List of islands by area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list includes all islands in the world larger than 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi). For size and location reference, the four continental landmasses are also shown.

Continental landmasses
Summarize
Perspective
Continental landmasses are not usually classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water.[Note 1] However, because the definition of continent varies between geographers, the Americas are sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four major continental landmasses only.[Note 2] The artificial Panama and Suez canals are disregarded, as they are not natural waters that separate the continents.
Rank | Continental landmass[Note 3] | Area | Nation(s) | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(km2) | (sq mi) | ||||
1 | Afro-Eurasia | 79,810,726[Note 4] | 30,815,094 |
126 countries |
48 countries on mainland Africa[Note 5] and 78 countries on mainland Eurasia (38 countries on continental Asia[Note 6] and 40 countries on continental Europe[Note 7]). Two states on mainland Africa and four states on mainland Eurasia (two states on continental Asia[Note 8] and two states on continental Europe). |
2 | Americas | 37,699,623[Note 9] | 14,555,906 |
22 countries |
Ten countries on mainland North America[Note 10] and twelve countries on mainland South America. An overseas department and region of France, located on mainland South America. |
3 | Antarctica | 12,272,800[Note 11] | 4,738,600 | None | Seven countries have made eight territorial claims. All territorial claims in Antarctica are in abeyance under the Antarctic Treaty System. Antarctica is a special case, for if its ice is considered not as land, but as water, it is not a single landmass, but several landmasses of much smaller area, since the ice-bedrock boundary is below sea level in many regions of the continent.[5] If its ice cover were to be lifted, some rocks that are currently below sea level would rise as the weight of the ice would be removed,[6] although this would in part be counteracted, and in some areas of the continent overtaken, by eustatic rises in sea level.[7] |
4 | Australia | 7,591,608[Note 12] | 2,931,136 | Australia | Mainland Australia is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island.[9] Australia is sometimes dubbed "The Island Continent" or "Earth's largest island, but its smallest continent".[10] |
Islands
Islands 100,000 km2 (38,600 sq mi) and greater
Rank | Island | Area[11] | Nation(s) | Subnational divisions | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(km2) | (sq mi) | |||||
1 | Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) (main island) | 2,130,800[12] | 822,700 | Danish Realm (Kingdom of Denmark) | Greenland | The largest island in the world.[9] Part of North America but geopolitically owned by Europe. [13] |
2 | New Guinea | 785,753[14] | 303,381 | Indonesia Papua New Guinea | Papua and Central, Highland, South, West, and Southwest Papua Highlands, Momase, and Southern regions | The largest island to span two continents and the largest in the Malay Archipelago. |
3 | Borneo | 748,168 | 288,869 | Brunei Indonesia Malaysia | — Central, East, North, South, and West Kalimantan Sabah and Sarawak | The largest island in Asia. The only island shared by three UN member states. |
4 | Madagascar (main island) | 587,041[15] | 226,658 | Madagascar | The largest island in Africa. | |
5 | Baffin Island | 507,451[16] | 195,928 | Canada | Nunavut | The largest island in the Arctic Archipelago. |
6 | Sumatra | 443,065 | 171,068 | Indonesia | Aceh, Bengkulu, Jambi, Lampung, Riau, North, South, and West Sumatra | |
7 | Honshu | 227,938[17] | 88,007 | Japan | Chūbu, Chūgoku, Kansai, Kantō, and Tōhoku regions | |
8 | Victoria Island | 217,291[16] | 83,897 | Canada | Northwest Territories and Nunavut | |
9 | Great Britain | 209,331 | 80,823 | United Kingdom | England, Scotland, and Wales | The largest island in Europe. |
10 | Ellesmere Island | 196,236[16] | 75,767 | Canada | Nunavut | |
11 | Sulawesi | 180,681 | 69,761 | Indonesia | Gorontalo, Central, North, South, Southeast, and West Sulawesi | |
12 | South Island (Te Waipounamu) | 145,836 | 56,308 | New Zealand | Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland | The largest island in Polynesia. |
13 | Java | 138,794 | 53,589 | Indonesia | Banten, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Central, East, and West Java | The most populous island. |
