Definition if the coastline says “the particular shape of the coast, especially as seen from above, from the sea, or on a map”. A coastline is a continuous line where land meets an ocean or other body of water. This can be as simple as a small strip of sand, to more significant shores like those found in Norway. We will write here about countries with the longest coastline.
Coastline Paradox
The length of the coastline depends on the scale – accuracy with which we measure it. The larger the scale of a map is, the more accurate are the measurements and the longer the greater the length of the coastline. Its called Coastline Paradox.
The countries listed below have the longest total coastlines in the world, and these hold great cultural, military, and economic importance for each of them. In our article, you can read about countries with the longest coastline.
Check our article about the longest rives in the world
Which country has the longest coastline?
The total length of all coastline in the world is 356,000 km. this number is constantly changing as sea level are rising – which reduce the shoreline and other like Emirates or the Netherlands reclaim new land. Depending on who measure the coastline we get a different result, for the sake of this article and ranking we use the measurements from the World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Canada (202,080 km)
Canada has the longest coastline at 202,080 km, which is not surprising since its the second-largest country in the world.
Canada’s coastline takes about 20% of the entire Earth’s coastlines and is spread over three oceans: the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.
Norway
Norway is the country with the second-longest coastline at 190,584 miles.
Norway has the most beautiful coastline landscape full of fjords, which is the longest in Europe and is second only to Canada on a global scale as well.
Indonesia
Indonesia with its many islands has the third-longest coastline in the world at 54,716 km. Indonesia coastline around the islands like Bali, Gili, Borneo or Java is a very popular tourist destination.
Greenland
Greenland is the biggest island in the world and has the fourth-longest coastline at 55,0724 miles. Greenland is not a separate country but is part of Denmark.
Russia
The fifth-longest coastline belongs to Russia with coastline length of 37,653 km. Russia is the largest country in area on Earth and also has one of the longest coastlines as well.
Russian coastline spread over three oceans : Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific and four seas – the Baltic Sea in the southwest, the Black Sea, Azov Sea and the Caspian Sea which is the largest lake in the world.
Russia has an additional 850 km of coastline around the Caspian Sea, which is the biggest lake in the world.
Most important Cities on the Russian coastline are St Petersburg – one of the most beautiful city with amazing landmarks like State Hermitage Museum the second biggest museums in the world.
Other cities include Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Yalta, Magadan, Baltiysk
Philippines
The Philippines is an island country located on the Pacific Ocean build from over 7600 islands have an impressive coastline measurement of 36,289 km.
The Philippines is an amazing tourist destination with many iconic landmarks.
Japan
Japan is another island country on the Pacific Ocean with over 7000 islands. The biggest are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Japan’s coastline measurements 29,751 km
Australia
The eighth-longest coastline belongs to Australia with a measurement of 27136 km. The Australian continent has many beaches that are popular tourist destinations. Most of the biggest Australian cities and Australian Landmarks are located on the coast – Perth, Melbourn, Sydney and Brisbane.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions and it extends for 2000 km or 1200 miles.
United States of America
The United States coastlines are the longest in the Western Hemisphere and extend at 19,924 km long or 11% of all coastline measurements on Earth. 23 US states have coastlines, and those are Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana.
Antarctica
Antarctica is not a country but a non-sovereign. It’s the only land in the world that doesn’t belong to any country instead is governed by a group of nations.
The coldest continent with the longest coastlines in the world 17,968 km. Over half of Antarctica coastline is made up of ice shelves.
New Zealand
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful places in the world and it also has the longest coastline in Oceania with a length of 15,270 miles.
The country’s coastline is diverse, with beaches on one coast and high cliffs on the other. The coastal area also provides a range of flora and fauna, which makes up the coastlines own reserves.
Greece
Greece is a small country with a very wiggly coastline, many cove and inlets. In addition to the coast is a shoreline of many rigged islands.
Greece has the second-longest European coastlines ( Greece Facts) and extends for 13,676 km
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has a long coastline and it also extends for 12,429 miles in length. UK coastline is the 12th longest in the world.
The coastline of the UK is diverse, with mixed beaches and high cliffs. Cornwall is the county with the longest shoreline of 1086 km, then Essex (905km) and Devon (819km).
Countries with Longest Coastline -Table Summary
| Country | Coastline in km | Coastline in miles | |
| 1 | Canada | 202,080 | 125,567 |
| 2 | Indonesia | 99,083 | 61,567 |
| 3 | Norway | 58,133 | 36,122 |
| Greenland | 44,087 | 27,394 | |
| 4 | Russia | 37,653 | 23,396 |
| 5 | Philippines | 36,289 | 22,549 |
| 6 | Japan | 29,751 | 18,486 |
| 7 | Australia | 25,760 | 16,007 |
| 8 | United States | 19,924 | 12,380 |
| Antarctica | 17,968 | 11,164 | |
| 9 | New Zealand | 15,134 | 9,404 |
| 10 | China | 14,500 | 9,009 |
| 11 | Greece | 13,676 | 8,498 |
| 12 | United Kingdom | 12,429 | 7,723 |
| 13 | Mexico | 9,330 | 5,797 |
| 14 | Italy | 7,782 | 4,722 |
| 15 | India | 7,516 | 4,660 |
| 16 | Brazil | 7,491 | 4,655 |
| 17 | Denmark | 7,314 | 4,545 |
| 18 | Turkey | 7,200 | 4,474 |
| 19 | Chile | 6,435 | 3,998 |
| 20 | Federated States of Micronesia | 6,112 | 3,798 |
Longest Coastline
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