Lake Defined
A lake is defined as a watercourse that is not directly connected to a sea or ocean. They are a frequent feature in many areas of the world, with 1.43 million located around the globe. Formed by many different geological processes, they form a large part of the natural landscape, often providing a great source of freshwater, and playing a key part of the water cycle.
But which country has the most lakes?
Taking into account results from a 2016 study by researchers from McGill University in Canada, this article lists and briefly describes the top 10 countries which contain the most lakes.
The countries’ ranking relies heavily on how large a body of water can be in order to be counted as a lake – this article follows the McGill University study’s definition, which is an area of at least 10 hectares/25 acres or 0.1 square kilometers (120,000 square yards) in size.
10) Australia – 11,400
With a vast desert that covers much of its interior, and a lack of glacial or plate tectonic activity, you may be surprised to see this country at number 10 in the list.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
However, Australia contains many man-made lakes, particularly in the south-eastern part of the country, which were constructed to provide water to the large coastal cities and agricultural regions in this area.
Many coastal lagoons and natural inland lakes also exist, as do numerous ephemeral salt lakes within the central flat desert regions.
Lake Eyre, the largest lake in Australia covers 9,500 sq km (3,668 sq mi) is a 1/3 larger than the largest lake in all of Europe.
Aerial view of Lake Eyre, also known as Kati Thanda - an endorheic lake in the outback of South Australia
“Given that 70% of Australia is arid, it is not surprising that >80% of lakes and wetlands by area are saline and occupy in excess of 100,000 km”
9) Kazakhstan – 12,400
Kolsay Lake in Kazakhastan
Most of Kazakhstan lies within a basin, meaning that rivers flow from surrounding highland areas, including the Tian Shan Mountains along the southern portion of the country, and end at a series of numerous lakes within the Kazakh lowlands.
Although not all of its lakes are formed in this way, many of its lakes are - its largest lakes include Lake Balkhash, with an area of 6,300 square miles (16,400 km2), and the north-eastern portion of the Caspian Sea, which is recognized as the world’s largest lake.
There are 48,262 “lakes” located in Kazakhstan, however, only 12,400 are large enough to be considered an actual lake
296 lakes are larger than 10 sq km
21 are larger than 100 sq km
Kazakhstan is also the 9th largest county in the world
Map of Kazakhstan (Image Source: SMIRNOVA et al.)
8) Argentina – 13,600
Nahuel Huapi Lake in the Patagonia of Argentina
Argentina consists mainly of two different landscapes – the Andes Mountains along the western side, and the vast fertile lowlands that cover the northern and eastern parts of the country.
Due to both areas being glaciated during the last Ice Age, each place contains a high number of lakes, with the fertile Pampas region being peppered with many small lakes, such as Lake Gómez near the city of Junín.
Within the Andes Mountains is Argentina’s Lake District, an area featuring many finger-shaped lakes that were formed by previously-existing glaciers.
Northern Patagonia is home to the Lake District. A region that comprises of both southern Chile and Argentina and it’s known as the Switzerland of Patagonia.
The 1,522 foot (464m) deep Nahuel Huapi Lake is 1 of 19 major lakes in this region, and is also the largest
Lago Hermoso in the Northern Patagonia Lake’s District
READ: Where/What is Patagonia
7) Norway – 20,000
Lake Ringedalsvatnet in Norway
A country that was covered by glacial ice during the last Ice Age, Norway contains many lakes that were formed as the result of glacial processes.
Many man-made reservoir lakes were also created, made possible in large part by the existence of large and deep valleys along the western side of the country, formed by the large mountain range that makes up the backbone of the country.
Lakes include Tyrifjorden, a large 967 foot (295 m) deep lake around 25 miles (40 km) to the north-west of Oslo, Norway’s capital.
Norway (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
6) Brazil – 20,900
Lagoa da Conceição in Brazil
In part due to its vast land area, Brazil contains many lakes. Although many of these are located within the Amazon region, particularly where the large rivers have formed ox-bow lakes, many more are found outside of it.
For example, the country’s largest lake – Lagos dos Patos – exists in the extreme south-east of the country.
This large lagoon lake measures 180 miles (290 km) long and up to 40 miles (64 km) wide; it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a wide sandbar.
Brazil also contains many man-made lakes, such as the large Sobradinho Reservoir, which is over 6 times larger than Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake in the USA.
5) Sweden – 22,600
The Northern Lights on Lake Torneträsk in Abisko National Park, Sweden
Despite its relatively small size compared to the top four countries on this list, it is thanks to Sweden being covered in ice during the last Ice Age that it has such a high number of lakes.
Although many of these are small lakes that are dotted throughout the landscape, some are incredibly large in size. The largest of its lakes – Lake Vänern – is around 90 miles (145 km) long and up to 330 feet (100 m) deep in some parts.
There are 395 lakes with a surface area exceeding 10 sq km (4 sq miles) in Sweden
Lake Vänern is the largest lake in Sweden and the largest lake in the European Union (EU)
Lake Vänern (Image Source: Flickr)
4) China – 23,800
Tianchi Lake or Heaven Lake is the deepest lake and the largest crater lake in China
A country with a massive surface area, China also contains its fair share of lakes. Although many of these are freshwater, such as the Hongze and Nansi lakes which can be found across the East China Plain, some of its lakes are infact saline.
