Lowest point

In brief

The "Lowest point" ranking covers 228 countries and territories. Lowest value: Jordan (-431 m). Highest value: Lesotho (1,400 m). Median: 0 m (data: 2026). The top 10% of countries exceed 102 m, while the bottom 10% stay below -7 m. By continent, the median is highest in Africa (0 m) and lowest in Oceania (0 m).

Median by continent

Why this indicator matters

The lowest point shows how far down a country's territory goes relative to sea level. It helps identify countries where part of the land lies below sea level, and so is more exposed to flooding, and those where even the valleys remain very high.

What makes this indicator vary

It depends on geography: a coastal country generally goes down to zero, the sea being its lowest point. Depressions, salt lakes or polders can give negative values. A high-altitude country far from the coasts has a high floor.

Reading precautions

A single point sums up the whole country: it says nothing about the size of the area concerned or the terrain as a whole. The value comes from the CIA World Factbook and stays stable, apart from rare changes due to erosion or works.