What is the highest surface area recorded in Canada?

The highest recorded value was 15.64 million sq. km in 1961.

What is the lowest surface area recorded in Canada?

The lowest recorded value was 15.63 million sq. km in 2021.

How does Canada rank for surface area?

Canada ranks 2nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023.

Is surface area rising or falling in Canada?

Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Surface area in Canada

Name: Surface area in Canada
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Canada: Surface area was 15.63 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

15.63 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

2nd

of 216 countries

All-time high

15.64 million sq. km

in 1961

All-time low

15.63 million sq. km

in 2021

Years of data

1961–2023

Surface area in Canada, 1961–2023

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

In 2023, surface area in Canada stood at 15.63 million sq. km. That is the lowest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, surface area in Canada peaked at 15.64 million sq. km in 1961 and was at its lowest, 15.63 million sq. km, in 2021.

Canada ranks 2nd of 216 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Surface area in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Surface area (sq. km) in Canada, 1961 to 2023.
Year	sq. km	Change
1961	15.64 million sq. km	—
1962	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1963	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1964	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1965	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1966	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1967	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1968	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1969	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1970	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1971	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1972	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1973	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1974	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1975	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1976	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1977	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1978	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1979	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1980	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1981	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1982	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1983	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1984	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1985	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1986	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1987	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1988	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1989	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1990	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1991	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1992	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1993	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1994	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1995	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1996	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1997	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1998	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
1999	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2000	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2001	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2002	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2003	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2004	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2005	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2006	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2007	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2008	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2009	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2010	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2011	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2012	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2013	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2014	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2015	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2016	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2017	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2018	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2019	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2020	15.64 million sq. km	+0.0%
2021	15.63 million sq. km	-0.0%
2022	15.63 million sq. km	+0.0%
2023	15.63 million sq. km	+0.0%

Canada compared with similar countries

Canada's 15.63 million sq. km is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,689 sq. km, 509.4× the median. (85 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	9
1970s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	10
1980s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	10
1990s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	10
2000s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	10
2010s	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	10
2020s	15.64 million sq. km	15.63 million sq. km	15.64 million sq. km	4

Countries ranked near Canada

1 Russia 17.13 million sq. km compare
3 United States 9.83 million sq. km compare
4 China 9.56 million sq. km compare
5 Brazil 8.51 million sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Canada

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 31.61 % change on previous year (2022)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0193 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2022)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,092 current US$ per person (2022)
Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0803 % change on previous year (2025)
Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Rural population, per capita 0.1712 units per person (2025)
Share of GDP from agriculture 1.9% (2022)
Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.9% (2022)
Agricultural raw materials exports 2.9% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2024)

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is surface area in Canada?: Surface area in Canada was 15.63 million sq. km in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest surface area recorded in Canada?: The highest recorded value was 15.64 million sq. km in 1961.
What is the lowest surface area recorded in Canada?: The lowest recorded value was 15.63 million sq. km in 2021.
How does Canada rank for surface area?: Canada ranks 2nd out of 216 countries with data for 2023.
Is surface area rising or falling in Canada?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Canada data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Surface area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Surface area in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/surface-area-sq-km/canada/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/surface-area-sq-km/canada/">Surface area in Canada</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Surface area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 264 places, 16,456 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 17 September 2026

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.