List of countries by number of islands explained

This is a list of countries by number of islands, with figures given for the numbers of islands within their territories. In some cases, this figure is approximate and may vary slightly between sources depending on which islands are counted. The criteria for inclusion appear to differ considerably between the countries so they are not necessarily directly comparable. Different languages use different words for islands depending on size and or shape and elevation. For example, in English, a smaller island can be referred to as an islet, skerry, cay, or eyot, leading to confusion over classification as an island in some circumstances. This can influence which islands are counted or not. Some islands are fully submerged by the tides at times, and those may also not be counted by some countries while others do. Where counts vary, this article uses the highest reliably sourced figure.

For the purposes of this article, the top 50 countries will have their islands determined by the following definition: “An island is a land mass permanently above sea level either in an inland waterway or in the open sea. It is completely surrounded by water, but must not be a continent.”[1]

List

Notes!class=unsortable
List linkclass=unsortableSource(s)
Algeria24032 islands and 208 islets; coastal islands/islets only.List[2]
Antigua and Barbuda542Three main islands (Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda) and 51 offshore islandsList[3] [4]
Australia8,222List[5]
Azerbaijan161List[6]
Bangladesh23List
Barbados41There are currently two islands and two banks in Barbados. An additional historical island (Pelican Island) no longer exists.List[7]
Bulgaria117List
Cambodia71List[8]
Canada52,455Canada has several large inhabited islands, including Prince Edward Island, Vancouver Island, Montreal, and Manitoulin Island. List
Cape Verde15910 islands and 5 isletsList[9]
Chile43,4712,3243,739 islands (above 9000m2) and 2180 islets (above 3000m2)List[10] [11]
China6,961433500m2 only. Excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. List[12]
Croatia1,24648List[13]
Cuba4,195List[14]
Denmark40670[15]
Dominica31The island nation of Dominica with a total area of includes two small, off-shore islands and one disputed island:List[16] [17]
Estonia2,35522[18] [19]
Fiji330110List
Finland178,947780[20]
France1,900+109[21]
Greece6,000227Depending on inclusion criteria counts vary from 1,200[22] to 6,000.[23] The number inhabited is variously cited as between 166[24] and 227.List
Hong Kong263>500m2 only. "Many" or "most" are inhabited.List[25]
Iceland3141 large and "about 30 smaller islands, and thousands of rocks and skerries."List[26]
India1,38247"Off-shore identified islands". The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise 572 islands, 37 of which are inhabited.[27] Lakshadweep has 32 islands, 10 of which are inhabited.[28] List[29]
Indonesia17,5086,000Largest archipelagic state. 5 major islands and about 30 smaller groups, about 6,000 are inhabited.By location
By area
By populationBy extremities		[30]
Italy80877List
Japan120,72943014,125 islands with a circumference of at least 0.1 km.By area
By location		[31] [32] [33]
Kiribati332132 atolls and 1 limestone island; 21 islands are inhabited.List[34]
Lebanon120There are 12 islands in Lebanon, 11 of which are off the coast of Tripoli, and 1 off the coast of Sidon. The biggest of which are the Palm Islands, followed by Sanani and Ramkeen, which was an inhabited island. The southern city of Tyre used to be an island up until the Siege of Tyre in 332 BC when the island was connected to mainland modern day Lebanon by Alexander the Great's forces in an attempt to capture the island.[35] List[36]
Malaysia878The largest island, Borneo is shared with Brunei and Indonesia.List
Maldives1,1921871,192 islands in total of 10 atolls; 187 islands are inhabited.List[37]
Malta2133 inhabited (Malta, Gozo and Comino), 3 islets and 12 "large rocks"List[38]
Marshall Islands342429 atolls and 5 isolated islands.List[39] [40]
Mexico1,356131List[41]
Micronesia60765Four major island groupsList[42] [43]
Nauru11—[44]
New Zealand600Approximate number within about 50km (30miles) of the two main islands; excludes associated states and Antarctic islands.List[45]
Netherlands3415Of the NetherlandsOf the Netherlands Antilles
North Macedonia30013 larger than 0.01km2, 6 on lakes, the rest on rivers.List[46]
Norway320,24960+There are a total of 320,249 islands and islets along the coastline, according to Kartverket. 239,057 are considered proper islands, with the rest being islets; however, by the definition used in this list, all 320,249 are considered islands. An older source gives 53,789 islands, which may be the figure for coastal islands only.[47] List
Pakistan127Pakistan's largest island, AstolaList[48]
Palau2008Eight permanently inhabitedList[49]
Peru2338There is approximately 94.36km (58.63miles) in maritime islands and islets, and 39.04km (24.26miles) inside lakesList[50]
