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.