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The 26 Largest Islands In The World Compared

January 8, 2015 28 Comments

relative size of the 24 largest islands in the world

The relative size of the 24 largest islands in the world, map by reddit user evening_raga

The map above shows the relative size of the world’s 26 largest islands. Combined they cover 7.7 million square km (roughly the size of Australia) and have 540 million people living on them (behind only China and India).

If you’re curious to learn a bit more about them, below you can find their names, what country (or countries) they belong to, their areas and the population of each island (data from Wikipedia):

  1. Greenland (autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark); area: 2,130,800 km2; population: 56,344
  2. New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea); area: 785,753 km2; population: 11,306,940
  3. Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia); area: 748,168 km2; population: 19,804,064
  4. Madagascar (Madagascar); area: 587,713 km2; population: 22,005,222
  5. Baffin Island (Canada); area: 507,451 km2; population: 10,745
  6. Sumatra (Indonesia); area: 480,848 km2; population: 50,365,538
  7. Honshu (Japan); area: 225,800 km2; population: 103,000,000
  8. Victoria Island (Canada); area: 217,291 km2; population: 1,875
  9. Great Britain (United Kingdom); area: 209,331 km2; population: 60,800,000
  10. Ellesmere Island (Canada); area: 196,236 km2; population: 146
  11. Sulawesi (Indonesia); area: 180,681 km2; population: 18,455,058
  12. South Island (New Zealand); area: 145,836 km2; population: 1,058,500
  13. Java (Indonesia); area: 138,794 km2; population: 143,000,000
  14. North Island (New Zealand); area: 111,583 km2; population: 3,450,800
  15. Luzon (Philippines) area: 109,965 km2; population: 48,520,774
  16. Newfoundland (Canada); area: 108,860 km2; population: 479,105
  17. Cuba (Cuba); area: 104,556 km2; population: 11,167,325
  18. Iceland (Iceland); area: 101,826 km2; population: 316,252
  19. Mindanao (Philippines); area: 97,530 km2; population: 25,281,545
  20. Ireland (Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom); area: 84,421 km2; population: 6,378,000
  21. Hokkaido (Japan); area: 78,719 km2; population: 5,507,456
  22. Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) area: 76,480 km2; population: 19,442,012
  23. Sakhalin (Russia) area: 72,493 km2; population: 580,000
  24. Banks Island (Canada) area: 70,028 km2; population: 136
  25. Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka)area: 65,268 km2; population: 20,277,597
  26. Tasmania (Australia) area: 64,519 km2; population: 514,700

This is what the world would look like if it were only made of islands:

The world with only islands

The world with only islands, map by reddit user evening_raga

Here are a few more facts about the islands above:

  • Canada fully owns 5 of the top 26 islands, while Indonesia owns all or part of 5 as well.
  • The most populated island is Indonesia’s Java with 143 million people.
  • The least populated is Canada’s Banks Island with just 136.
  • The United States does not have a single island in the top 26, with the largest being Hawai’i (Big Island), which is only the 76th largest in the world.
  • Only 4 islands belong to more than one country – New Guinea, Borneo, Ireland and Hispaniola

Why isn’t Australia considered an island?

Australia Greenland size comparison

Australia vs. Greenland size comparison, map by Benjamin Hell

Technically every continent in the world could be considered an island. Australia is 3 times the size of Greenland and is the largest landmass on its continental shelf. Thus, it can be considered an island-continent, but most often it’s classed as a continent rather than an island.

In fact, if it was an island it would be roughly as large as the next 26 combined.

Want to learn more about the world’s islands? Then have a look at:

  • Atlas of Remote Islands
  • The Island of the World
  • Island: How Islands Transform the World

Have any feelings about islands? Have your say below:

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Filed Under: World Maps Tagged With: area, comparison, islands

Comments

  1. Brilliant Maps says

    January 16, 2015 at 9:05 am

    I’ve looked into a bit more and the original map creator defined islands as anything that weren’t continents, so they’ve excluded Australia (island) because it’s the largest land mass in Australia (continent).

    I think this makes a certain amount of sense as it would make comparisons difficult, due to the scale you’d have to use (Australia being 3X the size of Greenland).

    Reply
  2. Keivan Hadji Hossein says

    February 7, 2015 at 5:36 pm

    Think about Africa and Antarctica: their main landmasses measure respectively 29.7 million km2 (Madagascar excluded) and 14 million km2. They’re detached from other continents and they do have a large number of islands that are still considered part of their continents. Nevertheless, their landmasses are never considered to be “islands” on their own. Same goes for Australia (excluding Tasmania): it actually is Oceania’s main landmass rather than a simple island.

