768411
1971 20768411
1972 20768411
1973 20768411
1974 20768411
1975 20768411
1976 20768411
1977 20768411
1978 20768411
1979 20768411
1980 20768411
1981 20768411
1982 20768411
1983 20768411
1984 20768411
1985 20768411
1986 20768411
1987 20768411
1988 20768411
1989 20768411
1990 20768411
1991 20768411
1992 20768411
1993 20768411
1994 20761488
1995 20761488
1996 20761488
1997 20761488
1998 20761488
1999 20761488
2000 20761488
2001 20761488
2002 20761488
2003 20761488
2004 20795839.114
2005 20795838.169
2006 20795807.93
2007 20795775.599
2008 20795792.542
2009 20795804.862
2010 20795799.451
2011 20796078.029
2012 20815144.533
2013 20815112.412
2014 20814268.958
2015 20814322.541
2016 20814309.92
2017 20814651.283
2018 20814246.383
2019 20814250.118
2020 20814208.871
2021 20814208.871
2022

Least developed countries: UN classification | Surface area (sq. km)

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways. Development relevance: Total surface area is particularly important for understanding an economy's agricultural capacity and the environmental effects of human activity. Innovations in satellite mapping and computer databases have resulted in more precise measurements of land and water areas. Population, surface area, income, and output are basic measures of the size of an economy. They also provide a broad indication of actual and potential resources. Land area is therefore used as one of the major indicator to normalize other indicators. Limitations and exceptions: The data are collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through annual questionnaires. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods, but complete consistency across countries and over time is not possible. The data collected from official national sources through the questionnaire are supplemented with information from official secondary data sources. The secondary sources cover official country data from websites of national ministries, national publications and related country data reported by various international organizations. Statistical concept and methodology: Total land area includes inland water bodies such as major rivers and lakes. Variations from year to year may be due to updated or revised data rather than to change in area. Including areas of former states; for example, the areas of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) are counted in Russian Federationand other successor states.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Least developed countries: UN classification
Records
63
Source