Philippines7,6412,000Thousands of islands are unnamed, and tiny.List[51] [52]
Poland203Usedom (shared with Germany) and Wolin are barrier islands; the rest are either lagoon, lake or river islands.List
Portugal2323All of their 23 islands are inhabited.List
Russia1,338List[53]
Samoa124List[54]
Senegal35List
351–3Ostrovo is permanently populated, while Ada and Great War Island are occasionally inhabited. Most islands are on the Danube and Sava. List
Singapore64These include Sentosa, Pulau Ubin, St John's Island and Sisters' Islands.List[55]
South Korea3,3582,876[56]
Spain6021List
Sri Lanka613Most of the islands are situated in the north and eastern parts of the from the main land. The most prominent islets are west of the Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province. List
Sweden267,570984Slightly more than 8,000 islands had some form of buildings in 2013, most uninhabited. More than 1.6 million (17% of population) people lived on an island in 2013. This figure is high because there are densely populated islands in the larger cities of Sweden.List[57]
Scotland
See United Kingdom.		900118More than 900 islands, of which 118 are inhabited.List
Thailand1,430List
Tonga16936The total surface area of the archipelago is about 750km2, scattered over 700000km2 of the southern Pacific Ocean.List[58]
Tuvalu99Six atolls and 3 reef islands.List[59]
United Kingdom6,346129Includes all offshore islands marked on Ordnance Survey maps. England, Scotland & Wales: 6289; Northern Ireland: 57. (Not included: Isle of Man: 30; Bailiwick of Guernsey: 57; Bailiwick of Jersey: 274; overseas dependencies.)
Inhabited islands. England: 24; Scotland: 93;[60] Wales: 9;[61] Northern Ireland: 2; Britain: 1.		List[62]
United States18,61710,000List[63]
Venezuela650350Most of them are virgin landsand Margarita Island is the largest island of Venezuela.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Countries with the most islands: the top 50 . 2023-05-23 . Worlddata.info . en.
  2. Book: Kacemi, Malika. 2013-02-07. Protection et valorisation du littoral en Algérie: législation et instruments: Le cas des communes littorales d'Oran. Études caribéennes. 2.2. Le Plan d’Aménagement Côtier (PAC). fr. 20. 10.4000/etudescaribeennes.5959. 1779-0980. free.
  3. Book: Antigua & barbuda investment and trade laws and regulations handbook.. 2008. International Business Publications USA. 978-1-4330-7538-4. 9. 946496096.
  4. Web site: Birdlife International. 2020. Important Bird Areas factsheet: Offshore Islands. 2020-06-16. BirdLife Data Zone.
  5. Web site: Geoscience Australia. 2014-05-15. Islands. 2020-06-13. EN.
  6. Web site: Islands. 2020-06-13. EN.
  7. Web site: Barbados Islands. GeoNames. September 22, 2021.
  8. News: 2021-08-18. Names of Island in Cambodia. km. Kampuchea Thmey News. 2024-05-16.
  9. News: 2018-12-05. Cape Verde country profile. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-06-15.
  10. Book: Instituto Geográfico Militar. Atlas Geográfico para la Educación (5.ª edición). 1998. 956-202-053-3. Santiago. es.
  11. Web site: Bienes Nacionales estima que existen 43.471 islas en Chile: Más de 11 mil aún no tienen nombre . 16 October 2019 .
  12. Book: Kong, Zhiguo. The making of a maritime power : China's challenges and policy responses. 2016. 978-981-10-1786-5. Singapore. 159. 6.3 Establishing the Tunhai Policy. 962018517.
  13. Coastline lengths and areas of islands in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea as determined from topographic maps at a 1:25,000 scale. Tea . Duplančić Leder. Tin . Ujević. Mendi . Čala. Geoadria. 9. 1. June 2004. Hrvatsko geografsko društvo - Zadar, Geography Department, University of Zadar. Zadar, Croatia. 1331-2294. PDF. 24 September 2022.
  14. News: 2018-10-09. Chart: The Countries with the most Islands. en-GB. Statista. 2023-06-14.
  15. http://www.forsvaret.dk/FKO/eng/Facts%20and%20Figures/Pages/default.aspx "Facts and Figures
  16. Web site: Islands of Dominica. GeoNames. September 23, 2021.
  17. Web site: Dominca. CIA Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. September 25, 2021.
  18. https://news.err.ee/116562/estonia-has-800-islands-more-than-hitherto-believed Estonia has 800 islands more than hitherto believed
  19. https://statistikaamet.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/pusielanikud-on-22-saarel/ Püsielanikud on 22 saarel
  20. https://mmm.fi/documents/1410837/1948019/Suomi_Saarten_ja_vetten_maa_esite_suomi.pdf/ Saarten ja vetten maa
  21. https://www.cbd.int/islands/doc/idr/voluntary-reports/France/france-report-to-berne-convention.pdf
  22. Book: John S. Bowman. Frommer's Greece. Sherry Marker. Peter Keraislands siotis. Heidi Sarna. Wiley Publishing. 2010. 978-0-470-52663-7. 7th. Hoboken, NJ. 12. Greece in depth.
  23. Web site: Hellenic Organization of Tourism (EOT). 15 June 2020. Hellenic Organization of Tourism (EOT; Ελληνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού), www.gnto.gov.gr.
