This is a pair of lists of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), ranked by area,^[1][2][3] excluding reservoirs and lagoons.

The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year. This is especially true of salt lakes in arid climates. This list therefore excludes seasonal lakes such as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre (maximum area 9,500 km², 3,700 sq mi), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6,000 km², 2,300 sq mi), Lake Torrens (maximum area 5,745 km², 2,218 sq mi) and Great Salt Lake (maximum area, 1988, 8,500 km², 3,300 sq mi).

The list is divided in two: all lakes as conventionally defined down to 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), and the largest lakes under a geological definition, where the Caspian Sea is considered a small ocean rather than a lake, and Lake Michigan–Huron (or "Huron–Michigan") is recognized as a single body of water. The Caspian Sea is conventionally considered the world's largest lake, but it is centered on an oceanic basin (a fragment of the ancient Tethys Ocean) rather than lying entirely over continental crust as all other lakes do.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are conventionally counted as separate lakes, but hydrologically they are a single body of water, which is the world's largest lake by surface area.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

Conventional list

Following are conventionally identified lakes larger than 3,000 km² (1,200 sq mi) in area.

Thumbnail, at fixed scale		Name	Countries with shoreline	Type	Area	Length	Max. depth	Volume	Notes
	1	Caspian Sea	Kazakhstan  Turkmenistan  Azerbaijan  Russia  Iran	Saline 1.2%	389,000 km2 150,000 sq mi	1,199 km 745 mi	1,025 m 3,363 ft	78,200 km3 18,800 cu mi	Geologically a small ocean rather than a lake. Garabogazköl lagoon, if counted separately, would rank as the world's 15th largest, with an area of 18,000 square kilometres (6,900 sq mi).
	2	Superior	Canada  United States	Fresh	82,100 km2 31,700 sq mi[14]	616 km 383 mi	406 m 1,332 ft[14]	12,070 km3 2,900 cu mi[14]	Largest of the Great Lakes by volume, having more water than the other four combined.[15]
	3	Victoria	Tanzania  Uganda  Kenya	Fresh	59,940 km2 23,140 sq mi	322 km 200 mi	81 m 266 ft	2,420 km3 580 cu mi	The largest lake by area in Africa.[16]
	4	Huron	Canada  United States	Fresh	59,590 km2 23,010 sq mi[14]	332 km 206 mi	229 m 751 ft[14]	3,520 km3 840 cu mi[14]	The larger lobe of Lake Michigan–Huron. Contains Manitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island.[17]
	5	Michigan	United States	Fresh	58,030 km2 22,410 sq mi[14]	494 km 307 mi	282 m 925 ft[14]	4,930 km3 1,180 cu mi[14]	The smaller lobe of Lake Michigan–Huron. The largest lake (by area) that is located entirely in one country.
	6	Tanganyika	Tanzania  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Burundi  Zambia	Fresh	32,900 km2 12,700 sq mi	676 km 420 mi	1,470 m 4,820 ft	18,750 km3 4,500 cu mi	Longest freshwater lake in the world and third largest of any kind by volume.[18]
	7	Baikal	Russia	Fresh	31,722 km2 12,248 sq mi	636 km 395 mi	1,642 m 5,387 ft	23,610 km3 5,660 cu mi	Deepest lake in the world and largest freshwater lake in the world by volume.[19]
	8	Great Bear Lake	Canada	Fresh	31,153 km2 12,028 sq mi	373 km 232 mi	446 m 1,463 ft	2,234 km3 536 cu mi	Largest lake entirely within Canada,[20] and the largest lake partially within the Arctic Circle
