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Detail of the Ladoga lake   All the largest lakes in Europe are located in the northern part of the continent, between Russia, Finland, Sweden and Estonia.

   To find the first natural lake basin in the rest of Europe you have to go down to the 17th place of Balaton, in Hungary.

   The other great Scandinavian nation, Norway, is missing from this list, although it has 450,000 lakes, none of which, however, reaches 500 square kilometers.


Lake Area (km²)
Area (sq mi)
Country
Ladoga (1) 17,700 6,834 Russia
Onega 9,700 3,745 Russia
Vänern (2) 5,650 2,181 Sweden
Saimaa (3) 4,400 1,699 Finland
Peipus 3,555 1,373 Estonia, Russia
Vättern 1,912 738 Sweden
Lake Beloye 1,290 498 Russia
Mälaren 1,140 440 Sweden
Inari 1,082 418 Finland
Päijänne 1,082 418 Finland
Topozero 986 381 Russia
Ilmen (4) 982 379 Russia
Oulujärvi 912 352 Finland
Pielinen 895 346 Finland
Imandra 876 338 Russia
Pyaozero 659 254 Russia
Balaton (5) 594 229 Hungary
Geneva 580 224 France, Switzerland
Constance 536 207 Austria, Germany, Switzerland

* artificial reservoirs are excluded


(1) 15th lake in the world by surface area.
(2) The largest lake in the European Union.
(3) Very branched lake, called in various ways depending on the section (Haukivesi, Orivesi, Pihlajavesi, etc.).
(4) Average area, varies between a minimum of 730 km² and a maximum of 2,090 km².
(5) The largest in Central Europe.