List of islands by area
This list includes 329 islands in the world larger than 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi). For size and location reference, the four continental landmasses are also included. All landmasses are arranged in descending order.
Dymaxion map (Fuller map) showing the continental landmasses (I, II, III, and IV) and the largest islands (1–30) roughly to scale
Map of the world showing the 25 largest islands
Continental landmasses
[edit]Generally, the continental landmasses are not all classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water.[Note 1] However, because the definition of continent varies between geographers, the Americas are sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent.[Note 2]
Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other three major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for the four continental landmasses only.[Note 3]
| Rank | Continental landmass[Note 4] | Area | Nation(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (km2) | (sq mi) | ||||
| I | Afro-Eurasia (Africa-Eurasia) |
79,810,726[Note 5] | 30,815,094 |
126 countries |
48 countries and two de facto states on mainland Africa.[Note 6] 78 countries and four de facto states on mainland Eurasia: - 38 countries and two de facto states on continental Asia.[Note 7][Note 8] - 40 countries and two de facto states on continental Europe[Note 9] |
| II | Americas | 37,699,623[Note 10] | 14,555,906 |
23 countries |
Ten countries on mainland North America.[Note 11] Thirteen countries including an overseas department and region of France on mainland South America. |
| III | Antarctica | 12,272,800[Note 12] | 4,738,600 | None[Note 13] | Antarctica is a special case, for if its ice is considered not as land, but as water, it is not a single landmass, but several landmasses of much smaller area, since the ice-bedrock boundary is below sea level in many regions of the continent.[6] If its ice cover were to be lifted, some rocks that are currently below sea level would rise as the weight of the ice would be removed,[7] although this would in part be counteracted, and in some areas of the continent overtaken, by eustatic rises in sea level.[8] |
| IV | Mainland Australia | 7,591,608[Note 14] | 2,931,136 | Australia | Mainland Australia is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island.[10] Australia is sometimes dubbed "The Island Continent" or "Earth's largest island, but its smallest continent".[11] |
Islands with areas of 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) or greater
[edit]Other areas of note
[edit] |
An island, with an area of 8,500 km2 (3,300 sq mi), is said to be formed by the Damietta and the Rosetta, two distributaries that flow into the Nile Delta in Egypt. At its given size it would be the 86th largest island.
The Ez Zeraf Game Reserve consists mainly of Zeraf Island, 8,000 km2 (3,100 sq mi), in South Sudan. It is a river island formed by the White Nile (Bahr el Jebel River) and its anabranch, the Bahr el Zeraf. At its given size it would be the 91st largest island.
The Camargue, 1,453 km2 (561 sq mi), in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France is sometimes listed as an island. The Camargue would be the 268th largest island.
Zhongshan Island, 1,055 km2 (407 sq mi), is a river island in Guangdong, China. The status of the island is disputed by China. It would be 322nd largest.
See also
[edit]
- List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
- List of countries and dependencies by area
- List of countries by largest island
- List of divided islands
- List of islands by highest point
- List of islands by name
- List of islands by population
- List of islands by population density
- Lists of islands
- Recursive islands and lakes
Notes
[edit]Continents
[edit]- ↑ The United States Geological Survey is a notable exception. The United States-based scientific agency classifies all landmasses (including all continental mainlands except Antarctica) surrounded by water as islands. Under their definition, Africa, Australia, Eurasia, North America, and South America are classified as continental mainland islands.[1]
- ↑ Geoscience Australia notes that 'Australia is often referred to as an island continent'[2]
- ↑ Physiographically, there are only four continents (including offshore continental islands which sit on the nearby continental shelves) that are completely surrounded by the ocean: Africa-Eurasia (57% of the global land area), the Americas (28.5%), Antarctica (9%), and Australia (5%). The remaining 0.5% is made up of remote oceanic islands, mostly scattered within Oceania in the central and south Pacific Ocean.[3]
- ↑ Including continental landmasses which are above water and over 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi). The submerged continent of Zealandia (approx. 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi)) is excluded.[4]
- ↑ Figure derived from the Global Islands Explorer website, by adding the areas of mainland Africa (29,370,907 km2 (11,340,171 sq mi)) and mainland Eurasia (50,439,819 km2 (19,474,923 sq mi)).
- ↑ Egypt has a small portion of its land located on mainland Eurasia.
- ↑ Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey each have a small portion of their land located on continental Europe. Malaysia has a significant portion of its land located on an island.
- ↑ Abkhazia and South Ossetia are both located south of the Greater Caucasus watershed, and thus they are geographically parts of Asia.
- ↑ Russia has a big portion of its land located on continental Asia. Denmark's capital city is located on an island.
- ↑ Figure derived from the Global Islands Explorer website, by adding the areas of mainland North America (20,090,075 km2 (7,756,821 sq mi)) and mainland South America (17,609,548 km2 (6,799,084 sq mi)).
