Greece has many islands,[Note 1] with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200[1] to 6,000,[2] depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166[3] and 227.[2]

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Regions of the Greek islands

The largest Greek island by both area and population is Crete, located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea. The second largest island in area is Euboea or Evvia, which is separated from the mainland by the 60m-wide Euripus Strait, and is administered as part of the Central Greece region. After the third and fourth largest Greek islands, Lesbos and Rhodes, the rest of the islands are two-thirds of the area of Rhodes, or smaller.

The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: the Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic Gulf near Athens; the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea; the North Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey; the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey; the Sporades, a small tight group off the coast of Euboea; and the Ionian Islands, chiefly located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea. Crete with its surrounding islets and Euboea are traditionally excluded from this grouping.

This article excludes the Peloponnese, which has technically been an island since the construction of the Corinth Canal in 1893, but is rarely considered to be an island due to its artificial origins.

Islands of Greece by size

A NASA image of Crete
A NASA image of Rhodes
Ithaca is to the upper right of the larger Kefalonia island in this picture. The small island in the top-right corner is the uninhabited Atokos island.

The following are the 50 largest Greek islands listed by surface area.

More information Island, Greek name ...
IslandGreek nameArea
(km2)
Area
(miles2)
Cluster
1CreteΚρήτη8,3363,219Cretan
2EviaΕύβοια3,6701,417Euboean
3LesbosΛέσβος1,633631North Aegean Islands
4RhodesΡόδος1,401541Dodecanese
5ChíosΧίος842.3325North Aegean Islands
6KefaloniaΚεφαλονιά781302Ionian Islands
7CorfuΚέρκυρα592.9229Ionian Islands
8LemnosΛήμνος477.6184North Aegean Islands
9SamosΣάμος477.4184North Aegean Islands
10NaxosΝάξος429.8166Cyclades
11ZakynthosΖάκυνθος406157Ionian Islands
12ThassosΘάσος380.1147North Aegean Islands
13AndrosΆνδρος380.0147Cyclades
14LefkadaΛευκάδα303117Ionian Islands
15KarpathosΚάρπαθος300116Dodecanese
16KosΚως290.3112Dodecanese
17KythiraΚύθηρα279.6108Ionian Islands
18IcariaΙκαρία25598North Aegean Islands
19SkyrosΣκύρος20981Sporades
20ParosΠάρος19575Cyclades
21TinosΤήνος19475Cyclades
22SamothraceΣαμοθράκη17869North Aegean Islands
23MilosΜήλος15158Cyclades
24KeaΚέα13251Cyclades
25AmorgosΑμοργός12147Cyclades
26KalymnosΚάλυμνος11042Dodecanese
27IosΊος10842Cyclades
28KythnosΚύθνος99.438Cyclades
29AstypalaiaΑστυπάλαια96.437Dodecanese
30IthacaΙθάκη96.237Ionian Islands
31SalamisΣαλαμίνα96.237Argo-Saronic
32SkopelosΣκόπελος96.237Sporades
33MykonosΜύκονος85.533Cyclades
34SyrosΣύρος83.632Cyclades
35AeginaΑίγινα82.632Argo-Saronic
36SantoriniΣαντορίνη76.229Cyclades
37SerifosΣέριφος75.229Cyclades
38SifnosΣίφνος73.929Cyclades
39KasosΚάσος69.527Dodecanese
40AlonnisosΑλόννησος64.125Sporades
41TilosΤήλος61.524Dodecanese
42SymiΣύμη57.822Dodecanese
43LerosΛέρος5421Dodecanese
44HydraΎδρα49.619Argo-Saronic
45SkiathosΣκιάθος47.318Sporades
46Agios EfstratiosΆγιος Ευστράτιος43.317North Aegean Islands
47SikinosΣίκινος41.616Cyclades
48NisyrosΝίσυρος41.216Dodecanese
49PsaraΨαρά40.416North Aegean Islands
50AnafiΑνάφη38.615Cyclades
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Islands of Greece by population

More information Island, Population ...
IslandPopulation
Crete624,408
Evia191,206
Rhodes125,113
Corfu99,134
Lesbos83,755
Chios50,361
Zakynthos41,180
Salamis37,220
Kos37,089
Kefalonia36,064
Samos32,642
Lefkada21,900
Syros21,507
Naxos20,578
Lemnos16,411
Kalymnos17,752
Santorini15,480
Thasos13,104
Paros14,520
Aegina12,911
Mykonos10,704
Tinos8,934
Andros8,826
Icaria8,843
Leros7,992
Skiathos5,802
Aitoliko4,935
Karpathos6,567
Milos5,302
Skopelos4,518
Kythira3,644
Ithaca2,862
Patmos3,283
Skyros3,052
Samothrace2,596
Sifnos2,777
Alonnisos3,138
Symi2,603
Kea2,335
Paxos2,466
Poros3,261
Spetses3,748
Ios2,299
Hydra2,070
Amorgos1,961
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Islands of the Aegean Sea

Argo-Saronic Islands

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The port city of Hydra on Hydra Island

This list includes Argo-Saronic islands [4] , which are located in the Saronic Gulf. The largest Argo-Saronic island is Salamis. The main islands are in bold. Uninhabited islands are indicated, including those that may have been inhabited in the past:

Cretan island

The two lists below show the islands, islets, and rocks that surround the island of Crete that are in the Aegean Sea or Libyan Sea.

Cretan islands of the Aegean Sea

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The islet of Leon, on the left, next to the larger islet of Souda, within Souda bay
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Spinalonga (Kalydon)
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The islet of Pondikonisi, mouse island, which is shaped like a mouse.

Cretan islands of the Libyan Sea

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The islet of Trafos in the Libyan Sea

Islands on the south coast of Crete are considered in the Libyan Sea.

Cyclades islands

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The Cyclades islands
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Iconic windmills of Mykonos

The Cyclades islands comprise around 220 islands and islets. The main islands are indicated in bold below.[8][9]

Dodecanese islands

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The Dodecanese Islands
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A harbor on the island of Astypalaia

There are 164 total Dodecanese Islands of which 26 are inhabited. There are 12 main islands, listed in bold below:

Euboea and surrounding islands

North Aegean islands

There are also two North Aegean islands in the Thracian Sea:

Sporades islands

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The Northern Sporades

The 30 islands in the Sporades are listed below, with the four major islands in bold. The largest Sporades island is Skyros.

Ionian Sea islands

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The main Ionian Islands
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The Echinades islands

Islands in the Ionian Sea are listed below. The seven largest and most popular islands are listed in bold.[14][15]

Islets close to mainland

The following islands are close to the mainland and not part of a sea:

Islands not in the sea

Lake and river islands

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Ioannina Island in Lake Pamvotida

Islands in an island

Lagoon islands

See also

Notes

    1. In Greek: Island-Νησί (Nisi), Islet-Νησάκι (Nisáki)

    References

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