Wikipedia

List of countries by number of islands

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

edit
Country No. of
islands 		No. of inhabited
islands 		Notes List link Source(s)
Algeria 240 32 islands and 208 islets; coastal islands/islets only. List [2]
Antigua and Barbuda 54 2 Three main islands (Antigua, Barbuda and Redonda) and 51 offshore islands List [3][4]
Australia 8,222 19 List [5]
Azerbaijan 16 1 List [6]
Bangladesh 23 List [citation needed]
Barbados 4 1 There are currently two islands and two banks in Barbados. An additional historical island (Pelican Island) no longer exists. List [7]
Bulgaria 117 List [citation needed]
Cambodia 71 9 List [8]
Canada 52,455 260 Canada has several large inhabited islands, including Prince Edward Island, Vancouver Island, Montreal, and Manitoulin Island. List [1]
Cape Verde 15 9 10 islands and 5 islets List [9]
Chile 43,471 2,324 3,739 islands (above 9,000 m2 (97,000 sq ft)) and 2180 islets (above 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft)) List [10][11]
China 6,961 433 500 m2 (5,400 sq ft) only. Excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. List [12]
Croatia 1,246 48 List [13]
Cuba 4,195 8 List [14]
Denmark 406 70 List [15]
Dominica 3 1 The island nation of Dominica with a total area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi) includes two small, off-shore islands and one disputed island: List [16][17]
Estonia 2,355 22 List [18][19]
Fiji 330 110 List [citation needed]
Finland 178,947 780 List [20]
France 1,900+ 109 List [21]
Greece 6,000 227 Depending 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.[23] List [23]
Hong Kong 263 15 >500 m2 (5,400 sq ft) only. "Many" or "most" are inhabited. List [25]
Iceland 31 4 1 large and "about 30 smaller islands, and thousands of rocks and skerries." List [26]
India 1,382 47 "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]
Indonesia 17,508 6,000 Largest archipelagic state. 5 major islands and about 30 smaller groups, about 6,000 are inhabited. By location
By area
By population

By extremities

[30]
Italy 808 77 List [citation needed]
Japan 120,729 430 14,125 islands with a circumference of at least 0.1 km. By area
By location 		[31][32][33]
Kiribati 33 21 32 atolls and 1 limestone island; 21 islands are inhabited. List [34]
Lebanon 12 3 There 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]
Malaysia 878 The largest island, Borneo is shared with Brunei and Indonesia. List [citation needed]
Maldives 1,192 187 1,192 islands in total of 10 atolls; 187 islands are inhabited. List [37]
Malta 21 3 3 inhabited (Malta, Gozo and Comino), 3 islets and 12 "large rocks" List [38]
Marshall Islands 34 24 29 atolls and 5 isolated islands. List [39][40]
Mexico 1,356 131 List [41]
Micronesia 607 65 Four major island groups List [42][43]
Nauru 1 1 — [44]
New Zealand 600 22 Approximate number within about 50 km (31 mi) of the two main islands; excludes associated states and Antarctic islands. Roughly 22 of Aotearoa's islands have people residing on them. List [45]
Netherlands 34 15 Of the Netherlands

