Russia is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Asia and Europe. Russia is the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, Canada, and has the world's eighth-largest population. Russia shares land borders with the following countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It is also close to the United States and Japan across relatively small stretches of water. Russia is the leading nation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a member of the G8 as well as other international organisations.