Countries by Coastline Length
Complete ranking of 239 countries • km • Data refreshed May 5, 2026
Leader
Canada
Field size
239 countries
Lowest rank
Zimbabwe
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About Coastline Length Rankings
Canada leads all 239 countries in Coastline Length with a value of 202.1K km, while Zimbabwe ranks last at 0 km. The gap between top and bottom reflects meaningful global variation.
What Coastline Length Measures
Coastline length from the frozen public-domain CIA World Factbook snapshot.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Coastline Length across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 0 km (Zimbabwe) to 202.1K km (Canada) — an infinitely large difference across 239 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries lead with 7 entries in the top 20, though representation spans multiple continents. Regional factors clearly play a role, but outliers from other parts of the world show that national policy and geography matter as much as continental trends.
The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (386 km) is far more representative than the mean (3.3K km).
Notable Outliers
Canada stands far above the rest, with a value 269% higher than second-place Indonesia. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.
Continental Leaders
Highest Coastline Length
The 5 strongest Coastline Length reads.
Lowest Coastline Length
The 5 lowest Coastline Length reads.
Data Note
Rankings are based on the latest available data from CIA World Factbook (frozen snapshot), covering 239 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
