WWII: pre-war territory of selected Allied and Axis countries and possessions 1938

Before the Second World War, the Soviet Union was the largest individual world power in terms of territory, at over 21 million square kilometers. When the territories of the United Kingdom it's colonies and dominions are combined, then the expanse of the British Empire totaled at almost 35 million square kilometers, making it larger than the USSR. The Axis Powers, led by Germany, Italy, and Japan, controlled a much smaller share of the globe than the Allied Powers in 1938 - however, the majority of Europe was under Axis control by 1941, while Japan had taken much of the Western territory in Asia and pushed further into China by this time.

在第二次世界大战爆发之前，苏联在领土面积上成为了世界上最大的独立国家，其面积超过2100万平方公里。将大不列颠及其殖民地及自治领的领土合并计算，大英帝国的疆域接近3500万平方公里，面积超越了苏联。轴心国，以德国、意大利和日本为领导，在1938年控制的全球份额远小于同盟国。然而，到1941年，欧洲的绝大部分领土已处于轴心国的控制之下，而日本此时已占领了亚洲西部的大部分领土，并进一步深入中国。