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List of countries by number of islands

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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.
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  28. ^ "Lakshadweep". Official Website of Administration of Lakshadweep. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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  65. ^ "Counting the many little bits of Britain".
  66. ^ "Which Countries Have the Most Islands?". 5 October 2020.
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