What is the highest surface area recorded in North America?

The highest recorded value was 25.48 million sq. km in 2013.

What is the lowest surface area recorded in North America?

The lowest recorded value was 25.27 million sq. km in 1961.

How does North America rank for surface area?

North America ranks 14th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.

Is surface area rising or falling in North America?

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

Surface area (sq. km) in North America

Name: Surface area (sq. km) in North America
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)

North America: Surface area (sq. km) was 25.47 million sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

25.47 million sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

Rank

14th

of 47 groups

All-time high

25.48 million sq. km

in 2013

All-time low

25.27 million sq. km

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Surface area in North America, 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

North America recorded 25.47 million sq. km for surface area in 2023.

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

Over the whole period, surface area in North America peaked at 25.48 million sq. km in 2013 and was at its lowest, 25.27 million sq. km, in 1961.

That places North America 14th out of 47 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

Surface area (sq. km) in North America, year by year

Annual values for Surface area (sq. km) in North America, 1961 to 2023.
Year	sq. km	Change
1961	25.27 million sq. km	—
1962	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1963	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1964	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1965	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1966	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1967	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1968	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1969	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1970	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1971	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1972	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1973	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1974	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1975	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1976	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1977	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1978	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1979	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1980	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1981	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1982	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1983	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1984	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1985	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1986	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1987	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1988	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1989	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1990	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1991	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1992	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1993	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1994	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1995	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1996	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1997	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1998	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
1999	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2000	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2001	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2002	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2003	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2004	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2005	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2006	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2007	25.27 million sq. km	+0.0%
2008	25.47 million sq. km	+0.8%
2009	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
2010	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
2011	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
2012	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
2013	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2014	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2015	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2016	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2017	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2018	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2019	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2020	25.48 million sq. km	+0.0%
2021	25.47 million sq. km	-0.0%
2022	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%
2023	25.47 million sq. km	+0.0%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	9
1970s	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	10
1980s	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	10
1990s	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	10
2000s	25.31 million sq. km	25.27 million sq. km	25.47 million sq. km	10
2010s	25.48 million sq. km	25.47 million sq. km	25.48 million sq. km	10
2020s	25.47 million sq. km	25.47 million sq. km	25.48 million sq. km	4

Countries ranked near North America

11 Democratic Republic of Congo 2.35 million sq. km compare
12 Saudi Arabia 2.15 million sq. km compare
13 Mexico 1.96 million sq. km compare
14 Indonesia 1.92 million sq. km compare
15 Sudan 1.88 million sq. km compare
16 Libya 1.76 million sq. km compare
17 Iran 1.75 million sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 264 places →

More agriculture & rural data for North America

Rural population, per capita 0.1951 units per person (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 691.3 current US$ per person (2021)
Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1578 % change on previous year (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 256.06 billion current US$ (2021)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.0% (2021)
Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Rural population growth 0.2% (2025)
Agricultural raw materials imports 0.7% (2025)
Rural population 19.5% (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0099 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2021)

All data for North America →

Frequently asked questions

What is surface area in North America?: Surface area in North America was 25.47 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 North America?: The highest recorded value was 25.48 million sq. km in 2013.
What is the lowest surface area recorded in North America?: The lowest recorded value was 25.27 million sq. km in 1961.
How does North America rank for surface area?: North America ranks 14th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
Is surface area rising or falling in North America?: Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this North America 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.

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Surface area in North America. 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 12 November 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/stat/surface-area-sq-km/north-america/

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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, 16,669 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed: 12 November 2026

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