    Reply
    • Ken says

      June 7, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      Africa is not “detached from other continents”. It simply became physically discontiguous with Eurasia when a canal was dug a few generations ago.

      Reply
  3. Juan Pérez says

    March 26, 2015 at 5:21 pm

    Only 4 islands belong to more than one country – New Guinea, Borneo, Ireland and Hispaniola**** There are at least 5 considering Tierra del Fuego Island.

    Reply
    • Answerer says

      May 8, 2015 at 5:22 am

      Actually there are seven significant islands with borders: the five you mentioned, plus Timor (whose estarn part gained independence from Indonesia) and Cyprus (whose nothen third was invaded by turkish scum). Other divided islands are smaller at least fifteen times Cyprus and scarcely inhabited, so their relevance is much less.

      Reply
    • Dan says

      June 4, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      Don’t forget Great Britain—home to England, Scotland and Wales

      Reply
  4. NEU Engineering CC says

    July 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    If Australia isn’t an Island then how come Christine Anu sings about “My Island Home?”

    Reply
    • drooghead says

      November 15, 2017 at 12:39 am

      She grew up in Cairns and the Torres Strait islands so the island she is referring to is not the Australian mainland but the Torres Strait islands.

      Reply
      • Jo says

        August 12, 2018 at 11:59 am

        I disagree, it is because most Australians regard the country as an island. Cairns is on the mainland…. proof, her lyrics say “My home is Australia. We are a land bound by sea. Though I may travel far across the ocean, it will never forget me…. My island home, my island home, my island home is waiting for me”.

        Reply
    • mP says

      November 11, 2019 at 6:54 am

      She could be singing about the many islands off the Queensland coast.

      Reply
  5. NEU Engineering CC says

    July 4, 2016 at 11:49 pm

    New Zealand’s South Island is (mostly) on the Pacific plate. It is the largest land mass on that plate, is it an contitnent too?

    Reply
    • Sawdust says

      April 20, 2017 at 12:36 am

      Actually, there is some talk recently about exactly this point…that New Zealand could be considered a (small) continent!

      Reply
  6. Aussieeee says

    June 29, 2017 at 4:57 am

    Australia is a country not a continent…
    i usually call the continent oceania
    sooooo whadda bout now?

    Reply
  7. R. Snider says

    July 25, 2017 at 6:36 pm

    On the topic of islands owned by two countries, I believe you forgot Sint Maarten/St. Martin owned by the Netherlands and France.

    Reply
    • Ken says

      June 7, 2018 at 8:26 pm

      There a five bullet point below the heading listing “a few more facts about the islands above”. Those islands above are the 26 largest islands, so Märket and Saint Martin are not included, as they are too small.

      Reply
  8. Rick Tavares says

    July 6, 2018 at 1:43 pm

    Also St Martin

    Reply
  9. Drake says

    November 7, 2018 at 8:34 pm

    Why do some publications flip Victoria Island and Great Britain on these lists? They are fairly close in area, but there seems to be some disagreement about which one should be first.

    Reply
    • Jeff says

      August 15, 2020 at 10:17 am

      It depends whether the tide is in or out 😉

      Reply
  10. Shuhananabinkinsha says

    May 7, 2019 at 2:48 pm

    I know right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  11. Shubananadinkinsha says

    May 7, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    The map was very cool, but you did not answer my question of where Wales ranks on the scale of islands.

    Reply
  12. Emma says

    June 10, 2019 at 3:52 pm

    There is no Victoria Island. It is Vancouver Island.

    Reply
    • Brilliant Maps says

      June 11, 2019 at 11:45 am

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Island_(Canada)

      Reply
    • TR says

      August 13, 2019 at 3:56 am

      Victoria Island is in NWT and is far larger than Vancouver Island.

      Reply
    • Wayne Dobson says

      August 16, 2020 at 4:46 pm

      Victoria is in the Arctic They missed Vancouver completely!

      Reply
      • Dan says

        October 3, 2020 at 11:50 am

        Vancouver Island is about half the size of Tasmania, the smallest island on this list.

        Reply
  13. Larry Vandiver says

    January 9, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    As a third grader in 1952, we were taught that Australia was the Island Continent. Yes, I’m old, but I do remember Mrs. Myer, my third grade teacher telling us that. It was also referred to as the Land Down Under.

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      May 1, 2020 at 12:00 pm

      You are correct Larry

      Reply
  14. e says

    August 17, 2020 at 11:25 am

    What about Newfoundland, Canada. The island part is 108,890 kms sq. Population 525,073 in 2018.

    Reply

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