14 | North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) | 111,583 | 43,082 | New Zealand | Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Northland, Taranaki, Waikato, and Wellington regions | |
15 | Luzon (main island) | 109,965 | 42,458 | Philippines | Bicol, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Cordillera, Ilocos, and Metro Manila | |
16 | Newfoundland | 108,860[16] | 42,030 | Canada | Newfoundland and Labrador | |
17 | Cuba (main island) | 105,806 | 40,852 | Cuba | The largest island in the Caribbean. | |
18 | Iceland (main island) | 101,826 | 39,315 | Iceland | The largest volcanic island in the world. |
Islands 25,000–99,999 km2 (9,700–38,600 sq mi)
Islands 10,000–24,999 km2 (3,861–9,652 sq mi)
Islands 5,000–9,999 km2 (1,931–3,861 sq mi)
Islands 2,500–4,999 km2 (965–1,930 sq mi)
Islands 1,000–2,499 km2 (386–965 sq mi)
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Islands of unconfirmed area
Rank | Island | Area[11] | Nation(s) | Subnational divisions | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(km2) | (sq mi) | |||||
— | Smyley Island | 3,287 | 1,269 | Antarctica | Antarctic territorial claims by Chile and United Kingdom. It is 61 km (38 mi) long and between 13 and 34 km (8.1 and 21.1 mi) wide.[46] | |
— | Fletcher Island | 1,580 | 610 | Antarctica | Antarctic territorial claims by Australia. Island has a diameter of 0.40 km (0.25 mi).[47] | |
— | Charcot Island | 1,500 | 580 | Antarctica | Antarctic territorial claims by Chile and United Kingdom. Island is 48 by 40 km (30 by 25 mi).[48] |
See also
- Lake island
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of countries and dependencies by area
- List of countries by largest island
- List of divided islands
- List of islands by highest point
- List of islands by name
- List of islands by population
- List of islands by population density
- Lists of islands by continent and country
- Recursive islands and lakes
- River island
Notes
- The United States Geological Survey is a notable exception. The United States-based scientific agency considers all landmasses surrounded by ocean water, including continental mainlands, as islands. Under their definition, Africa, Australia, Eurasia, North America, and South America are classified as continental mainland islands.[1]
- Physiographically, there are only four continents (including offshore continental islands which sit on the nearby continental shelves) that are completely surrounded by water: Afro-Eurasia (57% of the global land area), the Americas (28.5%), Antarctica (9%), and Australia (5%). The remaining 0.5% is made up of remote oceanic islands, mostly scattered within Oceania in the central and south Pacific Ocean.[2]
- Including landmasses which are above water and over 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi). The submerged continent of Zealandia (approx. 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi)) is excluded.[3]
- Figure derived from the Global Islands Explorer website, by adding the areas of mainland Africa (29,370,907 km2 (11,340,171 sq mi)) and mainland Eurasia (50,439,819 km2 (19,474,923 sq mi)).
- Egypt has a small portion of its land located on mainland Eurasia. Equatorial Guinea's capital city is located on an island.
- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey each have a small portion of their land located on continental Europe. Malaysia has a significant portion of its land located on an island.
- Russia has a big portion of its land located on continental Asia. Denmark's capital city is located on an island.
- Abkhazia and South Ossetia are both located south of the Greater Caucasus watershed, and thus they are geographically parts of Asia.
- Figure derived from the Global Islands Explorer website, by adding the areas of mainland North America (20,090,075 km2 (7,756,821 sq mi)) and mainland South America (17,609,548 km2 (6,799,084 sq mi)).
- Depending on the definition, a significant portion of Panama (land east of the Panama Canal) could be considered a part of mainland South America.
- Figure derived from the Geoscience Australia website, the area of mainland Tasmania (64,519 km2 (24,911 sq mi)) has been deducted.[8] The Global Islands Explorer website has given a slightly larger figure of 7,618,696 km2 (2,941,595 sq mi) for the area of mainland Australia.
- A dispute exists between the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning the sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. The disputed territory is described as "Falkland Islands (Malvinas)" by the United Nations.
References
Citations
External links
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