List of islands by area
This list of islands by area includes all islands in the world greater than 2,500 km2 (970 sq mi) and several other islands over 500 km2 (190 sq mi), sorted in descending order by area. For comparison, continents are also shown.
Continental landmasses
A size comparison of the smallest continent (Australia) and the largest island (Greenland). South of the Australian mainland is Tasmania, itself the 26th largest island.
Although the continental landmasses listed below are not normally called islands, they are land entirely surrounded by water (excluding the geologically insignificant Suez and Panama Canals). In effect, they are enormous islands and are shown here for that reason. The figures are approximations and are for the continental mainland only. Some people, however, consider mainland Australia to be an island.
| Rank | Landmass | Area (km2) | Area (sq mi) | Country or countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afro-Eurasia | 85,000,000 | 33,000,000 | Various |
| 2 | Americas | 42,300,000 | 16,300,000 | Various |
| 3 | Antarctica[Note 1] | 14,000,000 | 5,400,000 | None (various countries have territorial claims) |
| 4 | Australia[Note 2] | 7,600,000 | 2,900,000 |  Australia |
Islands (18 total) 100,000 km2 (39,000 sq mi) and greater
Although an island is, in general, any land mass that is completely surrounded by water, some definitions exclude land masses large enough to be considered continents. Placing Australia in the latter category (even though arguments can be made whether it is technically a continent, or merely part of a larger continent also called Australia) makes Greenland the largest island. For the sake of classification, this list of islands begins with Greenland.
Islands (27 total) 25,000–99,999 km2 (9,653–38,610 sq mi)
Islands (32 total) 10,000–24,999 km2 (3,861–9,652 sq mi)
Islands (41 total) 5,000–9,999 km2 (1,931–3,861 sq mi)
Islands (61 total) 2,500–4,999 km2 (965–1,930 sq mi)
Islands (142 total) 1,000–2,499 km2 (386–965 sq mi)
This section of the list might not be complete, but covers almost all of the islands in the world over 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi). The area of some Antarctic islands is uncertain.
Islands (189 total) 500–999 km2 (193–386 sq mi)
This section of the list is not complete, although it should cover all European islands over 500 km2 (190 sq mi) and most islands of other continents.
See also
- List of countries and dependencies by area
- List of islands (by continent and country)
- List of islands by name
- List of islands by population
- List of islands by highest point
- List of islands by population density
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- Lake island
Notes
- ↑ Antarctica is a special case: if its ice is considered not as land, but as water, it is not a single land mass, but several land areas of much smaller area, since the ice-bedrock boundary is below sea level in many regions of the continent. If its ice cover were to be lifted, some rock that is currently below sea level would rise as the weight of the ice would be removed,[1] although this would in part be counteracted, and in some areas of the continent overtaken, by eustatic rises in sea level.[2]
- ↑ Australia is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island. Australia is sometimes dubbed "The Island Continent", and sometimes accorded the role of "Earth’s largest island but smallest continent".[3]
- ↑ It is thought that beneath the ice sheet Greenland may be three separate islands.[5] Whether the places where the ice-bedrock boundary reaches below the sea level are land or sea is a matter of definition. The usual definition is that Greenland is one major island.
- ↑ The Republic of China (ROC) is a state commonly referred to as Taiwan. It is also diplomatically occasionally known as Chinese Taipei or other names. The ROC is no longer a United Nations member since late 1971 and regarded by UN as Taiwan, Province of China (see also One-China policy and Political status of Taiwan). It is currently recognized by the Holy See and 23 UN member states and with de facto international relations with most others. Taiwan keeps substantial cultural , economic, and military relations with the United States, Japan, EU countries among major states. The political status of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories under the ROC jurisdiction since 1945) are in dispute. The ROC should not be confused with the People's Republic of China (PRC) which is usually referred to as China, or the Republic of Taiwan proposed by supporters of Taiwan independence.
- ↑ The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus claims and controls one third of the island of Cyprus, although this is not recognised by any country except Turkey.
Footnotes
- ↑ Global warming and the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Michael Oppenheimer, 1998 (see map of Antarctica showing regions where bedrock is below sea level)
- ↑ Jonathan L. Bamber; River; Vermeersen; LeBrocq (May 2009). "Reassessment of the Potential Sea-Level Rise from a Collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet". Science 324 (59295): 901–903. doi:10.1126/science.1169335. PMID 19443778. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ↑ "Australia in Brief - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Dfat.gov.au. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Islands By Land Area". Islands.unep.ch. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
- ↑ "Greenland's huge ice sheet is melting far faster than scientists expected", San Francisco Chronicle, 2 July 2006.
- ↑ "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Continent or Island?". Worldislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 "Atlas of Canada - Sea Islands". Atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. 2009-08-12. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ↑ Nolan, Professor William. "Geography of Ireland". Government of Ireland. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Islands of the World". Worldislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Statistisk ĺrbok 2009: Geografisk oversikt" (in Norwegian). Ssb.no. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
- ↑ Monthly Bulletin of Interior Statistics 2011.12, Department of Statistics, Ministry of the Interior, R.O.C.
- ↑ Dunham, Mike (July 31, 2010). "Turns out Kodiak is largest U.S. island, depending on viewpoint". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen - Střrste řer". 2003-09-23. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Islands of the World by Region". Worldislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- 1 2 Öar i Sverige Islands in Sweden
- 1 2 "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Lake Islands of the World". Worldislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- ↑ World Heritage Places - Fraser Island
- 1 2 3 "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Islands of Selected Countries". Worldislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
- 1 2 3 4 "Suomen suurimmat saaret". Kauko Huotari. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
- 1 2 3 "Svalbard Statistics 2005" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-08-01.
- ↑ Hecla / Grindstone Provincial Park
- ↑ Wurlitzer, Bernd (2006). Rügen (in German) (11 ed.). Mair Dumont Marco Polo. p. 15. ISBN 3-8297-0171-3.
- ↑ Local Cape Cod Information
- 1 2 3 4 Largest Lake Islands
- ↑ Padre Island at The Handbook of Texas
References
- Haug, Per Ivar (August 2005). "Islands of Greenland". Gazetteer of Greenland. Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
- "Islands by Land Area". Island Directory Tables. United Nations Environment Programme. 18 February 1998.
- "The Atlas of Canada". Natural Resources Canada. 4 June 2015.
- "World Island Information". Joshua Calder. 2010.
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