For example, the country’s largest lake – Qinghai Lake – is saline, and contains no water outflow channel. Although many lakes are located in the rainfall-heavy south and east of the country, a large portion of its lakes are also found on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as in mountainous areas across the western half of the country.
Poyang Lake is China’s largest freshwater lake
Poyang Lake bridge in China
3) USA – 102,500
Lake Powell in the United States of America
A country which is known internationally for its vast Great Lakes along its northern border, the United States contains a huge number of lakes, many of which were formed by glacial processes during the last Ice Age.
Although many of its lakes are found either across the northern portion of the country, or in the northern valleys of the Rocky Mountains, lakes are frequently found in all regions of the country away from the deserts of the south-west.
The country also contains many man-made lakes, such as Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the United States, which was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s.
2) Russia – 201,200
Lake Baikal in Russia
The world’s largest country in terms of land surface area, Russia contains over 200,000 lakes.
As most of the country is located at a rather high latitude, during the last Ice Age, ice covered the north and west of Russia. Although various factors prevented much ice accumulation across parts of Siberia, the previously ice-covered regions are today peppered with many lakes.
Although many glacially-formed lakes are found across northern Russia, the country’s largest lake – Lake Baikal – is not formed by glacial activity at all, but by plate tectonics. Two tectonic plates pull apart at this region, forming a Rift Valley that fills with water.
Lake Baikal: This 12,000 square mile (31,000 km2) lake is also widely considered to be the deepest lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 5,387 feet (1,642 m) and is about half the surface area of Lake Michigan (1 of 5 Great Lakes).
1) Canada – 879,800
Being the second largest country in the world, it is no surprise that the country with the highest number of lakes is Canada – after all, a larger land volume means that there is a larger land area to include features such as lakes.
Sunrise in Lake Superior (Both USA and Canada)
However, the largest country in the world – Russia – contains less than a quarter of the number of lakes than Canada does. The reason is due to the fact that the vast majority of Canada was situated under a large ice sheet during the last Ice Age – both glacial erosion and the vast weight of the ice sheet itself sculpted the landscape, leaving behind natural indentations when they retreated – these have since filled with water.
Although the largest lakes are Lake Superior and Huron (a large of which are also within the USA), many of these lakes are rather small, and can be found all over Canada.
Lake Louise in Canada
62% of the world’s lakes are in Canada (more than the rest of the world combined)
9% of Canada’s surface area is covered by lakes
Lake Manitoba in the Canadian province of Manitoba is the Western Hemisphere’s largest salt lake and is 79 sq mi (205 sq km) larger than the Great Salt Lake of Utah
The Great Bear Lake is the largest lake in Canada that is located entirely in Canada and is about half the surface area of Lake Michigan
What About Finland?
According to Wikipedia:
“There are 187,888 lakes in Finland larger than 5 ares (500 square metres / 5,382 sq.ft.) Most are small, but there are 309 lakes or reservoirs larger than 10 km²”
However, keep in mind that 500 square meters is .12 acres. For comparison, the average soccer field is 1.86 acres.
The data that was sourced for this article defined a lake with a minimum area of 25 acres, which is over 200 times larger than the minimum size lake in Finland.
1 of 187,888 “lakes” in Finland (Image Source: Wikimedia)
The World Atlas notes:
“Finland's 187,888 lakes include all water bodies larger than 500 sq. m or just a little larger than the size of a basketball court. However, the list in the study was prepared by taking into account only lakes that are over 0.1 sq. km or 100,000 sq. m in size which is the size of about 18.5 football fields. Hence, Finland failed to feature on this list.”
References and Sources for “Countries with Most Lakes:”
Busker, Tim, et al. “A Global Lake and Reservoir Volume Analysis Using a Surface Water Dataset and Satellite Altimetry.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, vol. 23, no. 2, 6 Feb. 2019, pp. 669–690, 10.5194/hess-23-669-2019.
Messager, M., Lehner, B., Grill, G. et al. Estimating the volume and age of water stored in global lakes using a geo-statistical approach. Nat Commun 7, 13603 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13603
Timms, Brian V. “Salt Lakes in Australia: Present Problems and Prognosis for the Future.” Hydrobiologia, vol. 552, no. 1, Dec. 2005, pp. 1–15, 10.1007/s10750-005-1501-x.
Maberly, Stephen C., et al. “Global Lake Thermal Regions Shift under Climate Change.” Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, 6 Mar. 2020, 10.1038/s41467-020-15108-z.
McDonald, Cory P., et al. “The Regional Abundance and Size Distribution of Lakes and Reservoirs in the United States and Implications for Estimates of Global Lake Extent.” Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 57, no. 2, Mar. 2012, pp. 597–606, 10.4319/lo.2012.57.2.0597.
SMIRNOVA, DINA, et al. “The Trichoptera of Kazakhstan: A Review.” Zoosymposia, vol. 10, no. 1, 9 Aug. 2016, pp. 398–408, 10.11646/zoosymposia.10.1.36.
Verpoorter, Charles, et al. “A Global Inventory of Lakes Based on High-Resolution Satellite Imagery.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 41, no. 18, 16 Sept. 2014, pp. 6396–6402, 10.1002/2014gl060641.
“Which Country Has the Most Lakes in the World?” WorldAtlas, www.worldatlas.com.