The Largest Regions in the World

Sub-Saharan Africa to the Balkans, ranked by area.

The regions geographers actually use — cultural ones like Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, and physical ones like Siberia, Amazonia, and the Sahel — ranked by the area they cover. Their edges are argued over, so treat the figures as the conventional extent rather than a surveyed border.

#	Place	Area (sq mi)
1	Sub-Saharan Africa The African world that begins where the Sahara ends	9,382,279 sq mi 24,300,000 km²
2	Latin America A region defined by language, not by latitude	7,764,897 sq mi 20,111,000 km²
3	The Arab World Twenty-two states bound by a language rather than a border	5,077,241 sq mi 13,150,000 km²
4	The Middle East A region named from somewhere else, and still argued over	2,818,545 sq mi 7,300,000 km²
5	The Maghreb Northwest Africa, the island between the sea and the sand	2,335,917 sq mi 6,050,000 km²
6	The Indian Subcontinent South Asia, walled off by mountains and thrown out to sea	1,764,486 sq mi 4,570,000 km²
7	The African Great Lakes The rift lakes and the crowded, contested states around them	1,610,045 sq mi 4,170,000 km²
8	The Southern Cone The temperate tail of South America, and the argument over who is in it	1,590,535 sq mi 4,119,469 km²
9	The Nordic Countries Five states, three autonomous territories, and one stubborn social model	1,322,710 sq mi 3,425,804 km²
10	Indochina The mainland Southeast Asian peninsula, and a name under review	749,038 sq mi 1,940,000 km²
11	The Horn of Africa The African peninsula that juts toward Arabia	725,872 sq mi 1,880,000 km²
12	Central Europe A region whose membership has always been a political argument	400,317 sq mi 1,036,817 km²
13	Mesoamerica The cultural hearth where the Americas invented the city	386,102 sq mi 1,000,000 km²
14	Mesopotamia The land between the rivers, where the city was invented	339,770 sq mi 880,000 km²
15	Scandinavia Three kingdoms bound by language, and a name that keeps expanding	339,166 sq mi 878,435 km²

Place

Area (sq mi)

Sub-Saharan Africa
The African world that begins where the Sahara ends

9,382,279 sq mi
24,300,000 km²

Latin America
A region defined by language, not by latitude

7,764,897 sq mi
20,111,000 km²

The Arab World
Twenty-two states bound by a language rather than a border

5,077,241 sq mi
13,150,000 km²

The Middle East
A region named from somewhere else, and still argued over

2,818,545 sq mi
7,300,000 km²

The Maghreb
Northwest Africa, the island between the sea and the sand

2,335,917 sq mi
6,050,000 km²

The Indian Subcontinent
South Asia, walled off by mountains and thrown out to sea

1,764,486 sq mi
4,570,000 km²

The African Great Lakes
The rift lakes and the crowded, contested states around them

1,610,045 sq mi
4,170,000 km²

The Southern Cone
The temperate tail of South America, and the argument over who is in it

1,590,535 sq mi
4,119,469 km²

The Nordic Countries
Five states, three autonomous territories, and one stubborn social model

1,322,710 sq mi
3,425,804 km²

Indochina
The mainland Southeast Asian peninsula, and a name under review

749,038 sq mi
1,940,000 km²

The Horn of Africa
The African peninsula that juts toward Arabia

725,872 sq mi
1,880,000 km²

Central Europe
A region whose membership has always been a political argument

400,317 sq mi
1,036,817 km²

Mesoamerica
The cultural hearth where the Americas invented the city

386,102 sq mi
1,000,000 km²

Mesopotamia
The land between the rivers, where the city was invented

339,770 sq mi
880,000 km²

Scandinavia
Three kingdoms bound by language, and a name that keeps expanding

339,166 sq mi
878,435 km²

Figures are drawn from standard government and reference sources and shown in both imperial and metric units. See each entry for full details and citations. Browse all guides or open the explore map.