- ↑ Depending on the definition, a significant portion of Panama (land east of the Panama Canal) could be considered a part of mainland South America.
- ↑ Area of mainland Antarctica, without the ice shelves and nearby islands.[5]
- ↑ Seven countries have made eight territorial claims. All territorial claims in Antarctica are in abeyance under the Antarctic Treaty System.
- ↑ Figure derived from the Geoscience Australia website, the area of mainland Tasmania (64,519 km2 (24,911 sq mi)) has been deducted.[9] The Global Islands Explorer website has given a slightly larger figure of 7,618,696 km2 (2,941,595 sq mi) for the area of mainland Australia.
Islands
[edit]- ↑ Area of all islands are from 2026 unless indicated in brackets in column.
- ↑ All areas from the United States Geological Survey, Esri, and the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre unless indicated otherwise.[12]
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Based on the seven continent model.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Area (and possibly island) not shown on USGS, Esri and UNEP-WCMC map.
- ↑ Listed as Elleg Ringens.
References
[edit]- ↑ "USGS – Global Islands Explorer". Global Islands Explorer. US Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 20 February 2025.
- ↑ Geoscience Australia (15 May 2014). "Islands". www.ga.gov.au. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ↑ Stephen Hawking; Lucy Hawking (9 January 2020). "Earth: What's It Made Of?". Unlocking the Universe. Puffin. p. 62. ISBN 9780241418864.
- ↑ GNS Science – Earth's 8th Continent
- ↑ "Antarctica in Context" (PDF). Landsat Image Mosaic Of Antarctica. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ 3D visualisations of the Earth2014 SUR, BED, TBI and RET topography layers over the Southern Hemisphere, centred to Antarctica
- ↑ 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. Bibcode:2009Sci...324..901B. doi:10.1126/science.1169335. PMID 19443778. S2CID 11083712.
- ↑ "Area of Australia – States and Territories". Geoscience Australia. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- 1 2 "Greenland: North America's Largest Island and an Autonomous Territory". 13 November 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Australia in Brief - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Dfat.gov.au. Archived from the original on 20 August 2003. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ↑ "Global Islands (USGS, ESRI, UNEP-WCMC)". 16 March 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Global Islands (USGS, ESRI, UNEP-WCMC) - USGSEsriWCMC GlobalIslandsv3 BigIslands". 16 March 2026. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Oceania Biggest Islands". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Asia Biggest Islands". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Africa Biggest Islands". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Baffin Island". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Largest Islands Of Europe By Area". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "The tragic history of the largest uninhabited island on Earth". National Geographic. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "The 10 Largest Antarctic Islands". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "South America Biggest Islands". Archived from the original on 5 October 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Berkner". Dahl, Arthur Lyon. 1991. IUCN/UNEP Island Directory. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies, No. 35, Nairobi, Kenya. 573 p. 28 May 1989. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Researchers Trace Origins of Wildlife on the World's Largest River Island". 6 June 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Bananal Island". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "The Arctic's Largest Delta". NASA. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Sovereignty since the ceasefire: The Falklands 40 years on". House of Lords Library. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
Conflict over sovereignty rights to the Falkland Islands has been ongoing for centuries. In the modern era this dispute has been between the United Kingdom and Argentina, which escalated into war 40 years ago, when Argentina invaded the Islands. This article examines the competing sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands.
- 1 2 "Largest Islands of the World by Region". Joshua Calder's World Island Info. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- 1 2 "Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Lake Islands of the World". Worldislandinfo.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
- ↑ "René-Levasseur: The World's Second Largest Island in a Lake?". GeoCurrents. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Bara, Márta Koczka; Velísková, Yvetta; Dulovičová, Renáta; Schügerl, Radoslav (15 August 2014). "Influence of surface water level fluctuation and riverbed sediment deposits on groundwater regime". Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics. 62 (3): 177–185. doi:10.2478/johh-2014-0030.
- 1 2 "Suomen suurimmat saaret". Kauko Huotari. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- 1 2 Barnett, Brad (28 July 2022). "Is Michigan's Largest Island Hiding in the Keweenaw Peninsula?". Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ↑ "01. Maantieteellisiä tietoja aihepiireittäin (Geographical data by theme)". Statistics Finland. 28 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- ↑ "De 50 största öarna". Archived from the original on 13 December 2014.
- ↑ "Sherman". Dahl, Arthur Lyon. 1991. IUCN/UNEP Island Directory. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies, No. 35, Nairobi, Kenya. 573 p. 28 May 1989. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
Sources
[edit]- Haug, Per Ivar (August 2005). "Islands of Greenland". Gazetteer of Greenland. Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.
- "Islands by Land Area". Island Directory Tables. United Nations Environment Programme. 18 February 1998.
- "World Island Information". Joshua Calder's World Island Info. 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2025.