	9	Malawi	Malawi  Mozambique  Tanzania	Fresh	29,600 km2 11,400 sq mi	579 km 360 mi	706 m 2,316 ft	8,640 km3 2,070 cu mi	Has more species of fish than any other lake in the world.[21]
	10	Great Slave Lake	Canada	Fresh	27,200 km2 10,500 sq mi	480 km 300 mi	614 m 2,014 ft	1,115 km3 268 cu mi	Deepest lake in North America[22]
	11	Erie	Canada  United States	Fresh	25,667 km2 9,910 sq mi[14]	388 km 241 mi	64 m 210 ft[14]	488 km3 117 cu mi[14]	Has the smallest volume of the Great Lakes.
	12	Winnipeg	Canada	Fresh	24,514 km2 9,465 sq mi	425 km 264 mi	36 m 118 ft	294 km3 71 cu mi	Very large catchment area compared to own size. No other great lake has that ratio.
	13	Ontario	Canada  United States	Fresh	18,970 km2 7,320 sq mi[14]	311 km 193 mi	244 m 801 ft[14]	1,631 km3 391 cu mi[14]	The lowest lying of the Great Lakes.
	14	Ladoga	Russia	Fresh	17,700 km2 6,800 sq mi	219 km 136 mi	260 m 850 ft	837 km3 201 cu mi	Largest lake in Europe.[23]
	15	Balkhash	Kazakhstan	Saline 0.3% (variable)	16,400 km2 6,300 sq mi	605 km 376 mi	26 m 85 ft	100 km3 24 cu mi	Fresh shallow western part. Salty deeper eastern part. Shrinking in size.
	16	Vostok	Antarctica	Fresh	12,500 km2 4,800 sq mi	250 km 160 mi	900 m 3,000 ft	5,400 ± 1,600 km3 1,300 ± 380 cu mi	Largest lake in Antarctica, but subglacial.
	17	Onega	Russia	Fresh	9,700 km2 3,700 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	127 m 417 ft	291 km3 70 cu mi	Second-largest lake in Europe.
	18	Titicaca	Peru  Bolivia	Fresh	8,372 km2 3,232 sq mi	177 km 110 mi	281 m 922 ft	896 km3 215 cu mi	Highest navigable lake in the world. Greatest mountain lake too. Largest lake in South America.
	19	Nicaragua	Nicaragua	Fresh	8,264 km2 3,191 sq mi	177 km 110 mi	26 m 85 ft	110 km3 26 cu mi	Largest lake in Central America. Contains fresh water sharks .
	20	Athabasca	Canada	Fresh	7,850 km2 3,030 sq mi	335 km 208 mi	124 m 407 ft	204 km3 49 cu mi	A remnant of the vast, Glacial Lake McConnell. Huge catchment area (ratio).
	21	Reindeer	Canada	Fresh	6,650 km2 2,570 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	219 m 719 ft	113 km3 27 cu mi	The deepest areas are the site of a large meteorite impact, for almost 100 million years ago. Much older than the lake.
	22	Turkana	Kenya  Ethiopia	Saline 0.25% (approx.)	6,405 km2 2,473 sq mi	248 km 154 mi	109 m 358 ft	193 km3 46 cu mi	Largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.[24]
	23	Issyk-Kul	Kyrgyzstan	Saline 0.6%	6,236 km2 2,408 sq mi	182 km 113 mi	668 m 2,192 ft	1,736 km3 416 cu mi	Second largest mountain lake in the world. Second deepest saline lake as well.
	24	Vänern	Sweden	Fresh	5,650 km2 2,180 sq mi	140 km 87 mi	106 m 348 ft	153 km3 37 cu mi	Largest lake in the European Union.
	25	Albert	Uganda  Democratic Republic of the Congo	Fresh	5,590 km2 2,160 sq mi[25]	161 km 100 mi	51 m 167 ft	133 km3 32 cu mi
	26	Nettilling	Canada	Fresh	5,542 km2 2,140 sq mi	113 km 70 mi	132 m 433 ft	130 km3 31 cu mi	Largest lake on an island; Baffin Island.[26]
	27	Winnipegosis	Canada	Fresh	5,370 km2 2,070 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	12 m 39 ft	17.2 km3 4.1 cu mi	Second largest lake in Manitoba.
	28	Mweru	Zambia  Democratic Republic of the Congo	Fresh	5,120 km2 1,980 sq mi	131 km 81 mi	27 m 89 ft	38 km3 9.1 cu mi	The second largest lake in the Congo's drainage basin, Tanganyika being the largest.
