List of islands of Greece

The island groups of the Aegean Sea. The Ionian Sea and most of its islands are not pictured.

Greece has an extremely large number of islands, 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]

The largest Greek island by area is Crete,[4] located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea. The second largest island is Euboea, 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, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea (one of these islands, Kythira, is off the southern tip of the Peloponnese Peninsula and part of the Attica region, but still considered part of the Ionian Islands, mainly because of historical reasons). There are also many islands, islets and rocks that surround the coast of Crete.

Islands of Greece by size

The following are the largest Greek islands listed by surface area. The table includes all islands of over 75 square miles (190 km2).

Island Area
(sq. miles) 		(km2) Cluster
1 Crete 3,219 8,336
2 Euboea 1,417 3,670
3 Lesbos 630 1,633 North Aegean Islands
4 Rhodes 541 1,401 Dodecanese
5 Chíos 325 842.3 North Aegean Islands
6 Cephalonia 302 781 Ionian Islands
7 Corfu 229 592.9 Ionian Islands
8 Lemnos 184 477.6 North Aegean Islands
9 Samos 184 477.4 North Aegean Islands
10 Naxos 166 429.8 Cyclades
11 Zakynthos 157 406 Ionian Islands
12 Thassos 147 380.1
13 Andros 147 380.0 Cyclades
14 Lefkada 117 303 Ionian Islands
15 Karpathos 116 300 Dodecanese
16 Kos 112 290.3 Dodecanese
17 Kythira 108 279.6 Ionian Islands
18 Icaria 99 255 North Aegean Islands
19 Skyros 81 209 Northern Sporades
20 Paros 75 195 Cyclades
21 Tinos 75 194 Cyclades

Saronic Islands

Main article: Saronic Islands

Inhabited islands

Uninhabited islands

This list includes islands that may have been inhabited in the past but are now uninhabited:

Northern Sporades

Main article: Sporades

Main islands

Other islands and islets

Ionian Islands

Main article: Ionian Islands

Main seven

Others

Dodecanese Islands

Main article: Dodecanese
164 total islands of which 26 are inhabited.

Aegean Islands

Main article: Aegean Islands

Of the Aegean Sea

Of the Thracian Sea

The Cyclades

Main article: Cyclades
Cyclades comprise around 220 islands

Main islands

Other islands and islets

Cretan islands

This is a list of islands, islets, and rocks that surround the island of Crete.

Of the Aegean Sea

The islet of Leon, on the left, next to the larger islet of Souda, within Souda bay
Spinalonga (Kalydon)
The islet of Pontikonisi (mouse island) which has the shape of a mouse.

Of the Libyan Sea

The islet of Trafos in the Libyan Sea

Euboea and surrounding islands

Islets close to mainland

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Greek claim is disputed by Turkey (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Turkey : "The Kardak Dispute" retrieved 30 November 2012).

References

  1. ↑ John S. Bowman,; Sherry Marker; Peter Kerasiotis; Heidi Sarna (2010). "Greece in depth". Frommer's Greece (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-470-52663-7.
  2. 1 2 Ellinikos Organismos Tourismou (EOT). "Greek islands". Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  3. ↑ Poffley, Frewin (2002). Greek Island Hopping. Thomas Cook. p. 15.
  4. ↑ "Discover Amazing Greek Beaches With Greek Island Cruises". UK Holidays In The Sun, Travel Tips, Guides, News & Information. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  5. ↑ Turkish map of Imia - Sources: Official map attached to the 1933 Edition of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Navigation through the Straits
  6. ↑ Athens News Agency, 21 June 1997: "Gov't satisfied with Pentagon statement referring to Imia as Greek territory"
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