  24. Book: Poffley, Frewin. Greek Island Hopping. Thomas Cook. 2002. 15.
  25. Web site: Lands Department. Lands Department. January 2017. Hong Kong Geographic Data. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120305072223/http://www.landsd.gov.hk/mapping/en/publications/hk_geographic_data_sheet.pdf. 5 March 2012. 2020-06-13.
  26. Web site: Everything You Want to Know about Iceland's Inhabited Islands. 2020-06-13. What's On in Iceland. 6 August 2018 . en-GB.
  27. Web site: Sawhney. Pravin. 30 January 2019. A watchtower on the high seas. 2020-06-15. The Tribune India. en.
  28. Web site: Lakshadweep. 2020-06-15. Official Website of Administration of Lakshadweep. en-US.
  29. Web site: Kant. Amitabh. 10 August 2018. Incredible Islands of India (Holistic Development). 13 June 2020. NITI Aayog. 3.
  30. Web site: Facts & Figures. 2020-06-13. Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Washington DC. en-US.
  31. Web site: 我が国の島を数えました . Geospatial Information Authority of Japan . 24 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322192220/https://www.gsi.go.jp/kihonjohochousa/pressrelease20230228.html . 22 March 2023.
  32. Web site: Smith. Oliver. 5 August 2018. The countries with the most islands (and the idyllic ones you must visit). 2020-06-15. The Telegraph. en-GB.
  33. Web site: Recount with digital map leads to doubling of listed Japanese islands . Japan Times . Feb 15, 2023 . https://archive.today/20230215042328/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/02/15/national/japanese-islands-recount/ . Feb 15, 2023.
  34. Web site: About Kiribati. 2020-06-13. Kiribati for Travellers. Kiribati National Tourism Office. en-US.
  35. Web site: Tyre | Ancient City & Historical Site | Britannica .
  36. Web site: Discover the Beauty of the Islands of Lebanon! . 6 September 2017 .
  37. Web site: Maldives in Figures – June 2021. Maldives Bureau of Statistics. 20 May 2019 . Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure. en-US.
  38. Web site: Geography of Malta and Gozo Location, Landscape & Coastline. 2020-06-14. Malta.com.
  39. Web site: 2020. Australia - Oceania :: Marshall Islands. 2020-06-13. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
  40. Web site: Republic of the Marshall Islands. 2020-06-15. Pacific Food Guide. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. en-US.
  41. Web site: 2024. Mexican Islands. 2020-06-13. Biodiversidad. Mexico government.
  42. Web site: 2 June 2020. Micronesia, Federated States of. 2020-06-14. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
  43. Web site: 2018-02-20. Federated States of Micronesia. 2020-06-15. OCHA. en.
  44. Web site: Nauru - Republic of Nauru - Naoero, the Pleasant Island, Micronesia - South Pacific. 2020-06-14. Nations Online Project.
  45. Web site: McSaveney. Eileen. 24 September 2007. Nearshore islands - A nation of islands. 2020-06-14. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. en.
  46. Milevski. Ivica. December 2013. About the islands in the Republic of Macedonia. Географски разгледи. 47. 31–46.
  47. Book: Recreational Uses of Coastal Areas : a Research Project of the Commission on the Coastal Environment, International Geographical Union. 1989. Springer Netherlands. 978-94-009-2391-1. Fabbri. Paolo. Dordrecht. 128. 11. The Recreational Use of the Norwegian Coast. 851377567.
  48. Web site: 12 Beautiful Islands of Pakistan . 8 March 2021.
  49. Web site: Palau. 2020-06-14. Charting the Pacific - Places. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  50. https://web.archive.org/web/20070909195727/http://www.inei.gob.pe/biblioineipub/bancopub/Est/LIB0170/N02/iecaa012.htm PERU: SUPERFICIE INSULAR, SEGUN REGION Y DEPARTAMENTO
  51. Web site: Philippines. 2020-06-23. NAMRIA.
  52. Web site: Philippines Inhabited. 2020-06-23. World Atlas. 19 October 2018 .
  53. [:ru:Проект:Россия/Списки/Список островов России|List of islands of Russia]
  54. Web site: The Islands of Samoa. 2020-06-15. Discover Samoa.
  55. Web site: 10 fun facts about Singapore . www.visitsingapore.com . en.
  56. Web site: 3 percent of Sweden's land area consists of islands. . 12 July 2017 .
  57. Web site: 3 percent of Sweden's land area consists of islands . 2023-05-23 . Statistiska Centralbyrån . en.
  58. Web site: The World Factbook: Tonga: Geography. 16 November 2018. 9 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210109192022/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tonga. live.
  59. Web site: Tuvalu. 2020-06-14. Charting the Pacific - Places. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  60. Web site: Inhabited islands analytical report.
  61. Web site: Inhabited islands of Wales.
  62. Web site: Counting the many little bits of Britain.
  63. Web site: Which Countries Have the Most Islands?. 5 October 2020 .

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