	29	Nipigon	Canada	Fresh	4,848 km2 1,872 sq mi	116 km 72 mi	165 m 541 ft	266 km3 64 cu mi	Largest lake entirely in Ontario. Part of the Great Lake drainage basin. Often referred to as the, "sixth" or "seventh" lake, together with St. Clair.
	30	Manitoba	Canada	Saline 0.35%	4,706 km2 1,817 sq mi	225 km 140 mi	7 m 23 ft	14.1 km3 3.4 cu mi	A remnant of the prehistoric, Glacial Lake Agassiz together with: Winnipeg and Winnipegosis.
	31	Taymyr	Russia	Fresh	4,560 km2 1,760 sq mi	250 km 160 mi	26 m 85 ft	12.8 km3 3.1 cu mi	Largest lake entirely within the Arctic Circle.
	32	Qinghai	China	Saline 1.4% (variable)	4,489 km2 1,733 sq mi (2007)		32.8 m 108 ft	108 km3 26 cu mi	Largest lake in China. Variable in size. Endorheic basin.
	33	Saimaa	Finland	Fresh	4,380 km2 1,690 sq mi		82 m 269 ft	36 km3 8.6 cu mi	Largest catchment area of the lakes within the Nordic countries.
	34	Lake of the Woods	Canada  United States	Fresh	4,350 km2 1,680 sq mi	110 km 68 mi	64 m 210 ft	19.4 km3 4.7 cu mi	About 15 000 islands. The shoreline measures (included these) roughly: 105 000 km.
	35	Khanka	Russia  China	Fresh	4,190 km2 1,620 sq mi	90 km 56 mi	10.6 m 35 ft	18.3 km3 4.4 cu mi	Has a shape like a pear. Variable size. Drains through the Amur River, that ends in the Sea of Japan.
	36	Sarygamysh	Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan	Saline 1.15% (approx.)	3,955 km2 1,527 sq mi	125 km 78 mi	40 m 130 ft	68.56 km3 16.45 cu mi	Located about midway between the Caspian Endorheic basin and former Aral Sea. No drainage river today. Drained centuries ago to the Caspian Sea (Uzboy River). Polluted.
	37	Dubawnt	Canada	Fresh	3,833 km2 1,480 sq mi			91 km3 22 cu mi	Frozen surface 10 months each year. No permanent settlements on its shores.
	38	Van	Turkey	Saline 2.3%	3,755 km2 1,450 sq mi	119 km 74 mi	451 m 1,480 ft	642 km3 154 cu mi	Largest lake in the Middle East. Third deepest saline lake.
	39	Peipus	Estonia  Russia	Fresh	3,555 km2 1,373 sq mi		15.3 m 50 ft	25 km3 6.0 cu mi	Largest trans-boundary lake in Europe.
	40	Uvs	Mongolia  Russia	Saline 1.9% (approx.)	3,350 km2 1,290 sq mi	84 km 52 mi	22 m 72 ft	20 km3 4.8 cu mi	Greatest lake in Mongolia (by area). Very large catchment area (endorheic).
	41	North Aral Sea	Kazakhstan	Fresh	3,300 km2 1,300 sq mi		42 m 138 ft	28.7 km3 6.9 cu mi	Largest remnant of the former, Aral Sea. Once the world's fourth largest lake.
	42	Poyang	China	Fresh	3,210 km2 1,240 sq mi	170 km 110 mi	25.1 m 82 ft	25.2 km3 6.0 cu mi	Largest fresh water lake in China. Variable size. Important location for the birdlife.
	43	Tana	Ethiopia	Fresh	3,200 km2 1,200 sq mi	84 km 52 mi	15 m 49 ft	25.6 km3 6.1 cu mi	The source of the Blue Nile.
	44	Amadjuak	Canada	Fresh	3,115 km2 1,203 sq mi			74 km3 18 cu mi	In geological terms, a "young" lake (approx. 4 500 years old). Second largest on Baffin Island. Third largest in Nunavut.
	45	Melville	Canada	Saline 1.95% (approx. average of surface and bottom water)	3,069 km2 1,185 sq mi	140 km 87 mi	256 m 840 ft	313 km3 75 cu mi	Estuary connected with the Atlantic Ocean. Large drainage basin in the Labrador.
	46	Bangweulu	Zambia	Fresh	3,000 km2 1,200 sq mi (permanent)	75 km 47 mi	10 m 33 ft	12 km3 2.9 cu mi	One of the world's great wetland systems. The area has swamps and floodplain. Variable size on this shallow lake. Crucial importance for animals and birds, of a far larger area.

Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):^[27]

Geological list

Following are the dozen largest lakes under geological definitions, down to 17,500 km² (6,800 sq mi) in area.

Thumbnail, at fixed scale		Name	Countries with shoreline	Type	Area	Length	Max. depth	Volume	Notes
	1	Michigan–Huron	Canada  United States	Fresh	117,620 km2 45,410 sq mi[14]	710 km 440 mi	282 m 925 ft[14]	8,450 km3 2,030 cu mi[14]	Contains Manitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island.[17]
	2	Superior	Canada  United States	Fresh	82,100 km2 31,700 sq mi[14]	616 km 383 mi	406 m 1,332 ft[14]	12,070 km3 2,900 cu mi[14]	Largest of the Great Lakes by volume, having more water than the other four combined.[15]
	3	Victoria	Tanzania  Uganda  Kenya	Fresh	59,940 km2 23,140 sq mi	322 km 200 mi	81 m 266 ft	2,420 km3 580 cu mi	The largest lake by area in Africa.[16]
	4	Tanganyika	Tanzania  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Burundi  Zambia	Fresh	32,900 km2 12,700 sq mi	676 km 420 mi	1,470 m 4,820 ft	18,750 km3 4,500 cu mi	Second-largest lake by volume and second longest.
	5	Baikal	Russia	Fresh	31,722 km2 12,248 sq mi	636 km 395 mi	1,642 m 5,387 ft	23,610 km3 5,660 cu mi	Deepest lake in the world and largest by volume.[19]
	6	Great Bear Lake	Canada	Fresh	31,153 km2 12,028 sq mi	373 km 232 mi	446 m 1,463 ft	2,234 km3 536 cu mi	Largest lake entirely within Canada,[28] and the largest lake partially within the Arctic Circle
	7	Malawi	Malawi  Mozambique  Tanzania	Fresh	29,500 km2 11,400 sq mi	579 km 360 mi	706 m 2,316 ft	8,640 km3 2,070 cu mi	Has more species of fish than any other lake in the world.[21]
	8	Great Slave Lake	Canada	Fresh	27,200 km2 10,500 sq mi	480 km 300 mi	614 m 2,014 ft	1,115 km3 268 cu mi	Deepest lake in North America[22]
	9	Erie	Canada  United States	Fresh	25,667 km2 9,910 sq mi[14]	388 km 241 mi	64 m 210 ft[14]	488 km3 117 cu mi[14]	Has the smallest volume of the Great Lakes.
	10	Winnipeg	Canada	Fresh	24,514 km2 9,465 sq mi	425 km 264 mi	36 m 118 ft	294 km3 71 cu mi	Very large catchment area compared to own size. No other great lake has that ratio.
	11	Ontario	Canada  United States	Fresh	18,970 km2 7,320 sq mi[14]	311 km 193 mi	244 m 801 ft[14]	1,631 km3 391 cu mi[14]	The lowest lying of the Great Lakes.
	12	Ladoga	Russia	Fresh	17,700 km2 6,800 sq mi	219 km 136 mi	260 m 850 ft	837 km3 201 cu mi	Largest lake in Europe.[23]