The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory.
Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface.
Of all countries, Lesotho has the world's highest low point at . Other countries with high low points include Rwanda and Andorra . Countries with very low high points include Maldives, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands . These island countries also have the smallest range between their lowest (sea level) and highest points, and are very sensitive to changes in sea level.
The highest and lowest points in China constitute the greatest elevation range within any single country at . The elevation ranges are also great in Nepal, Pakistan, and India .
Monaco's elevation range is among the greatest relative to surface area. Within its 2.02 km2 territory, there is a difference of 140 m between its highest and lowest points, giving a ratio of 69 m for every km2. In Australia's 7686850km2 area, there is only a 2244m (7,362feet) difference between the highest and lowest points, which gives a ratio of per km2.
