The biggest countries in North America

Which are the biggest countries in North America by area?

Canada is the biggest country in North America by area, with 9,984,670 km². That is 44.3% of the land of all 23 countries in North America.

Canada and the United States are the second and third largest countries in the world, and between them they hold 88 percent of the continent's land. Canada's lead over the United States is 151,150 km², and it comes entirely from water. Canada has 891,163 km² of lakes and rivers, and by land alone the United States is larger. Mexico is third at 1,964,375 km².

Fourth place is Nicaragua, at 130,373 km², which is 15 times smaller than Mexico. Greenland, at 2.17 million km², would be third if it were a country; it is a territory of Denmark and appears only on the map's Atlas view. The Caribbean states fill the bottom of the table, and the smallest, Saint Kitts and Nevis, is 261 km².

Which are the biggest countries in North America by population?

United States has the most people in North America: 341.80 million in the UN's 2025 estimate, or 56.2% of the 608.44 million people who live in these 23 countries.

The United States has 56 percent of the people in North America and is the third most populous country in the world. Mexico, second, has 131.9 million. Canada, first by area, is third by population with 41.6 million, about one eighth of the United States. Its density is about 4 people per km², against 35 in the United States.

Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America and fourth on the continent. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share one island and are fifth and sixth with about 12 million each. Cuba is 8th and its population has been falling since 2016.

Which are the biggest countries in North America by GDP?

United States has the biggest economy in North America. The IMF projects its GDP at $32.38 trillion for 2026, which is 85.6% of the total for North America.

The United States is 86 percent of North America's GDP and the largest economy in the world. Canada and Mexico, second and third, are close to each other at $2.51 trillion and $2.12 trillion, and both are smaller than the economy of California alone, which passed $4 trillion in 2024.

Fourth place is the Dominican Republic at $136.1 billion, about 15 times smaller than Mexico. Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba and Panama follow. Cuba's figure is a 2020 World Bank estimate because the IMF does not cover it. Haiti, fifth by population, is 11th by GDP.

How does the ranking change with the measure?

The top five under each measure, side by side:

The United States is second, first and first. Canada is first, third and second. Mexico is third on every list. Below them the order shuffles. Nicaragua is fourth by area and 13th by GDP, while the Dominican Republic is 10th by area and fourth by GDP. Eight countries, three ranks each:

How do we count?

North America here is the whole continent in the UN grouping: Canada, the United States and Mexico, the seven countries of Central America, and the 13 island states of the Caribbean, 23 countries in all. Greenland, Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the other territories are not counted. Trinidad and Tobago is included with the Caribbean.

Area is total area including lakes and rivers, from the UN Statistics Division and the CIA World Factbook. Population is the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2025, taken from the World Bank. GDP is the IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2026) projection for 2026, in current US dollars. We use the same figures on the map, so the boxes there and the tables here agree. More on the data.