Claim: The United States is the world's third or fourth-largest country by total area and third-largest by land area.
Evidence: At 3.8 million square miles -LRB- 9.8 million km2 -RRB- and with over 324 million people , the United States is the world 's third - or fourth-largest country by total area , third-largest by land area , and the third-most populous.