Of the Netherlands Antilles

[citation needed]
North Macedonia 30 0 13 larger than 0.01 km2 (2.5 acres), 6 on lakes, the rest on rivers. List [46]
Norway 239,057 60+ There are a total of 320,249 islands, islets, or skerries along the coast of Norway. Kartverket (The Norwegian Mapping Authority) considers islands larger than 10 m2 (110 sq ft) proper islands, amounting to 239,057, with then 81,192 being skerries; 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 [48][49]
Pakistan 12 7 Pakistan's largest island, Astola List [50]
Palau 200 8 Eight permanently inhabited List [51]
Peru 233 8 There is approximately 94.36 km (58.63 mi)[clarification needed] in maritime islands and islets, and 39.04 km (24.26 mi) inside lakes List [52]
Philippines 7,641 2,000 Thousands of islands are unnamed, and tiny. List [53][54]
Poland 203 Usedom (shared with Germany) and Wolin are barrier islands; the rest are either lagoon, lake or river islands. List [55]
Portugal 102 23 23 portuguese islands are inhabited. List [citation needed]
Russia 1,338 140 List [56]
Samoa 12 4 List [57]
Senegal 35 9 List [citation needed]
Serbia 35 1–3 Ostrovo is permanently populated, while Ada and Great War Island are occasionally inhabited. Most islands are on the Danube and Sava. List [citation needed]
Singapore 64 32 These include Sentosa, Pulau Ubin, St John's Island and Sisters' Islands. List [58]
South Korea 3,358 2,876 List [59]
Spain 60 21 List [citation needed]
Sri Lanka 61 3 Most 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 [citation needed]
Sweden 267,570 984 Slightly 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 [60]
Scotland
See United Kingdom. 		900 118 More than 900 islands, of which 118 are inhabited. List [citation needed]
Thailand 1,430 47 List [citation needed]
Tonga 169 36 The total surface area of the archipelago is about 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. List [61]
Tuvalu 9 9 Six atolls and 3 reef islands. List [62]
United Kingdom 6,346 129 Includes all offshore islands marked on Ordnance Survey maps. England, Scotland & Wales: 6289; Northern Ireland: 57. (Not included: Isle of Man: 30[dubious – discuss]; Bailiwick of Guernsey: 57[dubious – discuss]; Bailiwick of Jersey: 274[dubious – discuss]; overseas dependencies.)
Inhabited islands. England: 24; Scotland: 93;[63] Wales: 9;[64] Northern Ireland: 2; Britain[clarification needed]: 1. 		List [65]
United States 18,617 10,000 List [66]
Venezuela 650 350 Most of them are virgin lands[clarification needed]and Margarita Island is the largest island of Venezuela. List [citation needed]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Countries with the most islands: the top 50". Worlddata.info. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ^ Kacemi, Malika (7 February 2013). "2.2. Le Plan d'Aménagement Côtier (PAC)". Protection et valorisation du littoral en Algérie: législation et instruments: Le cas des communes littorales d'Oran (in French). doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.5959. ISSN 1779-0980. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Antigua & barbuda investment and trade laws and regulations handbook. International Business Publications USA. 2008. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-4330-7538-4. OCLC 946496096.
  4. ^ Birdlife International (2020). "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Offshore Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. ^ Geoscience Australia (15 May 2014). "Islands". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Islands". Retrieved 13 June 2020. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ "Barbados Islands". GeoNames. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Names of Island in Cambodia". Kampuchea Thmey News (in Khmer). 18 August 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Cape Verde country profile". BBC News. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  10. ^ Instituto Geográfico Militar (1998). Atlas Geográfico para la Educación (5.ª edición) (in Spanish). Santiago. ISBN 956-202-053-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ "Bienes Nacionales estima que existen 43.471 islas en Chile: Más de 11 mil aún no tienen nombre". 16 October 2019.
  12. ^ Kong, Zhiguo (2016). "6.3 Establishing the Tunhai Policy". The making of a maritime power : China's challenges and policy responses. Singapore. p. 159. ISBN 978-981-10-1786-5. OCLC 962018517.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ Duplančić Leder, Tea; Ujević, Tin; Čala, Mendi (June 2004). "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" (PDF). Geoadria. 9 (1). Zadar, Croatia: Hrvatsko geografsko društvo - Zadar, Geography Department, University of Zadar. ISSN 1331-2294. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Chart: The Countries with the most Islands". Statista. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Facts and Figures Archived 2010-06-30 at the Wayback Machine", Danish Defence, Defence Command Denmark. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Islands of Dominica". GeoNames. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Dominca". CIA Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  18. ^ Estonia has 800 islands more than hitherto believed - ERR.ee, 25 August 2015.
  19. ^ Püsielanikud on 22 saarel - Statistikablogi, Statistikaameti ajaveeb, retrieved 23 October 2017.
  20. ^ Saarten ja vetten maa (in Finnish)
  21. ^ [1] (in French)
