Loago — Lake Types, Depths and Areas | loago.online
National lake totals depend on the counting rule, and the two clearest examples are Canada and Finland.
Canada has an estimated 31,752 lakes larger than 3 square kilometres. The total number of lakes in Canada is estimated to be at least 2 million once smaller basins are included — a figure that is an estimate rather than a census.
Finland has 168,000 lakes of 500 square metres or more. The Finnish threshold is far below the Canadian 3 square kilometres, so the two totals describe different populations of basins.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Placing the two figures side by side without their thresholds would suggest that Finland has more lakes than Canada, which the counting rules do not support. The correct comparison states both the threshold and the total.
The same discipline applies to any national count: state the size threshold, state whether the figure is an estimate or a census, and only then compare.
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