List of largest dams
The following table lists the largest man-made dams by volume of fill/structure. A dam is generally defined as a barrier that impounds water or underground flows, so tailings dams are relegated to a separate list. Data on volume of structure is not as readily available or reliable as data on dam height and reservoir volume.
Type: TE - Earth; ER - Rock-fill; PG - Concrete gravity; CFRD - Concrete face rockfill
| Rank | Name | Country | Year completed | Structure volume | Structure height | Reservoir volume | Installed capacity | Type |
| 1 | Tarbela Dam | 1976 | 153 | 143 | 13.7 | 4,888 | TE/ER | |
| 2 | Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam | 2023 | 130 | 155 | 74 | 5,150 | CFRD | |
| 3 | Fort Peck Dam | 1940 | 96 | 76.4 | 23 | 185 | TE | |
| 4 | Atatürk Dam | 1990 | 84.5 | 166 | 48.7 | 2,400 | TE/ER | |
| 5 | Houtribdijk | 1968 | 78 | 13 | 2 | 0 | TE/ER | |
| 6 | Oahe Dam | 1963 | 70.3 | 75 | 29 | 786 | TE/ER | |
| 7 | Mangla Dam | 1967 | 65.4 | 147 | 9.12 | 1,000 | TE/ER | |
| 8 | Gardiner Dam | 1967 | 65.4 | 64 | 9.4 | 186 | TE | |
| 9 | Oroville Dam | 1968 | 59.6 | 230 | 4.36 | 819 | TE/ER | |
| 10 | San Luis Dam | 1967 | 59.6 | 93 | 2.52 | 424 | TE | |
| 11 | Nurek Dam | 1980 | 54 | 300 | 10.5 | 3,200 | TE | |
| 12 | Samara Dam | 1955 | 54 | 52 | 57.3 | 2,315 | TE/ER | |
| 13 | Garrison Dam | 1954 | 50.8 | 64 | 29 | 583.3 | TE | |
| 14 | Cochiti Dam | 1975 | 50.2 | 76.5 | 0.73 | NA | TE | |
| 15 | Aswan Dam | 1970 | 44.3 | 111 | 169 | 2,100 | TE/ER | |
| 16 | W. A. C. Bennett Dam | 1968 | 43.7 | 186 | 7.4 | 2,876 | TE | |
| 17 | San Roque Dam | 2003 | 40 | 200 | 0.835 | 345 | CFRD | |
| 18 | Fort Randall Dam | 1953 | 38.2 | 50.3 | 6.7 | 320 | TE/ER | |
| 19 | Afsluitdijk | 1932 | 36.5 | 13 | 5.5 | 0 | TE/ER | |
| 20 | Guri Dam | 1978 | 29.8 | 162 | 135 | 10,235 | PG/ER | |
| 21 | Three Gorges Dam | 2008 | 27.4 | 181 | 39.3 | 22,500 | PG | |
| 22 | Indira Sagar Dam | 2005 | 12.2 | 92 | 9.75 | 1,000 | PG | |
| 23 | Kariba Dam | 1960 | 1 | 128 | 180 | 2,000 | PG |
List of largest tailings dams
Type: TE - Earth; ER - Rock-fill; PG - Concrete gravity; CFRD - Concrete face rockfill.| Rank | Name | Country | Year completed | Structure volume | Structure height | Reservoir volume | Installed capacity | Type |
| 1 | Syncrude Tailings Dam Mildred MLSB | 1995 | 540/720 | 88 | 0.35 | NA | TE | |
| 2 | Syncrude Tailings Dam#South West Sand Storage | 2010 | 119 | 40–50 | 0.25 | NA | TE | |
| 3 | ASARCO Mission Mine Tailings Dam | 1972 | 40.1 | 30 | 0 | NA | ER |