  22. ^ John S. Bowman; Sherry Marker; Peter Keraislands siotis; Heidi Sarna (2010). "Greece in depth". Frommer's Greece (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-470-52663-7.
  23. ^ a b c "Hellenic Organization of Tourism (EOT)". Hellenic Organization of Tourism (EOT; Ελληνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού), www.gnto.gov.gr. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  24. ^ Poffley, Frewin (2002). Greek Island Hopping. Thomas Cook. p. 15.
  25. ^ Lands Department (January 2017). "Hong Kong Geographic Data" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Everything You Want to Know about Iceland's Inhabited Islands". What's On in Iceland. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  27. ^ Sawhney, Pravin (30 January 2019). "A watchtower on the high seas". The Tribune India. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Lakshadweep". Official Website of Administration of Lakshadweep. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  29. ^ Kant, Amitabh (10 August 2018). "Incredible Islands of India (Holistic Development)" (PDF). NITI Aayog. p. 3. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Facts & Figures". Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Washington DC. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  31. ^ "我が国の島を数えました". Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  32. ^ Smith, Oliver (5 August 2018). "The countries with the most islands (and the idyllic ones you must visit)". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Recount with digital map leads to doubling of listed Japanese islands". Japan Times. 15 February 2023. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023.
  34. ^ "About Kiribati". Kiribati for Travellers. Kiribati National Tourism Office. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Tyre | Ancient City & Historical Site | Britannica". 17 August 2024.
  36. ^ "Discover the Beauty of the Islands of Lebanon!". 6 September 2017.
  37. ^ "Maldives in Figures – June 2021". Maldives Bureau of Statistics. Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure. 20 May 2019.
  38. ^ "Geography of Malta and Gozo | Location, Landscape & Coastline". Malta.com. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  39. ^ "Australia - Oceania :: Marshall Islands". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Republic of the Marshall Islands". Pacific Food Guide. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  41. ^ "Mexican Islands". Biodiversidad. Mexico government. 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  42. ^ "Micronesia, Federated States of". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  43. ^ "Federated States of Micronesia". OCHA. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  44. ^ "Nauru - Republic of Nauru - Naoero, the Pleasant Island, Micronesia - South Pacific". Nations Online Project. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  45. ^ McSaveney, Eileen (24 September 2007). "Nearshore islands - A nation of islands". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  46. ^ Milevski, Ivica (December 2013). "About the islands in the Republic of Macedonia". Географски разгледи. 47: 31–46.
  47. ^ Fabbri, Paolo, ed. (1989). "11. The Recreational Use of the Norwegian Coast". Recreational Uses of Coastal Areas : a Research Project of the Commission on the Coastal Environment, International Geographical Union. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. p. 128. ISBN 978-94-009-2391-1. OCLC 851377567.
  48. ^ Thuesen, Nils Petter; Thorsnæs, Geir; Røvik, Sissel (19 April 2023), "Norge", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved 23 May 2023
  49. ^ Staurset, Kjersti Baust (24 November 2011), "Lengre kyst og flere øyer", Store norske leksikon (in nol), retrieved 23 September 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  50. ^ "12 Beautiful Islands of Pakistan". 8 March 2021.
  51. ^ "Palau". Charting the Pacific - Places. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  52. ^ PERU: SUPERFICIE INSULAR, SEGUN REGION Y DEPARTAMENTO, Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (in Spanish)
  53. ^ "Philippines". NAMRIA. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  54. ^ "Philippines Inhabited". World Atlas. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  55. ^ "Lista wysp Polski" [List of islands of Poland], Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia (in Polish), 1 June 2023, retrieved 21 July 2023
  56. ^ List of islands of Russia in Russian Wikipedia
  57. ^ "The Islands of Samoa". Discover Samoa. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  58. ^ "10 fun facts about Singapore". www.visitsingapore.com.
  59. ^ "3 percent of Sweden's land area consists of islands". CNN. 12 July 2017.
  60. ^ "3 percent of Sweden's land area consists of islands". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  61. ^ "The World Factbook: Tonga: Geography". Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  62. ^ "Tuvalu". Charting the Pacific - Places. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  63. ^ "Inhabited islands analytical report".
  64. ^ "Inhabited islands of Wales".
  65. ^ "Counting the many little bits of Britain".
  66. ^ "Which Countries Have the Most Islands?". 5 October 2020.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_countries_by_number_of_islands&oldid=1249508237"