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Countries by Inland Surface Water

Name the countries with at least 25,000 square kilometres of inland surface water.
Inland surface water is the total area of a country's lakes, rivers, and reservoirs
According to CIA World Factbook
Quiz by hwes
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Last updated: February 2, 2019
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First submittedAugust 2, 2013
Times taken83,300
Average score78.9%
Rating4.94
4:00
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km2
country
891,163
Canada
720,500
Russia
377,424
United States
314,070
India
270,550
China
157,630
Brazil
116,600
Iran
km2
country
100,210
Colombia
93,000
Indonesia
77,810
D.R. Congo
61,500
Tanzania
58,920
Australia
43,938
Uganda
km2
country
43,710
Argentina
39,960
Sweden
34,330
Finland
30,000
Venezuela
25,220
Pakistan
25,200
Kazakhstan
+83
Level 82
Aug 2, 2013
I got everything except for Columbia. Very surprised that Columbia University has that much water, unless you meant the District of Columbia- though that would be very surprising, too. If you told me the country of ColOmbia was on the list I wouldn't be surprised at all.
+57
Level 85
Aug 2, 2013
Changed to Colombia. Also added Columbia as a type in for those confused individuals such as myself.
+5
Level 71
Jun 30, 2021
Why anyone would be confused.
+20
Level 55
Jun 30, 2021
Not everyone is perfect
+9
Level 51
Apr 25, 2015
Perhaps British Columbia? But Canada is already on the list. ;)
+102
Level 64
Jun 26, 2016
There are nicer ways to point out a typo...
+110
Level 57
Nov 6, 2016
Kalbahamut doesn't do nice.
+9
Level 82
Nov 29, 2016
I wasn't being mean.
+98
Level 34
Nov 30, 2016
I don't believe there's a comment on this site from that guy that isn't supercilious.

We should all be thankful to be graced by his online presence.

+4
Level 64
Oct 28, 2018
I dont see how
+7
Level 82
Dec 2, 2018
matt: thanks so much for weighing in. It's very helpful for us that you publicly announce your opinions of others and the value of their comments. So glad that your humility didn't get the better of you and prevent you from sharing this assessment, as we have all benefited tremendously from your sagacious insight.
+2
Level 90
Jan 5, 2019
Kal, are you personal friends with the Quizmaster?
+1
Level 82
Jan 6, 2019
nope
+3
Level 37
Sep 5, 2020
ReyFer, Same here
+1
Level 69
Nov 29, 2016
:D
+34
Level 85
Nov 29, 2016
I thought kalbahamut was amusing, not mean.
+4
Level 78
Jun 30, 2021
Yeah, jokes of that nature are pretty common on this site, not sure why everyone got so mad about it.
+2
Level 50
Jul 15, 2022
Nice, @matt78 comment has 69 hearts, people of JetPunk, none should ruin it at all cost
+1
Level 56
May 27, 2023
🤓
+5
Level 76
May 9, 2014
What about countries bordering the Caspian Sea?
+5
Level 85
May 10, 2014
Good question. According to Wikipedia water area "is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines.[2] Territorial waters and exclusive economic zones are not included. Some entries may also include coastal waters, depending on source, notably on CIA sources."
+6
Level 71
Nov 7, 2014
Thats odd. What makes Uganda appear on this list if Lake Victoria doesn't count? :S
+6
Level 62
Sep 28, 2020
IIRC correctly the only reason the CIA includes those waters is because it makes the US bigger than China
+4
Level 85
Nov 7, 2014
Lake Victoria does count in the same way the great lakes count. An inland body of water that happens to be shared.
+2
Level 43
Nov 30, 2016
Political issues, but Russia and Iran both make the list regardless.
+8
Level 51
Nov 3, 2014
Along with the world's most fertile land and the amount of inland surface water, no wonder India has 1.3 Billion inhabitants.
+2
Level 77
Nov 3, 2014
Does data or a quiz exist about this with percentages? Which country has most of its area being water?
+1
Level 85
Nov 3, 2014
Not that I know of
+1
Level 50
Nov 3, 2014
This could be worked out with some data (perhaps from the same source, for consistency) on the land area of each country, if someone was willing to do that and turn it into a quiz.

All these countries are rather large except Uganda, which could well top it, unless there are some smaller countries with lots of water - I was surprised the UK wasn't included as it has loads of rivers, lochs, lakes etc.

+5
Level 76
Nov 3, 2014
+2
Level 66
Nov 3, 2014
Missed Philippines and Uganda.
+2
Level 66
Nov 3, 2014
I didn't think to try Indonesia or Philippines. I didn't think groups of islands like that would count, or that any actual inland bodies of water they would have would be very small since the islands themselves don't look that big. Huh.
+13
Level 82
Nov 10, 2014
They look much bigger up close.
+3
Level 66
Jan 5, 2019
"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it." (Steven Wright)
+1
Level 51
Apr 25, 2015
I was surprised by that, too, but randomly tried Indonesia, so I caught on.
+1
Level 82
Nov 29, 2016
Indonesia is the 14th largest country in the world by land area.
+2
Level 80
Feb 2, 2019
Other than sheer land area, the main reason I tried Indonesia is that I read an article recently about their major urban subsidence problems.
+1
Level 24
Apr 1, 2015
100% so easy!!!
+1
Level 74
Apr 3, 2015
Not sure how, but I put in Australia three times and misspelled it every single time. Sorry, Australians everywhere.
+1
Level 43
Feb 9, 2021
There was a chapter of the manga Yakitate Japan that confused Australia and Austria in an official English translation.
+1
Level 59
Nov 29, 2016
Splendid idea! Thanks!
+2
Level 50
Nov 29, 2016
you should accept braSil
+1
Level 79
Nov 23, 2019
But this isn't a Portuguese quiz
+2
Level 71
Dec 31, 2016
I should have guessed Indonesia, I nearly drowned in Lake Toba in Sumatra many years ago.
+1
Level 66
Feb 5, 2017
Is the Caspian Sea being counted in this?
+1
Level 85
Feb 5, 2017
This was discussed in the comments above. Essentially it doesn't matter since Iran and Russia already made the list.
+3
Level 43
Feb 9, 2021
But this could have put Azerbaijan on the list
+1
Level 57
Jun 22, 2017
Great Quiz! Check also my most recent:

- Inland Water Richest Countries on the World Map

This list countries bit different way.

+1
Level 57
Jun 22, 2017
Before the independence of South Sudan, the combined inland surface water of Sudan was about 130 000 sq kilometers, and the percentage of inland water of the total area was 5.18%. Due to the war, figures are not available of the two countries now. If we just knew their figures, at least another of them would be ranked high on this quiz.
+1
Level 45
Oct 24, 2018
maybe less time? I guessed most of the world and got a lot by luck. I think i guessed 120 countries.
+2
Level 82
Jan 5, 2019
Did the Philippines get taken off the list?
+1
Level 46
Jan 28, 2019
Australia? Really?
+1
Level 82
Feb 3, 2019
It's huge and some parts are quite wet. It could add up. It's still only 0.766 %
+1
Level 55
Jun 4, 2023
Look at a map. We have inland lakes that a huge and very wet tropical areas in the north.
+3
Level ∞
Feb 2, 2019
Note: I am not convinced by the CIA World Factbook's numbers. The number for India is almost definitely too high, for example. However, the Wikipedia article is flawed as well.
+1
Level 88
Feb 7, 2019
Doesn't seem far from reality to me. There are an awful lot of lakes. Also take into account some ocean inlets, and 10% sounds about right.
+1
Level 66
Nov 16, 2020
For inland waters, the bays/sounds/inlets/lagoons should be excluded. It seems that Venezuela has included Lake Maracaibo although it is a "tidal bay".
+1
Level 78
Jun 30, 2021
If bays/sounds/lagoons are excluded, then the Hudson River up to Albany since it is tidal, the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River up to DC since it is tidal, Delaware Bay, the Delaware River after Philadelphia, the Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, and Lake Pontchartrain should all be excluded since they are tidal.
+11
Level 48
May 5, 2019
Does this count the kiddie pool in my back yard?
+1
Level 79
Nov 23, 2019
I shouldn't think so, since your kiddeypool isn't a country, and it definitely isn't quite big enough to be counted anyway even if it were.
+1
Level 79
Jan 9, 2021
And if you mean whether the surface area of your pool is included in the calculations, I would also say no
+7
Level 78
Apr 7, 2021
Jack, you have a highly developed sense of humour. So highly developed that it is hardly noticeable.
+1
Level 79
Dec 9, 2023
Behold EcceHomo, the site grump.
+2
Level 67
Jul 4, 2021
Man Jack, you are juust hilarious
+1
Level 66
May 11, 2020
Very surprised to see Australia here. I wonder if it includes the large salt lakes, Lake Eyre and Lake Torrens, which usually only have water in them for a couple of months in the year.
+2
Level 65
Jan 21, 2021
I’m not sure, but wouldn’t ice count too?
+1
Level 62
Jul 2, 2021
Just wait and see---soon it will melt and become water.
+1
Level 54
Jun 30, 2021
Got Uganda but missed Tanzania oof
+2
Level 71
Jul 2, 2021
Wow, I just wildly guessed Uganda not expecting it to work...and then it did!
+1
Level 65
Jun 4, 2023
Lake Victoria
+1
Level 75
Nov 19, 2021
I was expecting this to be a quiz where it gives you the name of a lake or river and you have to type the country it's in. When I opened it and saw all the numbers I was just totally baffled for a few seconds!

Nice quiz though :)

+2
Level 28
Jun 4, 2023
why in the world did i get uganda but not brazil?
+1
Level 67
Jun 4, 2023
2:20, easier than I expected
+1
Level 68
Jun 6, 2023
Last one Uganda with 7 seconds left XD